June 26, 2025: Council Updates and News

Welcome to Christ Episcopal Church! This Sunday, July 29th, the Reverend Deacon Steve Falci and the members of Christ Episcopal Church will be visiting us and attending our service. During our Mid Year Meeting, we shared of our plans to open our doors to Christ Episcopal Church as their Sanctuary is renovated. Since the timing of renovations is always fluid, we are unclear of when this transition will happen. It is now looking like perhaps late this fall. Once Renovations are underway, we will offer our space to them so Reverend Deacon Steve can lead them in worship. This is one very tangible way we can serve our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Transition Team Update The Council is pleased to share we now have a very capable Transition Team in place. This team comprises of the following members: Tim Althof, Ralph Case, Donna Huot, John Kremer, Heidi Morrison, and Jo Whiting. The first zoom meeting with Pastor Mark Lingle from the Synod will occur this evening, June 26th at 6:30.

2025 Audit Completion Thank you once again to Tim Althof for completing our audit review for this year. Dan Scammon, our Treasurer, will be working with Tim and Nova, our accountant to help streamline our line items over the next year. Dan presently supports two roles: that of our Financial Secretary and the Treasurer. . Tim recommends we separate these two roles for control purposes. See below for our need for a member to fulfill the Financial Secretary role.

“God” Jobs We have 3 vacancies currently open. These jobs could be described as fulfilling more of a “Martha” role versus a “Mary” role. “Martha” often gets a bad rap since she becomes grumpy that her sister was not helping her out with the preparations and spending her time listening to Jesus’ wisdom. However if we alter the intention within the “Martha” role, a difference can be made. The “Martha” job postings below hold the intention that by fulfilling these roles, doors are open so that God’s work can take place and invites others into spirit filled conversations and connections.

Vacancies exist in:

Finances

Financial Secretary: Knowledge of excel spreadsheets is helpful. Time commitment is 30 minutes a week or 2 hours a month. For more information, please talk to Dan Scammon.

Financial Counter: After a service, counters count the money in our offering plate. This amount has significantly decreased due to our electronic giving. Once counted and recorded, this money is dropped off at an M&T bank. Total time per Sunday 1 hour.

Hospitality

Coffee Setup: Set up includes making the coffee (directions posted on coffee maker), setting up the cups, and condiments. If baking goods are brought in, placing them on plates. Time commitment 1 hour before the service.

Peace, Erlinde

June 2025: Transition Plans and Updates

Transition Plans and Updates

Our Synod liaison has changed from Pastor Gaeta to Pastor Mark Lingler, primarily due to time constraints on the part of Pastor Gaeta. I have met and spoken to Mark several times.

We are in the process of forming our Transition Team. Our goal is to have at least 6 members, with one Council representative on this team by mid-June. We then plan to meet with Pastor Mark Lingler to further develop a plan specific to our needs.

We realized that since we completed the CAT (Congregational Assessment Tool) 3 years ago, we have changed as a congregation. Although we still have many voices, we are truly one congregation now. Completing the CAT as a congregation is necessary to update “who we are” identifying both our strengths and the shadows that strengths sometimes cast. This will also help us determine who we would like our next Pastor to be.

Pastor Mark Lingler will be here Sunday, September 21st at a congregational meeting to review and jumpstart our transition process, starting with completing the CAT. We will have approximately 3 weeks to complete the CAT. Pastor Lingler will share the results of the CAT with the Council and Transition team by mid to late October.

Once this occurs, the Transition team will begin the process of integrating this information, into our demographics, history, and needs to develop the first draft of the Ministry Site Profile. This is the document that Synod will use to share with interested Pastors. This document will not only describe “who we are” but what we hope to be and who we hope to have lead us. We may hold some Adult Forums to gain more input from members during this time period. This will take approximately 4- 6 months. I am guessing completing the CAT and the MSP will take us through April of next year.

The Call Committee will then take this document and begin the process of interviewing and discerning candidates.

At the same time, we will be fully participating in our ministry with Pastor Luther, looking for an interim minister, and then saying “goodbye” to Pastor Luther at the end of November.

This will be a time of change for us. Yes, there may be times of anxiety. When we are anxious, it is difficult to feel close to God and pray. When change occurs, we require more of “God space”. “God space” usually involves joy and delight. We as humans want happiness, yet God’s space does not always hold happiness, yet it does hold joy. I hope this summer each of you can co-create some God space to revel in joy with family, friends, in nature or in a church singing with others so we can embrace change as a community.

