Inside

this

Issue:

Volume 28, Issue 12

December, 2018

Highlights 1

Worship & Music 2

Congregation 3/4

Christian Ed 4/5

Pastor’s Letter 6

Mission 7

Session Notes 8

Milestones 9

The annual Holiday Block Party will take place on Sunday

December 16th from 4:00-7:30pm. At 4:00pm we will

meet in front of the Chapel and head out for caroling in the

neighborhood north of Trinity. Mack has planned a specific

path that will bring music and cheer to our neighbors.

Returning to the church, from 5:30-7:30pm we will gather

around the fire pit on the patio in front of the chapel for food

and fellowship. There will be a chili dinner, decorating Christ-

mas cookies, hot cocoa and cider, roasting marshmallows, and

more holiday music ringing the hand chimes.

All are welcome to join in the holiday traditions!

On Sunday, December 23 during our 10:30 worship

service, the Trinity Choir and Orchestra will present Mark

Hayes’ beautiful Cantata, “Candles and Carols”. This 25-

minute work will explore the preparatory journey of the four

Sundays in Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Through

carols both new and old and narration presented by Liz

Strong and Will Tilley, the cantata will prepare your hearts for

the blessing of the arrival of the Christ Child and the true

meaning of Christmas.

One Service Only December 23 & December 30.

The 8:00 am Sojourner’s Chapel service resumes January 6.

The Vision Page 2

Christmas Cantina & Market The Christmas Cantina & Market will be held

December 9 at 11:45 am in Fellowship

Hall with a light lunch & piñata. The market

benefits our mission projects and continues

December 16 and 23. Be watching for our

“Christmas Catalog” for giving opportunity

ideas. Also you can make sandwiches for

Casa Maria, and help put together packs of

Water Bottles & Protein Bars for Trinity’s Food

Bank as part of Mission Sunday.

Worship & Music

Christmas Eve Services

Casual Christmas Eve

5:00 pm

An informal service that includes a children's

pageant, a brief Christmas message

by Pastor Mack, carols and candles.

(Please call 623-2579 for your child/grandchild

to take part.)

Christmas Café

6:00 pm

Enjoy hot apple cider, cocoa, sandwiches,

cookies, fellowship with friends old and new,

and live Christmas music.

Please bring holiday goodies, veggies

or fruit to share.

Traditional Christmas Eve

7:00 pm

Prelude at 6:50 pm with harpist, Rachel Green

A candlelight service

with a Christmas message,

led by the pastors,

the Trinity Choir

and the Trinity Ringers.

Bring your family, friends and neighbors

as we celebrate our Lord’s birth on this holy day!

CHRISTMAS EVE FELLOWSHIP

Dust off your favorite Christmas cookie

recipe or bring veggies or fruit in to

this year’s Christmas Cafe. Join us in

Fellowship Hall at 6:00 pm between

the two Christmas Eve evening worship

services. There will be cider, hot choco-

late, sandwiches, and strolling minstrels

to enliven our holiday festivities.

ADVENT MINI-CONCERTS

Trinity's Advent Mini-Concerts begin December 2

and continue on each of the Sundays in Advent.

The programs take place in the sanctuary immedi-

ately following the 10:30 service and last around 20

minutes.

December 2 – Yuletide on the Yamaha – favorite

songs of the season played on Trinity’s grand piano

by Lynn Moser.

December 9 – No Advent Mini-Concert so that all

may participate in the Christmas Cantina and mis-

sion projects after worship. However, the Trinity

Jazz Ensemble will be providing the music during

the 10:30 worship service!

December 16 -- Praise on the Pipes – a program of

Christmas favorites played on Trinity’s pipe organ

by Lynn Moser.

December 23 – Instrumental Joy – a program that

features musicians from the cantata orchestra.

CHRISTMAS DINNER

will be served at 12:00

pm on Christmas Day

with roast beef, turkey,

dressing, gravy, scalloped potatoes,

green beans, cranberry sauce and rolls.

There will be pies with ice cream for

dessert. The rest of the meal will be

potluck. Side dishes of vegetables, sal-

ads & breads are welcome. We can also

use volunteers to serve the food. RSVP

by phone at 623-2579 or email the

church office at office@trinitytucson.org.

Page 3 The Vision

ORDER YOUR POINSETTIA

A cherished tradition at Trinity,

poinsettias adorn the Sanctuary

and Chapel enriching worship

during Advent. The cost is $10

each and you may order as many

as you like. You may take your

poinsettias home following the 7:00 pm

Christmas Eve Worship or Christmas Dinner

or leave them to be distributed by the Deacons

to members unable to attend. Order your poin-

settias by calling the church office at 623-2579

or using the enclosed order form.

