Trinity Together | August 2016

report from the transition team

BY JIM ANDERSON, TRANSITION TEAM LEAD

Trinity is beginning its fifth month of a transition in leadership. So much has happened in this short timeframe. The Lord has been good to us in these uncertain times and blessed our congregation with an encouraging Spirit.

Pastoral Search Committee
In June, you voted to seat a committee of wonderful members to find the first of the new pastors for Trinity. This committee has already been meeting to this end. The Session is now deliberating on some clarifying decisions being requested by the PSC. Please pray for these wise fellow-members in their work. Thanks to each one for their service on our behalf.

Nicole Fleming
The third phase of our executive leadership transition is now upon us. Director of Operations Nicole Fleming completed her time on staff on August 5. The Transition Team has worked with Nicole to identify her areas of work and has begun the process of moving these responsibilities to others.

We want to thank Nicole for the constant and skillful effort she has expended over the last few years serving our congregation. She has also blessed us with the way she has carefully prepared for her leaving. It is a good gift when a person ends well.

Nicole will assume a new role at New City Commons in the near future. Please express your thanks to Nicole in person or with a note. We want to bless her as she makes this transition of her own.

New Church Operations Director
In June the Personnel Committee was tasked to hire a new Church Operations Director. The committee has done an excellent job in working through the interview process and will make a recommendation soon. Filling this position will help immensely to bring operational stability to Trinity as we continue to search for our new pastors.

Psalm 11
Today's psalm for morning prayer is Psalm 11. The first three verses of the psalm picture a group of advisors giving King David what they think is wise counsel in the face of extreme difficulty for which there is no obvious solution and amidst a breakdown of the normal resources for dealing with the situation. Interestingly, "the Lord" does not appear in any of the lines of advice. It's almost as though the psalmist "gets" this omission because every line in the response of the psalm's remaining verses begins with "the Lord" or its pronoun. Derek Kidner calls this focus on the Lord in the midst of critical decisions "the Forgotten Dimension." In our times of transition at Trinity, our prayer is that we live in this space as the Spirit leads, trusting the Lord's rule over our affairs.

WOMEN TOGETHER IN THE WORD THIS FALL

BY susan prindle

We are excited to announce WOMEN TOGETHER IN THE WORD (WTW) as the new name for Trinity’s women’s Bible studies. To accommodate more women’s schedules, the same curriculum will be offered twice each Wednesday. Morning and evening sessions will replace the old mornings-only Wednesday in the Word. Morning sessions are 9:15–11:30am with childcare available. Evening sessions will be from 7:30–9pm without childcare.

WTW begins September 14 with a study entitled “From Garden to Glory: A Bible Study of the Bible’s Story.” It’s a new and engaging study written and taught by Courtney Doctor on the journey from Genesis to Revelation, studying the rich theological concepts that weave the whole of God’s story together. Each session will view teaching on DVD followed by small group discussion, fellowship, and prayer. A wonderful workbook for reading and study in advance of each session is covered in the participation fee.

At the Session's July 28 meeting, those attending—including a number of former elders and elders emeritus—spent the time reminiscing about Tom Gilliam and praying for his family. We'll have a Session update from August in the September issue of Trinity Together.

Questions? Email: session@trinitycville.org

MEET ELDER DICK PEARSON

Raised and educated in Michigan, Dick Pearson had an aunt and uncle who were missionaries in Africa, which made him consider becoming a medical missionary. Dick and his wife, Janet, moved up their wedding date so she could accompany him on a 10-week medical rotation in Sierra Leone during his last year of med school. They returned to Africa after his residency in internal medicine and worked at the national medical center in Monrovia, Liberia—Dick in patient care and teaching and Janet in the medical library. After returning to the U.S., Dick completed a fellowship in infectious diseases in Rochester, NY, and in January 1980 he took a faculty position at UVa. It was neighbors who referred the couple to a growing new church called Trinity.