Peace, Erlinde

April 2025: ELCA WORLD HUNGER: OPPOSE CUTS to HUNGER PROGRAMS

I was planning on writing a short article about ways in which we as a congregation can reach out to others in need. Many people are now having to figure out how to do without with nowhere to turn. As this thought was germinating for me, I read Pastor’s Tiding’s article a few minutes ago. He was moved to write an article inviting us to live generously and faithfully in the face of injustice on a global level. I am bringing your attention to another two options to live generously.

During our last Council meeting, we discussed accessing one of our line items in the budget so members can opt to give to Ascentria Care Alliance (formerly Lutheran Social Services) directly through our weekly giving. This is now possible. Simply label what monies you would like directed to Ascentria Care Alliance and we will direct these monies to them.

In a recent weekly newsletter, the New England Synod shared an article from the ELCA, focusing on the proposed cuts within the SNAPS Food Assistance program. Please see below.

Thank you for being who you are as a congregation and thank you for knowing whose you are.

Erlinde

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ELCA WORLD HUNGER: OPPOSE CUTS to HUNGER PROGRAMS

Action Alert! Lenten Focus

If implemented, proposed cuts through the U.S. budget reconciliation process could slash SNAP food assistance that currently serve over 40 million people.

In FY25 budget resolution processes, cuts of $230 billion to agriculture programs – the vast majority of which is expected to come from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – have been proposed. These cuts would slash SNAP by more than 20% and could cut some low-income children off from receiving vital school meals. The proposed cuts would either reduce benefits for all participants, expand work or bureaucratic requirements, remove approximately nine million people from the program entirely, or force states to shoulder benefit costs. Local food pantries and meal programs—many operated by Lutheran congregations—cannot fill the enormous gap that would be created by these cuts.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Contact your elected officials to urge rejection of such cuts. Email your Senators & Representatives, call them or go to ELCA Advocacy and sign on to their message.

Thank you from the New England Synod World Hunger Team and Children & Adults who don’t want to be hungry!

February 2025: Supporting Ascentria Care Aliance

In the winter, it is a time of staying inside more….perhaps more inside oneself as well. How do you center yourself in Christ each day as changes evolve quicker than our brains, spirit, and hearts can process? Is there something you do physically, mentally, or spiritually or someone you talk to or see that grounds you?

Sometimes for me it is taking the small steps in moving forward in a grounded fashion…reading a daily meditation, being grateful for cutting our morning fruit bowl and hearing from my sister as she drives to work. Sometimes it is helping to move our intentions as a church body forward in concrete ways. In this regard, I would like to share a few of the steps we have taken.

First, the Council fully supported Pastor’s request of using his raise of $3,500 to support Ascentria Care Alliance. Ascentria Care Alliance suffered recent budget cuts and are in the midst of trying to find home sharing for refugee families. (See the email below from Jillian Decker, Director of Development, Ascentria Care Alliance for more details).

Secondly, Scott Carson was a guest at our last Council meeting. He proposed that he would be responsible for caring for the lawn this summer and reach out to other members for help. The Council decided to accept Scott’s proposal for this year. Thank you Scott and for the Property Task Force who is working on creating a viable team who can care for our property. We will keep the money designated for lawn care under the Property Line, should other needs develop this year.

Thirdly, the Task Force for our Mission Outreach Project has been formed and they have already met once. The Task Force comprises of Leslie Carsen, VJ Strehl, and Jo Whiting.

Philippians 3:13-14 New International Version (NIV)

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

It feels good to move forward. Sometimes we do not know where we are specifically going but we know our energies are directed for the common good.

Peace,

Erlinde Beliveau

Email from Jillian Decker:

Hi Erlinde,

It was wonderful to speak with you last week! Thank you for your interest in volunteering with refugees. Here is a quick word about the home share support we are looking for as well. I have also added my colleague Juli Pruden from the NH office who is the best contact for other volunteer opportunities.

The idea of Home Sharing is to provide temporary housing to UN-designated refugee families while Ascentria works to secure permanent housing. It is especially important at this time as we are unable to house families in hotel for much longer without access to our normal funding sources.

How It Works: Hosts: House can be shared with host or standalone, they just need enough rooms to accommodate, usually 2-3 rooms per family. Background Checks: All household members will pass a Sterling background check administrated by Ascentria. Safety Inspection: A case manager will assess the home for suitability. Family Matching: We’ll work with you to match a family based on space and needs. Ongoing Support: Each family has a dedicated case manager for assistance and to find them a long-term housing placement. Financial Responsibility: Hosts are not expected to cover costs; families receive state assistance for food and can contribute to utilities as well. We prioritize building independence. I hope this is helpful!