The deadline to order is December 10

Congregational News

TriniTy Goes To Tso’s MESSIAH

This year’s performances of MESSIAH by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Chorus features seven members

of the Trinity Choir who sing with the

TSO Chorus, and Bruce is conducting again!!!

As he did last year, Bruce Chamberlain will offer

a MESSIAH talk Sunday, December 2 at 12:15 in the Fellowship Hall to let you in on all the

'inside scoop' on what makes MESSIAH and this performance so special. In addition to the per-formance tradition which began in the spring of

1742, Bruce will explain why MESSIAH is so pop-ular, its origins, texts and performance history

over the last 276 years!

The TSO box office will be at the MESSIAH talk so that you can purchase reduced-priced tickets

for either performance, Saturday, December 15 at 4:00 or Sunday, December 16 at 2:00. Both performances will be held at the Catalina Foot-

hills HS. Don’t miss this opportunity- it SOLD

OUT last year!!!!

Help Decorate Trinity’s

Christmas Trees! Please join with your Trinity family to dec-

orate the Christmas trees in the Sanctuary

and Chapel on Wednesday, December 5,

at 6:00 p.m. Meet in the Sanctuary. Please

bring finger foods to share in Fellowship

Hall. Coffee and fun will be provided!

The Christian Education committee would

like to recommend daily personal devo-

tions for the Advent season produced by

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. They are

traditional devotions with a scripture, a

one paragraph meditation and a prayer

written by faculty and friends of the semi-

nary. We aren't going to distribute paper

copies except by request. You can load the

free app (search for "PTS Devotions" in

your favorite app store), view it online at

https://www.pts.edu/devotional_1, down-

load PDFs, or subscribe to an email list.

If you would like to request a paper copy,

contact John Hill or the church office.

The Vision Page 4

SCRIPTURE READINGS

December 2 Jer. 33:14-16; Ps. 25:1-10; 1 Thess. 3:9-13;

Luke 21:35-36

December 9 Mal. 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Phil. 1:3-11;

Luke 3:1-6

December 16 Zeph. 3:14-20; Isa. 12:2-6; Phil. 4:4-7;

Luke 3:7-18

December 23 Micah 5:2-5; Luke 1:47-55 or Ps. 80:1-7;

Heb. 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

December 30 1 Sam. 2:18-20, 26; Ps. 148; Col. 3:12-17;

Luke 2:41-52

CHRISTMAS JOY OFFERING

Through the Christmas Joy Offering,

Presbyterian congregations have long

expressed their compassion for others,

especially for those who serve the

Church. This Offering is received for the

equal benefit of the Assistance Program

of the Board of Pensions, which distrib-

utes financial assistance to eligible church

workers and their families, and racial eth-

nic schools and colleges of the PC(USA).

This offering is taken Sunday, December

23.

Congregational News

Christian Education

YOUTH CLASSES NURSERY

9:00 to 12:00 pm Children 4 and under

enjoy coloring, singing and playing in our

beautiful nursery with DeDe.

FELLOWSHIP HALL ACTIVITY TABLE

9:00 am to 10:30 am Children 4 and up can meet

Alix for low action activities—puzzles, and coloring,

with some low sugar snacks.

10:30 am to 11:30 am Children 4 and up meet their teachers in the Sanctuary and participate in the

Worship Service. After the Children’s Message they leave for these age appropriate classes.

GOD’S TRAILBLAZERS

God’s Trailblazers 4 through 7

will meet in Rooms 7 & 8

with Kathy. Dec 2nd-Christmas

ornament crafts & decorating

Christmas tree for Fellowship

Hall; Dec 9th-Making Christmas cards for

our homebound; Dec 16th-Christmas Les-

son with Vade; Dec 23rd-Christmas Canta-

ta/ Christmas coloring fun in Fellowship

Hall. Dec 30th-no class.

KREAMER’S CRUSADERS

Kreamer’s Krusaders 8 through 12 meet in

Room 6 with Matt and will discover the

bible and all its stories using the curriculum

“Top 50 Instant Bible Lessons for Elementary” which is

packed with object lessons, puzzles, games and crafts.

ANCHOR TRINITY

Anchor Trinity Junior High School through

College meet in Room 1 with Rona & will be

discussing the theme of social justice and what it

really means to be a “Good Samaritan”.

