FebruaryFebruaryFebruaryFebruary 2020202020202020

Greetings! We just celebrated Christmas, so it seems crazy to be thinking about Ash Wednesday and Lent, but here we are! This year Ash Wednesday is February 26, which seems so far away, but will be here before we know it! We will be having a service at 7 PM, and the church will be open in the morning for meditation as people feel lead and see fit.

As we move into the season of Lent, I wanted to talk about some of the significance things that happen at the Ash Wednesday service. I also want to talk a little bit about the season of Lent. This service marks the beginning of the season of Lent, the 40 days before Easter. Traditionally, Christians use the time of Lent to fast from something. The idea is that in fasting we are drawn closer to God, when we are tempted to indulge in the thing we are fasting from, or we start to get hungry for it, we pray to God for strength to get past the temptations. We are reminded to rely on God for the hunger we are feeling.

When I was a kid I did the cliché “I give up chocolate” or “I give up ice cream” or other things like that, but it wasn’t really a huge sacrifice. It wasn’t actually a fast, because we didn’t have these things in my house most of the time anyway, but I wasn’t aware of the real reason we give things up. I wasn’t aware that the hope is to be brought closer to God. So, as I was introduced to the idea that the real reason we give things up is to be closer to God, rather than giving something up each Lent, my mom encouraged me to add new and different spiritual practices that might draw me closer to God over the 40 days of Lent. If this is something you may be interested in, please let me know and I will help you to find the best spiritual practice for you in this season.

But these things are all part of a bigger ritual, that we begin on Ash Wednesday. During an Ash Wednesday service, we spend time confronting our mortality as well as confessing our sin to God. We find scriptural basis for such a ser-vice in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1, Job 2:8, and Daniel 9:3. Each of these passages offer us an example of what lamentation looks like. These passages offer us an example of why ashes and what about the ashes remind us of our mortality and our place with God.

The Imposition of Ashes can be a powerful nonverbal expression of our need and act of repentance and reconcilia-tion. These ashes are an outward and visible sign of our mortality and need for repentance. It is an opportunity for us to draw closer to God, and to show others that we have taken the time to work toward that. The practice of Imposing Ashes and using this time as an opportunity to repent is the central practice of the service and is where the name Ash Wednesday came from. When we make the ashes, we use the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. Mixed with a little bit of oil the ashes stick with you as you consider your relationship with Christ, until you shower next.

In some contexts, pastors ask for congregants to write down their sins or hurts on a card that can also be added to the palms for the Ash Wednesday Service. In these contexts, it seems that they use a special space to make the ashes right in the church. But because Trinity is not equipped for something like that, we will be trying something a little different, in the Sunday service before Ash Wednesday, Sunday February 23, we will “collect or sins and hurts” so that they may be added into our ashes for our service, so that we can let them go symbolically as we move into a season of repentance and reconciliation.

May your Lenten Journey start with Ash Wednesday and bring you closer to God!

Ash Wednesday Service February 26 at 7pm

FOOD

PANTRY

NEEDS

���� Canned Meats

���� Cereals

As always, all non-perishable food and monetary donations are accepted and appreciated.

The next food pantry at Trinity:

Wednesday, February 12, 2020 10 am - 12 noon

Women’s Bible Study

Bible study will resume on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 9:30am in the choir room. We will discuss the principles of the United Methodist Church.

Looking Ahead

WST will again sponsor our annual Good Friday breakfast on April 10, 2020.

Hello friends,

Going through this past weekend with tempera-tures in the upper 60’s, it seems like maybe we’re skipping over winter this year. Much as I wouldn’t mind skipping over the freezing temperatures and slippery streets and sidewalks, I have a feeling that winter is just on “Debbie Time,” the term my family and friends like to refer to as anyone or anything that is punctually challenged. We may just have to deal with the cold further into February and March.

As you may remember, our Christmas decorations were playing a game of hide and seek so once they were found, Skip and Joe basically did most of the decorating of our sanctuary before church one Sunday. I thank everyone who stayed after that Sunday to help finish the job. Now I also want to thank everyone who helped take down the dec-orations and put them away for another year. It’s always a bit sad to put the decorations away but hopefully we can keep the joy of the birth of Christ in our hearts all the year through.

I must also say thank you again to all who serve as volunteers and help the service run more smooth-ly.

The scouts will be hosting their annual spaghetti dinner on February 29th so don’t forget to get your tickets and help support these young men and women. They do a lot of behind the scenes work in our church and in our town, so we owe them and their leaders a big thank you for all that they do!