Jillian Decker Director of Development Development Team Ascentria Care Alliance 11 Shattuck St Worcester MA 01605

January 2025: Looking to the Budget Meeting and Annual Meeting

Happy New Year! In addition to this traditional greeting, I recognize these words do not carry the depth of my intention for each of you individually or collectively. I pray and hope that we all experience good health and joy in our lives, yet I also pray and hope this January can be a time of reflection. The winter season invites me to draw inward to reflect upon my beliefs in the power Jesus has in our lives to heal and make new, what we cannot. Here are some of the questions I pose to myself: What is my intention or prayer for this New Year? Will a word come to me this year that will embed me in God’s love and will resonate in my actions? What will help me clear energy that is stagnating in my body and heart to make room for Jesus? What are my practices to ensure this happens even when I do not “feel” like it or “feel” closer to Jesus in the process?

So my thoughts move from the heart and spirit and back to the “minding” of our church body. Our Advent was engaging and strong in preparing for our Lord’s coming in to our world. We had Christmas Eve services that ushered Jesus in to our lives with joy filled hearts. Out next step is ….. to be aware enough and rooted enough in God’s love to “witness” the epiphanies surrounding us?

January is a full month of planning for our journey and determining the path we want to follow. The Church Council is meeting on January 7th to further define our budget recommendations. We meet with all of you on Sunday, January 19th to share and discuss our budget and planning recommendations. We gather the following Sunday on January 26th for our Annual Meeting to firm up our plan and vote. It is an action month, perhaps based on the questions I and we answer from the first paragraph.

I look forward to co-creating and envisioning a path with you for the New Year!

Peace,

Erlinde

November 21, 2024: Our Active Ministry Teams

Thank you for all who attended the Adult Forum titled “Refining our Shared Ministry with Pastor Luther”. The Council appreciates your thoughts, comments and questions. As we ponder how we better live into this ministry, we are beginning to take action as well.

One of the comments that came up during our Adult Forum was to better communicate what we presently “do” as a church both in serving Our Community inside and Our Community outside our walls as well as where needs are. Below is a list of what we do.

The items with an asterisk, means more support of human resources is needed to be sustainable for those already in the various roles.

Caring Connections Team: Promotes the care and wellbeing of members and their families. * A chairperson is needed.

Prayer Shawl Ministry: Knits shawls for those with a serious illness, death in the family or any other situation in which the receiver would benefit from a prayer shawl Facilitator: Cheryl Brigham

Prayer Email Tree Ministry: Any member can ask to be on this prayer email tree, either for a prayer need or to provide prayer for others. Leader: Linda Edwards

Card/Mail Communications Ministry: Written messages of support for those who are ill or homebound. Leader: Susan Bock

Home Meal Ministry: Meals provided for those at home in need.  Leader: Nancy Hansen

Programs no longer in existence due to lack of team members: College Care packages, Health Team, and Driving Daisies

Pastoral Care Team: Outreach program of visitation, communion, and prayer within the church community for those who cannot attend church. Leaders: Yvonne Topping. Pam Brouker, and VJ Strehl

Social Ministry: Church’s response to human needs in the Seacoast area and outside of our church community Leader: Jessica Feeley has been serving for 4 years.

Operation Blessing: Donated food is collected throughout the year and for Thanksgiving baskets, Jessica Feeley. Holy Trinity has been supporting this ministry for many years.

Dover Friendly Kitchen: Holy Trinity provides a home cooked meal on the last Tuesday of the Month between 4:00-6:00pm. A Co-leader is needed to organize the other Holy Trinity individuals who are serving. Jessica can lead the Soup Kitchen on the odd months of the year (e.g., January, March). We need a Co-leader for the even months (e.g., February, April). Setting up, preparing food, serving food, and cleaning up are all tasks that are needed on a monthly or occasional time frame. Cookies are baked by HT parishioners and “cookie bakers” are needed. Joan Bauer is heading up the cookie collection. Holy Trinity has been supporting this ministry for more than 20 years.

Mitten/Hat Tree: New and gently used mittens, gloves, and hats are collected and given to an organization in need. Collection takes place in late Fall through Christmas. *A person is needed to bring the items to an organization in need. Jessica Feeley is the contact person. Holy Trinity has been supporting this ministry for many, many years.