ADULT CLASSES WORD OF LIFE

Word of Life meets each Sunday at 9:00 am

in Room 5 (Lower Level Lounge). We con-

tinue a study “The Wisdom of God: Seeing Je-

sus in the Psalms and Wisdom Books”. Please

join us for lively discussions.

POLO

Parents of Little Ones (POLO) meets at 9:00

am Sunday, December 9. We meet in the

nursery for family breakfast munchies and then

head downstairs to Room 1 for our study &

discussion time.

Christian Education

Page 5 The Vision

BIBLE BRUNCH THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Join us Thursdays at 10:00 am in Fellowship Hall as Dr. Mack leads a

study on the Book of Revelation. The name of this class is “Bible Brunch”,

and it begins with Bible study at 10:00 am, followed by brunch at the

church. This is going to be fun, considering the topic of the study – the

Book of Revelation. Dr. Mack has been teaching the Book of Revelation for many years. He

studied it in seminary and in continuing education classes throughout his pastoral journey. We

will look at John’s amazing work verse-by-verse and sometimes word-by-word. This is an exten-

sive study that will go throughout the year, from October through May, and then continuing

through the next Christian year. We videotape every class and place it on our website, so that no

one misses a class. There are also copies of the slides used in pdf format there. Join Dr. Mack for

the study and the brunch or for the study online.

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Join Rev. Bill Voigt at 9:00 am in Upper Room West, Sunday, December 9

& 16 . We will explore the Roman, Persian, Hebrew and Christian cultures of

the 1st Century AD as we seek the Christ Child.

Breakfast is provided

Bible Brunch resumes Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 10:00 am in Fellowship Hall

Pastor’s Letter

When it comes to Christmas, are you looking forward

or looking up? The answer to that question depends

on our understanding of what Christmas means. As

children, we are taught to look forward to Christmas

because of the gifts, the special food, the gatherings,

the decorations, and all the trappings of the season

apart from all other celebrations in our culture. As

adults, we usually begin December by looking for-

ward to the holidays with some childlike enthusiasm,

but by the end of December many are simply looking

forward to getting through the holidays and into the

new year. There is a running joke, both in my family

and among the staff at the church, in regards to my

birthday, which is January 2. I act maudlin over the

fact that my birthday occurs on the one major

"hangover" day of the year, the day when everyone is

spent out and partied out!

The fact that we would associate Christmas with the

word "hangover'' (and I don't mean alcohol) should

not surprise us, since our consumer-oriented nation

labors to convince us every year to indulge our spend-

ing impulses and dissipate our energies on the rituals

of the season. It's interesting that the only genuine

view of Christmas before it becomes a religious, then

secular, event is the account we receive from the New

Testament before the night of Jesus' birth, and what

we see in the opening pages of Luke and Matthew's

stories are people who are not looking forward, but

looking upward.

Zachariah the priest and his wife Elizabeth had been

looking to God all of their lives for a child, and when

Zachariah was stricken speechless by the angel's an-

nouncement of the birth of their son, John the Bap-

tist, the priest continued to look to God for the day

when his speech would be restored. Mary looked up-

ward to God when the angel told her that she would

give birth to the Savior of the world, a point empha-

sized by the words of the Christmas story: "And Mary

pondered these things in her heart." Elizabeth looked

upward to God when Mary sought her out, and Eliz-

abeth felt the child in her womb leap for joy at the

sound of Mary's greeting. The Magi looked upward

to a star and trusted its leadership as they sought the

newborn king. The shepherds looked upward to the

angelic chorus, then obeyed the command to "Go, see

the babe who is born this day in Bethlehem." Joseph

looked upward to God in obeying the dream in which

he was told to not break his betrothal with Mary, but

to accept that God was sending a Savior through his

young bride. Simeon had been looking upward to

God all of his life in hopes of seeing the Messiah, and

when he held the infant Christ in his arms, he looked

upward and burst into praise at the fulfillment of his

lifelong dream.

Christmas is not about looking forward, its about

looking up. Christmas is not about looking backward,

treating the story of Christ's birth ·as if it were an his-

torical event - it's about looking up. Christmas is not a

celebration; it is not a ritual; it is not a tradition. Christ-

mas is a revelation, and from that revelation emerges a

proclamation which we are commanded to share with

the world - JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. I hope you

will look up in this Christmas of 2018 and have a

blessed holiday.

Dr. Mack

The Vision Page 6

TRINITY BOOK CLUB Trinity Book Club will not meet in

December. Join us at 6:00 pm

Monday, January 28 to discuss

“Forget Me Not” by Ellie Terry &

“Becoming” by Michelle Obama. You may

read one or both and join us then.