Looking forward to the months ahead, it won’t be long before we enter the season of Lent. I don’t know the definite plans yet, but I’m sure there will be a Lenten study available. Stay tuned for more details.

And now, as I close, please remember to keep our church family in your hearts and in your prayers.

May God bless us, everyone!

Debbie Curcio

Worship Committee chairperson

Olives, a staple item

in Bible-era meals

Olives were primarily grown for oil, which took the place of butter and other fats in cooking. The olives themselves, preserved in brine, were a favorite deli-cacy. Olives, onions and bread sustained laborers and soldiers for long periods.

Olives are a good source of monounsaturated fat and minerals, such as iron and copper. They're also rich in vitamin E, oleic acid, polyphenols and flavo-noids, which are antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory benefits.

Olives are popular as both a snack and an ingredi-ent in salads, sandwiches, stews, and on pizza.

Olive oil is an integral part of the Mediterranean di-et, which can help people maintain a healthy weight, prevent heart disease, and live longer. The diet in-cludes foods that contain high levels of monoun-saturated fats, which are healthful fats.

Barbara Wilson, RD

Women Serving Together and the Outreach Committee would like to thank the congregation of Trinity for your generosity. With your help we were able to complete 45 Health Kits which will be distributed by UMCOR as the need arises.

SATURDAY

FEBRUARY 29TH

4-7PM

Come on out and support Troop 119!

Adults - $10

Seniors - $8

Children - $5

Tickets will be available at the door. Please check Sunday bulletins for advance ticket sale dates.

Pictured above left to right are Debbie Curcio, Barbara Wilson, Cece Torok, Pat Shockley, Delores Rupert, Pat Nelson and Karen Hoffman.

A special offering will be taken on February 2nd to help UMCOR respond to the needs of those affected by the earthquakes in Puerto Rico.

Trinity Child Care CenterTrinity Child Care CenterTrinity Child Care CenterTrinity Child Care Center Quality child care serving ages 2 1/2 Quality child care serving ages 2 1/2 Quality child care serving ages 2 1/2 Quality child care serving ages 2 1/2 ---- 6 yrs.6 yrs.6 yrs.6 yrs.

Safe - Clean - Nurturing Environment

Affordable Weekly Rates

We accept WorkFirst New Jersey (WFNJ) &

New Jersey Cares for Kids (NJCK) vouchers.

For more information or to arrange a visit call:

856-665-9446

Juanita Wilson, Childcare Director

ENROLLING NOW!

Hours of operation:

Monday - Friday 7:00am - 5:30pm

If you or a loved one is in need of prayer and would like to be added to the prayer chain please contact:

Pat Nelson 856-662-6893

If health, travel, or any number of other ob-stacles keep you from coming to church on Sunday, you can still worship with us online. Our worship service is broadcast live on Sunday mornings at 10:45am on our Facebook page.

You can also visit our website www.gotrinity.org and follow the links to view videos of some of our past worship services.

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS

2 Daniel Elliott

3 Barbara Wilson Michael Gilliss

4 Trevor Dowdney

5 Gary Hartman Larry Truax Austin Gilliss

7 Betty Henderson Bayley Hoeflich

11 Evelyn Carter 14 Brian Riley 15 Greta Brocious

16 Tyler Dowdney Steven Moulier Jr.

17 Chidubem Ezeiruaku

18 Deborah Elliott Michelle Crye Grace Martin

19 Mary Korhammer Wes Mander

23 Harry Pray

24 Xyla Crye 26 David Arber Jr.

27 Steve Moulier

6 Debbie & Thomas Curcio 17 Pat & David Nelson

Joyce & Joseph Thompson

22 Sandra & Bayley Hoeflich

24 Abi & Moses Jones

FEBRUARY ANNIVERSARIES

TIDINGS IS NOW ACCEPTING ADVERTISING

Trinity’s Church Newsletter is now accepting advertising. Ads will run in 3 consecutive issues at a cost of $5 for a business card size or $10 for a 1/4 page.

Ad files can be emailed to the church office, office@gotrinity.org & checks should be made pay-able to Trinity UMC.

Please contact the church office (856) 665-1860 with any questions that you may have.

The Tidings The Tidings is a periodic publication of

Trinity United Methodist Church

Office Hours Tues., Wed. & Fri. 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

(856) 665-1806 Fax: (856) 665-9556

Email: office@gotrinity.org Website: www.gotrinity.org

Visit us on Facebook

Sunday Worship 10:45 am

Trinity United Methodist Church 36 W. Maple Ave. Merchantville, NJ 08109

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