End 68 Hours of Hunger: This National organization provides easy-to prepare-foods for children/teens over the weekends when school does not provide meals. This ministry involves the packaging up of the food bags in a church in Portsmouth. This ministry occurs on the 2nd Tuesday in late afternoon for approximately 2 hours. Food bag packers are needed on an occasional or consistent basis. Jessica Feeley is the contact person. Holy Trinity has been supporting this ministry for about 20 years.

Tanzania: Various types of support of our “sister” congregation include the purchasing of their handicrafts when displayed at Church, monetary support for educational scholarships, and travel to Tanzania for fellowship and learning. Kurt and Dot Kasik, Russ Hilliard and Jo Whiting are the contact people. Holy Trinity has been supporting this ministry for many years.

Other programs are identified, initiated, and supported throughout the year!

Christian Education: Support faith practices and development in the church and home Children Education/Confirmation: Lara Scammon *We need team members as well as teachers for confirmation and young children. Adult Education: Mark Edwards and Russ Hilliard

Women’s Retreat Ministry: Once a year, our Women’s group will go to Camp Calumet in Freedom, NH (about a 70-minute drive from Holy Trinity), and stay for the weekend. Holy Trinity develops a theme to reflect on for the weekend through dialogue and conversation, enhancing our faith walk. There is also time to enjoy food, hiking, relaxing by the beach, and other activities that Calumet has to offer, such as Calumet’s Church service on Sunday mornings. Contact: Leslie Carson

Property Team: Maintenance and improvement of Church’s building and property. Advisory Property Task Force members: Scott Carson, Jeff Morrison, Russ Hilliard, and Cristina Dolcino

*Need includes individuals who would like to serve on the Property Advisory Team (this is a different team than the above Task Force Team). This Team decides what tasks are needed to be worked on and how these tasks will be completed, either by the church members or hiring out tasks to contractors. Congregational members are invited to complete tasks of repair, maintenance, or beautification in the future on an “as-needed” basis. The Advisory Team individuals do not necessarily complete the task, but they can do so if desired.

Financial Team: Responsible for all the finances including but not limited to budgeting, disbursement and financial reports, receipts and individual member giving reports. Treasurer: Dan Scammon

Plan: Pursue hiring an accountant to relieve Barry Philbrick of his role as assistant treasurer, as he wishes to step down after more than 20 years of faithful service. Dan continues to serve 2 roles. * We need a financial secretary. Dan has been covering this job as well as his responsibilities as a treasurer.

Worship Team: Arrangement and planning of worship throughout the church year. Meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 11 am. Leader: Dot Kasik Altar Guild Team leader: Julie Moore *Looking for new members to serve on Altar Guild.

Welcoming Committee: Responsible for creating a hospitable place through our environment and actions. Leader: Betty Smith

*We invite you to join in taking on various roles in worship including those of deacons, lectors, greeters, ushers, counters, coffee preparation and clean up and bakers, choir members and instrumentalists.

Plan: Members will be able to sing up for these various roles next Sunday after church, with training to follow at a designated time/date.

Stewardship Team: Coordinate the spirit of giving and stewardship campaign Team Leader: Dave Arrington* - single person led ministry *We are in need of 1-2 additional members on this team.

Library Team: Organizes and maintains the church’s library of books and other resources. Leader: Dot Kasik and Pam Shaw

Creation Care Team: Responsible for exploring and identifying how our church can take actions to become better environmental stewards. Task Force Facilitator: Glenn Oswald *This team would love to have another 1-3 members join their efforts.

WOW! As you can see, we have many wonderful ministries and faithful leaders and participants that are adequately supported. We also have some roles in ministries that need to be filled and where more volunteers are needed. We hope you consider sharing your time and talents in these areas. If you want to talk with a Team leader and don’t know who they are, you can ask Pastor, a Council Member, or Mark in the Office to connect you with them!

Holy Trinity has a long history of embracing new ideas that spring up organically from members. This will continue because God is working through us as individuals and as a community. Let us embrace this next chapter…

With a grateful heart,

Erlinde

November 10, 2024: Refining Our Shared Ministry with Pastor Luther

Our Adult Forum this Sunday will focus on the second session in our series about “Refining Our Shared Ministry with Pastor Luther”. Pastor Luther, Russ Hilliard and I will do a quick recap if you missed the Adult Forum on October 13th.