Page 7 The Vision

Mission News

TRINITY FOOD PANTRY

Trinity’s Food Pantry is open Sundays 12:00

to 2:00 pm and Tuesday and Thursday from

12:00 to 4:00 pm.

RESOURCE CENTER

The Resource Center is open Tuesday and

Thursday from 12:00 to 4:00 pm to help

clients with Department of Economic Security

(DES) applications and other items such as

duplicate Arizona ID cards, money on economy

bus passes and notarizing documents.

4TH ON 4TH COMMUNITY

SUPPER

We will be taking a break in December as

there are other meal options available for our

guests. We had great turnouts all year and look

forward to resuming this mission in January

One of Trinity’s missions to our community is

meals at Primavera’s Men’s Shelter. Thanks to

Tom Henderson and the other volunteers for

their hard work. To date $3583 has been spent

in 2018. 5200 people have been served breakfast

and 1200 people have been served dinner.

CUP OF WATER at the Winter 4th Avenue

Street Fair

Sign up to help “Serve God in the Heart of

the City” December 7-9 as we offer cups of

water to guests at the street fair. See Billie Holbrook on Sunday, December 2 to sign

up or contact her during the week by email

or phone.

The DEACONS will be serving food at their

hamburger stand too. Plan to have lunch

on 4th Avenue sometime that weekend.

The Mission Committee is preparing a report for Session’s discussion and vote, as to providing shel-

ter for families of asylum seekers. ICE is now releasing families (approved to seek asylum) from de-

tention to stay with a sponsor until their court hearing. We would care for them for the two to

three days it takes to arrange travel. We would start with a few families in the church apartment

and expand as the resources permit. Our hope is to start in early January. We need all the help

we can get! Volunteers would drive families to the bus station, prepare simple meals, entertain

the children, help with laundry, distribute used clothing, provide night security and much more.

Spanish skills are not required but we need Spanish speakers. If you know some Spanish, please

consider helping. Since we are working with Catholic Community Services and the Red Cross,

they can supply beds, used clothing, phones and some foods. We would still need help with ba-

sics such as new underwear (small, medium only), diapers and staple food like eggs, beans, rice

and corn tortillas.

IF YOU CAN HELP, CONTACT BILLIE HOLBROOK-668-6341 OR DOUG HOLLAND-528-5908.

2nd Sunday Mission Opportunities

Make an Impact with Helping Hands Projects!

Join us December 9 at 11:45 am during the Christmas Cantina

to make sandwiches for Casa Maria, and help put together

Water Bottles/Protein Bar Packs for Trinity’s Food Bank

The Vision Page 8

Session Notes

The November Session meeting began with a very in-teresting and informative meeting with Teresa Caven-dish and Diego Pina Lopez of Catholic Community Services (CCS). Teresa and Diego explained how CCS is providing hospitality here in Tucson for migrants seeking asylum in the United States. After Immigra-tion & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has processed these immigrants, they are released at the border and given 15 days to travel to their final destination, which may be anywhere in the country. CCS provides trans-portation from the border to various locations through Tucson, where they are greeted, given hot meals, pro-vided showers, clothing and information about the lo-cation in the U.S. where their sponsor is located. After a 2 or 3-night stay in Tucson these folks proceed to their final destination via bus or air provided by ICE. CCS met with Session in order that Trinity might con-sider providing such support to asylum seekers. Ses-sion discussed this opportunity. See more below. Mack led us in our continued study of Ben Campbell Johnson’s book, “Beyond the Ordinary: Spirituality for Church Leaders.” Our discussion centered on a church’s vision for itself. It was noted that Catholic Community Services’ presentation was an example of a strong spiritual vision for church. Trinity is a strong mission oriented church. Is mission our congregation’s vision for leading Trinity Presbyterian Church? Following are highlights of the November meeting. Long Range Development Team noted that the

fence for construction is now up. It was almost 10 years ago in January 2009, that Trinity held the first Clearness Conversations to discuss the future of the church property.

The Deacons reported that the All-Church Brunch at Reid Park on November 3rd attendance was small. They will follow-up with church families to decide whether to continue with the gathering next year.

Trinity Presbyterian Women will have 53 Ryan’s Bears ready for blessing in December.

The Congregational Nominating Committee has completed a slate of Deacons for 2019 with one vacancy remaining for the Elder slate.

Christian Education reported that the spaghetti din-ner held at Christ PC which the youth held to raise funds for their travel to Youth Triennium in July 2019 was a success.

