Trinity’s Halloweenie Roast and Fall Festival will be Sunday, October 24 from 4-6 PM.
Trinity Kids Families – Join us for our fall festival outside in the front parking lot from 4-6 PM. We will have Gaga ball, sidewalk chalk, and hot dogs for dinner. Jonathan the juggler will perform at 5 PM.
This week Trinity responded to an urgent call from the Richmond District Office asking if we could house a team of volunteers from Team Rubicon. Team Rubicon (teamrubiconusa.org) is an international non-profit disaster response organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emerging response teams. Team Rubicon currently maintains a roster of 130,000+ volunteers.
Team Rubicon is currently coordinating with the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and other organizations to meet the humanitarian need in the Afghan Refugee Resettlement effort. Their teams are supporting logistics, the management, and distribution of donated goods at participating bases across the country including Ft. Pickett and Quantico. The teams staying at Trinity will be expanding the effort to Ft. Lee by processing donated goods at the Salvation Army Warehouse (the old J.C. Penny at Regency Square.) Teams will be housed in Trinity Hall, Oct. 15-31.
Thank you to all who prepared meals or helped make Team Rubicon feel at home while staying at Trinity.
WATCH the 2021 Dillard Forum: Theology & Theater.
The arts are important. They captivate and inspire. Our 2021 Dillard Forum will feature Dr. Charles A. Gillespie, Assistant Professor of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield CT. With a background in performing arts as well as in theology, Dr. Gillespie is uniquely positioned to offer an engaging and thought-provoking look at both our faith and belief as well as popular expression and art.
WATCH the 2022 Dillard Forum: Justice in Food.
The 2022 Dillard Forum is excited to bring Dr. Norbert Wilson to Trinity November 6-7. This Forum will focus on food issues in our country and will address equity in access to food, food waste, and the ramifications of our choices in what we eat.
Dr. Wilson is the Professor of Food, Economics, and Community at Duke Divinity School and is an ordained vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church USA. With several degrees in agricultural economics, he has spent his career involved in food policy with the underlying premise that food is a basic human right. Mark your calendars now for this important event!
On August 31, we delivered 117 bags/boxes of donated school supplies to Oak Grove Elementary School. As the virtual school year came to an end last spring, the teachers gave us a list of items they knew they would need for their classrooms this fall. Through your incredible generosity, we were able to provide all the requested items!
This year we had both our traditional red apples at the church and digital apples available for “picking”. There were more than 90 individuals and families, including members of the Swahili French congregation, who selected apples and donated supplies.
Teachers have been working in the building this week organizing their classrooms and working on plans to welcome 600+ students back into the building next week. Last year was a totally virtual year for Oak Grove and next week will be the first time since the early spring of 2020 that students will be in the building.
The staff and teachers know that this will be a challenging year. The pandemic continues to ravage the community, Oak Grove students are not old enough to receive the vaccine, and students are well below grade level academically.
While we have traditionally volunteered in the building, providing weekly tutors, classroom aides, and reading buddies, we will not be able to volunteer inside the building during the academic day at least as the school year begins. We will let you know when this changes and of the opportunities available.
Bob Argabright, however, will continue his fantastic work in Bellemeade Park and with his Saturday Academy. Bob welcomes volunteers and can be reached at 804-310-1080 or at rargabright@me.com if you are interested in finding ways to help in his programs.
John Wesley’s belief that education is an essential aspect of salvation inspired early Methodists and continues to inspire us today as we strive to make a difference in the lives of our students. The window of time to help elementary students succeed is narrow and success in achieving academic goals during elementary school years can help change the compass of a child’s life. Trinity has partnered with Oak Grove Elementary since 2004 and we have been able to follow the success of our students through high school, college, and beyond!
Thank you for your overwhelming generosity and for being a part of such a wonderfully caring faith community.
Written by: Karen Adams for the Oak Grove Team
Our Student Center Construction has finished up and we’ve begun construction on our third floor for our new Trinity Kids area!