This coming Sunday we will spend our time reflecting on what we as a congregation have learned and how we can be an integral part of sharing our ministry with Pastor Luther. How do we adapt and take this opportunity to move forward body given our changing demographics and our limited resource of human time or chronos? I ask that as you listen, you also prayerfully consider how this can be done for you individually and as a community. I recently read somewhere, “that when our thinking or minds end, grace begins”. Although I resonated with this thought, I also believe that as we ponder and pray, sometimes we allow some breaking from what was done. This breaking may create “cracks” or “fissures” where grace can enter into our thinking and create a new foundation to work from. Your Church Council is exploring and pursuing some options, especially in areas of Finance and Property where members have been serving in roles for more than 20 years.

So I invite you to please come, listen, and ask questions as we embark in new ways of thinking to faithfully serve our Lord with the resources we have available to us.

Peace,

Erlinde

November 10 2024: Review and Refinement of Shared Ministry with Pastor Luther

This past Sunday in our Adult Forum, we celebrated the first-year anniversary of Pastor Luther beginning his call with Holy Trinity. We spent time discussing the blessings of this past year, what we have learned, and then how Pastor’s role will be refined going forward. When we called Pastor Luther, we recognized that this call would be a “living experiment” as we have never before shared a pastor with another congregation. The refinements we are making now are in this sense adjustments we knew we would likely need to make as we lived more deeply into our “shared ministry.” Attached is a two-page handout that summarizes what Pastor Luther, Russ Hilliard, and I shared. I also strongly encourage you to listen to the Adult Forum if you missed it, as the forum included a sharing of personal experiences, some thoughtful discussion, and many good questions and responses among those who attended. The next segment of our discussion—which is an adult forum scheduled for November 10—will focus on how we as a congregation can become more involved in sharing some of the ministry opportunities that Pastor Luther will be unable to continue. This is an exciting time during which we are being called by the Holy Spirit into new and creative ways of “being church.” Such change can be scary at first, of course; but it almost always is a catalyst for meaningful growth, learning, and fresh opportunities to serve God and our community.

Erlinde

October 3, 2024: Reflections on the Shared Ministry with Pastor Luther

President’s Article

We have intentionally made the decision to take the time to celebrate and reflect on the Shared Ministry Holy Trinity entered into with Pastor Luther one year ago. Why? Because anniversaries are times to celebrate and reflect on what our joys and challenges have been and where we hope to go in the next year. The decision to do so is done deliberately because we have never had to share a Pastor with another church. This is new to us and we are living into it. See below for a summary of why our relationship is innovative.

Anne Lamott wrote a book titled: Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers twelve years ago. She is an American novelist and writes non-fiction.

In this book, Anne writes, “When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we’re finally starting to get somewhere. It is so much more comfortable to think that we know what it all means, what to expect and how it all hangs together. When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it’s down to a manageable size and then to file it away nicely, when all we can say in response is “Wow,” that’s a prayer.”

We prayed fervently for the future of our church and for a special person to lead us into the next chapter of our faith lives. This was not an easy time for Holy Trinity, and we prayed. One year ago, with hearts filled with gratitude, we received and welcomed Pastor Luther.

In this past year, we give thanks for many blessings. We will share some of these blessings next Sunday, during our Adult Forum on October 6th. We will set aside some time to simply say “Wow”. We hope you can join us for this time of reflection. We will also share our refinement of Pastor Luther’s role as we live into our covenant in the next year. Then on Sunday, November 10th, we will reflect and refine our role as a congregation as we live into this covenant as well.

August 2024: Exciting Plans for the Fall!

I would like to share some of our exciting plans for the fall as well as some logistics. Let’s not let this stop us from soaking in the last couple of weeks of summer though.

First of all, it is with a very grateful heart we say good bye to Pastor Larsen on his last Sunday with us on September 1st (Labor Day weekend). His presence and service as our Summer Supply Pastor is a gift. On September 8th, we welcome Pastor Dave Snyder to lead us in worship. He served as our pastor from 1989 to 1997 and now resides with his wife, Susan in New Jersey. On September 15th, we welcome back Pastor Luther! I look forward to see how God will work through us with Pastor Luther in the next year!

In the fall, Adult Forums will be held on the first and second Sundays of the month after the service. This will begin in October and continue through December. At this point, we will re-evaluate to see if the schedule needs any modifications. Mark Edwards and Russ Hilliard are the coordinators. Please contact them if you have ideas or thoughts for future forums. At times, we may have an activity or ministry team event at the same time as a forum, expanding the choices available to members.

The third and fourth Sundays will be used for special meetings or events. Some of these may be Council-led, and some maybe team ministry led. One special meeting has already been set for October 20th. The Council will review proposed changes to our Bylaws. We will be voting on these changes next January.

Erlinde