Trinity Together | March 2017

session summary

Here is the latest Session summary and some news on our church life and our denomination from our February meeting.

The upcoming PCA General Assembly will be held in Greensboro, NC, June 12–16. Early registration is encouraged. We also set the date for the Congregational Meeting many of you just attended on February 27, when we had the pleasure of installing Wade Bradshaw as Associate Pastor. Also at the congregational meeting, Finance Committee Chair Bob Luck brought us a hopeful and helpful summary of the budget for 2017. Those with questions about the budget had the opportunity to meet  with members of the Finance Committee following the meeting.

Elder Jim Avery updated us on the ongoing deliberations of the Worship Leadership Team as they develop a process for determining subjects suitable for prayer in public worship. The WLT will bring its recommendation for this process at a future Session meeting.

Elder Sam Heath told us about the upcoming  (March 17–18) Faith Seeking Understanding Forum, “Grace in Space: Hospitality in an Age of Isolation.” The Forum will be led by author and teacher Dr. Christine Pohl of Asbury Theological Seminary. Please consider inviting folks who don’t attend Trinity to come with you.

Kevin Sawyer, our Director of Missions, enthusiastically reported on the present state of the Ambrose Internship Program. Current interns DJ Carter and Bo Waldo have adjusted comfortably to life at Trinity, have learned a lot, and have contributed in kind. Please get to know these men and their families and encourage them in their valuable work for our church.

Occasionally a member will have a question about a Session action. The member has the right to make a formal complaint to our Presbytery, if the response of the Session to the question doesn’t satisfactorily answer it. Such a complaint was made regarding last year’s Diaconal Assistant Nomination process. A complaint initiates a formal process involving a Commission of the Presbytery, which fully reviews the complaint, giving each party opportunity to present its position in writing and at a hearing. After the hearing the Commission deliberates and issues its report. In our case, the Commission found for the complainant in one of three parts to the complaint. The report was referred to the Officer Development Ministry Team to take corrective action so that there will be a clearer distinction made between Deacons and Deacon Assistants in the nominating processes for both. The Session is grateful that this matter came up and that we can take appropriate action to address the concerns of our members and the Commission.

Elder David Mills presented the 2017 budget just developed by the Finance Committee. The budget ($2.6 million) represents a 4% increase over the 2016 general fund giving. Another 4% increase will be needed in the 2018 budget to maintain the same levels of ministry. Details of the budget were sent to you by email on February 23. After considering congregational input following the meeting on February 26, the Session expects to approve the budget at its March meeting. We offered thanks to the Committee and especially to Jessica Wey Robinson, our stalwart Director of Operations, for their hard work on the budget.

We approved the recommendation of the Pastoral Search Committee to change the title of the Pastor for Church Mission to Pastor for Executive Leadership. There had been some concern about possible confusion arising from the use of the word "mission" in the original title.

Last but not least, we approved a proposal to establish a Trinity Stewardship Committee. More later about this.

Have a question about our Session? Email session@trinitycville.org.

MEET deacon hunter chorey

Hunter Chorey came to Charlottesville to attend the University of Virginia and graduated in 2005 with majors in economics and religious studies. Upon graduation he entered the Trinity Fellows class of 2006, and Trinity became his home church.

As a UVA fourth-year he joined the Center for Christian Study spring break project in Chattanooga where he met Mika, a psychology major who later earned her master’s in nursing. Hunter is now employed by a specialty insurance agency. They were married in 2008 and live in the North Parish with their two young daughters. Hunter loves to spend time playing in the park with his girls whenever he can. Mika returned to UVA to earn a nurse practitioner degree and continues to work part-time in that profession.

Hunter has a love of music of all kinds, both listening and performing. He has sung with our choir and acapella groups and led worship singing with preschool classes. The Choreys have participated in small groups for years, and Hunter has been a co-leader for the last five years. Group members encouraged him to say yes when he was nominated four years ago to enter training to become a deacon. He was ordained in 2013. As a choir member he serves on the Worship Leadership Team and is deacon representative to that team. He also served on the Mercy Committee for his first few years as a deacon.

Last summer Hunter was selected by the deacons and church members to be part of our Pastoral Search Committee. This group has met nearly every Monday evening for the last eight months, spending much of their time in prayer for our church and working to identify and seek out the pastors God has designed for Trinity. Hunter is thankful to be part of this group of church members whom he describes as having many talents. As they have gotten to know and respect each other, they have sought the Lord’s will in prayer and have labored to identify Trinity’s strengths and areas for growth.

He also has praise for the Diaconate and how it has grown under current chair Will Schnorr, particularly in encouraging the growth of relationships alongside the completion of necessary tasks in service to the church. He emphasizes that one should not feel the need to “have it all together” in order to be a deacon and that active service should be paired with enthusiasm and joy while being the Lord’s hands and feet. Hunter wants to encourage our congregation to identify those with a desire to help and, as Trinity grows in hospitality this year, to recognize that a combination of a willing heart—even for those with only short-time availability—can accomplish much. Those with gifts in stewardship, planning, and creativity in addressing needs would benefit the deacons and the other teams and committees that serve our church and its overall mission.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

BY BOB LUCK, CHAIR, FINANCE COMMITTEE

Our 2017 Budget

The Finance Committee sent our final recommended $2.6M budget for 2017 to the Session for their approval this week. We worked with the five ministry leadership teams, the Personnel Committee, the Deacons, the Elders, and the administrative staff at Trinity to prepare and review the budget. We believe that it is aligned with our strategic plan and our operational needs.

You, the members of Trinity, also received a copy of the detailed budget and it was reviewed at our congregational update meeting on Sunday, February 26. We are grateful for all of the hard work that has gone into its development and for your help in shaping it.

The 2017 budget is an increase of $100,000 over our total giving in 2016, and represents a shared commitment for the new year among all of us. It includes the employment of two new pastors and significant expenditures to maintain our current facility. It also allows us to grow a number of our ministries—focused both on serving our own members and on serving our community.

We will all need to grow our giving. Our budget of $2.6M is a step toward the higher costs that we will experience in 2018. Our stewardship efforts will need to increase to meet the longer-term costs of supporting our staff and ministries adequately. Please consider your own tithe and how you can support Trinity with your offerings in 2017.

UPCOMING EVENTS