In response to the Catholic Community Services presentation outlined above, the Mission Committee offered a motion, approved by Session that Trinity develop a shelter program for asylum seeking fami-lies. Trinity would collaborate with other churches and seek volunteers both in and outside our congre-gation. Once the program is developed, a report will be given to Session for approval before implementa-tion.

The Property Committee has approved painting the windows on University Boulevard, not to exceed $300. Final Session approval is expected when a sec-ond bid is received.

Stewardship and Finance reported that to date 43 pledging units have pledged. Resources are limited and the 2019 budget will see cuts.

The Worship Committee outlined the many activities planned for the Advent Season including the decora-tion of the Christmas tree and the sanctuary, Advent mini-concerts following worship, Handel’s Messiah, the Christmas cantata and Christmas Eve services.

The Administration & Personnel Committee contin-ued to discuss 2018 staff performance reviews con-ducted by and with the Pastor and Associate Pastor.

Finally, an exciting motion was made by Stewardship and Finance and approved by Session: That Trinity send $1,000 to the Bruce Chamberlain Choral Endowment Scholarship Fund at the U of A Foun-dation in honor of Dr. Bruce Chamberlain’s dedica-tion and work to enhance the music program at Trin-ity.

Session prayed for congregants and friends in need of special care and concern.

Liz Strong Acting Clerk of Session

Dear Trinity Friends,

Just a note to say "THANK YOU ALL FOR

THE SHOWER OF GOOD WISHES" for

my 91st!!! Please pass the thanks on to the

Deacons too. I appreciate each card but am

truly surprised by such an amazing outpouring

of thoughtfulness. THANK YOU and HAPPY

THANKSGIVING to you all. See you Sunday

Lord willing. Imogene Moser

Page 9 The Vision

Trinity Milestones

Deadline for the January 2019 VISION is

Tuesday, December 18

Please submit typewritten articles to the

church office or to: office@trinitytucson.org

January Birthdays (1—10)

December Birthdays 2 Ida Wickizer

4 Melinda Arnold

5 Errol Dimenstein

6 Elliott Koeppen - 89

9 Bonnie Stull

12 Rosalie Goll

13 John Hill

16 Shelby MacDonald

17 Heather Lind

19 Melissa Bird

19 Ann Butler

19 Janet Jones

22 Jeremy Roggow

22 Beatrice Marie Spillers

25 Charity Everitt

29 Don Myers

31 Sherry Letson

1 Amos Nsinga 2 Dr. Mack Sigmon

1 Hadija Bamurange 5 Jeanette Ryan

1 Sanani Mukadesa 9 Jeri Ogden

2 Dale McCray

December Anniversaries 17 Bobby Whipple & Sherry Letson

Honoring & Memorials In Honor of Doug Holland by Leone Mohney

In Memory of All The Saints by Leone Mohney

In Memory of Ron Uhle by Leone Mohney

The Horizon's Bible Study on

Hebrews will be December

11, at 10:00 am in Fellowship

Hall,. Join us as Dr. Mack

leads the study.

Ryan’s Bears will be blessed on

Sunday, December 9. They will

then be distributed to Our Fam-

ily Social Services, Primavera

and Arizona Children's Associa-

tion for their Christmas Giving. Approximate-

ly 53 bears were made this year with many

thanks to: Rosalie Goll, Leila Lax, Imogene

Moser, Leone Mahoney, Jane Parker, Ruth

Russell, Helen Forbes, Charity Everitt. It

takes many hands to make a bear. Thanks also

to Peter Holbrook and Maria Andrade for un-

locking doors, closets, toting bags and fixing

the coffee.

We will begin Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at

9:30 am in the Lower Lounge on making

bears for Christmas 2019.

Trinity Women

Thanks to everyone

who purchased raffle

tickets benefitting

our Resource Center

and Food Pantry.

We are “LIVE” streaming the 10:30 am service if you cannot attend. It is on

the home page of our website and is available to view during that service

time.

You can also view the Children’s Messages, Special Music and Sermons

under WORSHIP on the top toolbar.

Visit our website at www.trinitytucson.org for all the information and

events you are looking for.

Trinity Presbyterian Church

400 E. University Blvd.

Tucson, AZ 85705

520-623-2579

Office 9:00 am-5:00 pm Monday-Thursday

Trinity Website

www.trinitytucson.org

Email Addresses

office@trinitytucson.org

volunteers@trinitytucson.org

Worship & Music page 2

Classes pages 4 & 5

Mission page 7