The Trinity Rector Discernment Committee continues to meet weekly and has finalized the Community Ministry Portfolio (CMP), also known as the “OTM profile,” which was posted publicly April 25th where interested clergy may apply for the Trinity rector position. The CMP may be accessed at the following website.  Please forward the link if you know of a priest and/or graduating seminarian who may want to apply:

Applications received will be considered by the committee members and candidates which seem to be the best fit for us will be referred for vetting to the Diocesan Minister for Transition.  Interviews will follow.  If you have any questions, you may contact Jim Carlock, Discernment Committee Recorder, at email address:jimcar2424@gmail.comYour prayers are very much appreciated.

A group of visitors from a nearby church walked our labyrinth with their church pastor.

They said they the peacefulness of our space noticed the sounds of the birds, the smell of the flowers as they were walking.

The members of the Outreach team thank you very much for your generosity in bringing us shelf-stable foods for us to give out to our clients. The Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank has changed its emphasis to more fresh, healthy foods and our shoppers have difficulty getting pantry staples for our clients these days. We are very happy to hand out such items as sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, carrots, cabbage, oranges, eggplant, and other fresh vegetables and fruits. And we are usually able to get meat and bread and sometimes milk, butter, or orange juice. However, some of our clients are homeless living in tents or in their cars, and a big sweet potato or a pound of ground beef doesn’t do much for you unless you have a way to cook it.
 
The craziness of our current economy is manifesting itself in our clientele who come for food. We set a record in April, feeding about 185 families – a usual month has been about 140 families. Last week we had just about run out of food, including virtually all of our canned goods, peanut butter, pasta and sauce, tuna, and other such staples. Then a delivery person from Walmart showed up with a generous order a parishioner had ordered to be delivered to us. Then a few minutes later a parishioner pulled up with a carload of all kinds of staple foods. We happened to have some of our regular patrons there and we quickly organized the group to unload the groceries and then put them in the proper place in our cabinets. Our small work area was buzzing with activity, a true community of love, and once again, we were able to fill some bags for our clients to take home.
 
We are also seeing an increase in requests for financial assistance. Due to limited funds in our budget, generally a bill must be significantly overdue – usually with a disconnect notice –before we help with $100 toward the balance. We pay the utility company directly and help a client no more often than once every six months. We confine our assistance area for this money to residents of Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Fredericksburg. Even with these limitations, we have written checks for about $13,000 in the first four months of this year.
 
The need in our area is huge and growing. We so appreciate the open hearts of Trinitarians who help us meet this need. And we thank the Vestry and our many parishioners who contribute food and money; Michele for keeping us straight with our paperwork; and the many dedicated volunteers who work weekly in the Outreach program to keep it going.
 
Claire & Brenda