After joining the church, they served on the Missions Committee, and Janet was soon recruited to use her library skills to build and manage the Trinity library. They had one young son when they arrived in town and two children were later added—all three grew in faith through participation in Trinity's children’s and youth programs over the years. The family feels blessed that all three now have Christian spouses. Scott, his wife, and two sons live in Charlotte and are part of a multi-ethnic PCA church. Andrew lives in Atlanta with his wife and toddler daughter, and they attend the same Anglican church as sister Karen and her husband, who expect their first child soon.

Dick was ordained as an elder in 1987, serving actively for several years then later taking an extended “sabbatical” when he was named associate dean for student affairs for the medical school. That job, as well as his clinical responsibilities and research on infectious diseases in Brazil, afforded lots of opportunity to interact with students and colleagues in their personal lives as well as in their profession. With all the hospitality attendant to that job, Janet and Dick served well in that calling until Dick’s recent retirement. They also were leaders of one of Trinity’s adult teaching fellowships in the 1990s and early 2000s and were involved in conversational dinners, which brought people together from across the church.

Running has been a lifelong avocation for Dick, and Janet joins him. They also enjoy playing table games, both competitive and collaborative, and have found this to be a good bridge to friendships. Since rejoining the active Session two years ago after a year of renewed officer training, Dick has developed a strong interest along with Janet in the Encore Ministry for those in their mid-50s and up. Their desire is to find more ways to enjoy fellowship with and serve others and to offer coaching or mentoring to younger church members.

Dick quotes the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:12-14 as expressing the call on his own life now, and perhaps on the Encore Ministry and Trinity in this season of transition:  “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

MEET DEACON RUSS EDWARDS

After becoming a Christian in high school and then attending college, Russ Edwards met his wife, Katherine, through her sister at a PCA church in South Carolina. Katherine was the first to move to Charlottesville, to earn a degree in counseling from the Curry School at UVa. During her first year she began attending Trinity, so when she and Russ married, Trinity became Russ’s church as well. For two years he taught literature at The Covenant School, later moving into construction management. He now works with a solar development company. After completing her degree and required hours of supervised counseling, Katherine became a licensed counselor and worked for several years with troubled children through Family Preservation Services. More recently she has been working a day or two each week with New City Counseling at Trinity.

Ten years ago the Edwards decided to locate in an old part of the city called the 10th and Page neighborhood. They have loved their opportunities to meet and serve neighbors of great diversity in this ever-changing center-city area not far from UVa. During this time they have added four children to their family—two boys and two girls—now ages 8, 6, 4, and 2. The family has been active with the city parish and its projects to reach out to the community. Russ enjoys trail running for himself, but also enjoys taking his kids with him as he participates in community service projects. Gardening and camping are other family pastimes.

Russ was recruited into a program of deacon apprenticeship where he served and learned for over a year and later was ordained as a deacon. He served on the Mercy Committee and was very involved in hands-on work, often in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and Love INC, as well as projects to serve widows in the church. After their second child was born Russ took a sabbatical; he has recently re-engaged, as other deacons graciously helped him find the right place to serve. For the past two years this has involved representing the Diaconate on the Officer Development Ministry Team (ODMT). Russ feels a calling to help mentor others in developing good leadership habits and in finding a good fit for their own service. These opportunities have greatly expanded recently, as ODMT oversees a class of 22 nominees for diaconal roles for the coming year.

Our financial status through July (adjusting for five Sundays in July this year) indicates that our church giving numbers are significantly down when compared with last year. The gap between budgeted and actual giving for 2016 is even more significant. Because of our drop in expenses for the last three months, we are in a fairly stable financial position. However, if the trend continues into the fall months, our church will need to begin adjusting to a new normal.

STEWARDSHIP SNIPPET

Beware of making financial decisions (in most cases, purchases) based on who you want to be rather than who you are. Buying a high-end bike in the hopes that you ride more, or a high-end kitchen in the hopes that you cook at home more, or a new gym membership… Such decisions will probably in the end prove to have been a waste of money.

UPCOMING EVENTS