June 2022

Unraveled
 
Starting on June 12 we will begin a new series in worship with the help of the creatives and artists of A Sanctified Art. We will spend 12 weeks exploring the theme Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Fall Apart. The music and preaching will explore this theme, there will also be a devotional study guide for you to use at home, a crafting opportunity, and other visual elements will be incorporated into the chancel and bulletin. In the last two years so many things that seemed firm, certain, and solid now appear frayed, worn, or unraveled. I am looking forward to exploring the ways in which God has been with God’s people in times of uncertainty and unraveling. I am hopeful through these stories we will perceive God’s presence with and among us.
 

You’ll see the logo for this theme a lot the next three months. I think the logo is seeking to image the feeling one might have when things fall apart. For me, the word “unraveled” holds a lot of anxious, exhausted energy. It reminds me of someone trying desperately to hold everything together on their own while threads begin to wear and break. The stitches zigzag while the thread frenetically takes the shape of each letter. As the word comes to an end, the thread begins to unravel, losing its tightly woven, bound shape.
 
As I’ve begun to explore this theme, I’ve determined that I mostly identify with ‘unraveled’ as a state of being. ‘Unraveled’ suggests that at one point I was together or whole, but now have come undone. As someone who likes to have things together and to maintain control, ‘unraveled’ feels like a negative word. I connect it to feelings of anxiety, confusion, exhaustion, and fear. If I’m honest with myself, however, I think the notion that I’ve ever really had anything truly together, much less myself, is an illusion. When I frame things this way, then being unraveled, or coming undone, could be a practice in trust and much needed release. It’s possible that when we are unraveled, we recognize our own humanity and utter dependence on God. Sometimes we are wound too tightly, bound by our preconceived notions and narrow ideas, and we need to be undone in order to be woven back together into the shape we were created to take.
 
One more introductory thought. Each day, I become more aware of how tightly interwoven our lives are with the people with whom we overlap. Whether in person or online, we are dependent and interdependent on the health, wellness, kindness, joy, stability, self-confidence, and selflessness or those around us. I have for the last year curtailed the amount of news and social media with which I allow myself to interact. The constant feed of news and opinion often leans to the negative. For-profit information machines know that the ‘CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!?’ factor is paramount to surviving the pace of trending stories and viral videos. Negativity catches people’s attention more quickly. But, negativity is what tears us apart. I am excited to explore this Unraveled theme because it feels so closely tied to the disconnect I see between the world of hate and anger that is portrayed online, and the kind, generous, and joyful people that I interact with at Trinity and beyond, people who regularly overcome adversity with an insatiable wealth of positivity. The sense of fabric and weaving, the tangible idea of strings overlapping one another, draw me into the strength depicted in the biblical texts we will be exploring.
 
Friends, I cannot wait to dive in and see how these ideas resonate with you.
 
Peace,
--Tony
 

 

 

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PENTECOST

THE PENTECOST OFFERING HELPS OUR YOUTH BEGIN LIFE WITH A STRONG START—A SOLID FOUNDATION OF FAITH FORMED IN THE FIRST THIRD OF LIFE, FROM CHILDHOOD THROUGH YOUNG ADULTHOOD.

Each year on Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church. The Holy Spirit remains with us still, connecting us with the church of the past, continuing to inspire the church of today, and pointing us to the church of the future. Each year, this celebration is marked by receiving the Pentecost Offering which nurtures the faith of those who are the church to come. In the Book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah shares the statement: “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, … to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). These striking, comforting words reminded the Israelites that, despite their experience of the present, God’s gesture, thoughts and plans for them — and for us — are peaceful, abundant and hopeful. At Pentecost, we celebrate that God offers more than we can plan. Our gifts to the Pentecost Offering connect with God’s hope and future, supporting ministries with children, youth and young adults by building a life of faith.

 

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SEA HAVEN FOR YOUTH 

Located in Myrtle Beach, but serving Horry County, Sea Haven for Youth helps to promote healing and recovery for at risk or homeless youth ages thirteen to twenty-one. Through the use of services such as temporary emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling, case management, referrals for appropriate services, and aftercare, Sea Haven for Youth helps to promote social and emotional wellbeing of each individual.
 
The program is divided up into four separate parts: an emergency shelter, transitional living, street outreach, and safe place. Emergency shelter is for youth ages thirteen to seventeen and is a residential home in which short-term living is available. Transitional living is for youth ages sixteen to twenty-one where the organization provides free case management and life skills instruction. Street Outreach is for youth ages sixteen to twenty-one where the organization provides educational, informational and prevention support in order to reduce the risks for runaway youths. Safe Place is an outreach program that provides safe places within the community that partner with other businesses such as fire stations, bus stations, and other public buildings that offer youth the ability to get immediate help within their communities. Youth homelessness is rising so please give generously today and help a displaced youth find a home.