What’s with all this chalk? I’m so glad you asked! Throughout this pandemic, we have all had to alter our lives. We worship online. We work from home. We socially distance ourselves from others. To say it has been challenging is a profound understatement. We want to help you be aware of God’s presence with you, wherever you are, at your home, even if you may live alone.
So on Epiphany Sunday (January 3) Trinity observed the centuries-old tradition of the Epiphany Blessing/Chalking of the Door. If you missed the service (which is archived online), here are some words of explanation: The Epiphany Blessing/Chalking of the Doors is indeed a centuries-old tradition that is associated with Twelfth Night celebrations and Epiphany. It is particularly popular in Great Britain and some parts of Europe but never really caught on in the USA.
Here’s a video from Pastor Larry to explain the process further!
Originally, priests would go by each home in the parish, bless the home and make a chalk sign on the door. When that became too cumbersome, chalk was blessed at church services and people would take it home, offer a prayer asking God to bless their home in the coming year and all whoenter it. They would then make a chalk sign on their own door.
The chalk you received on Sunday at our drive-up communion was blessed in worship on Epiphany Sunday. If you were unable to pick it up then, that’s OK–we’ve got it waiting for you by the office door! Just come by and pick it up. And if you are one of our out-of-town friends, we’ve mailed you a piece.
We invite you, if you would like, to ask God to bless your home in 2021 and all who reside there or enter there. Then you may use the chalk to make a sign for your home. It is traditionally placed on the door or doorpost but you can put it wherever you think appropriate (stoop, sidewalk, etc.). Make it large, make it small, it’s your home, do it however you want.
This is the traditional sign:
20 + C + M + B + 21
The numbers 20 and 21 signify the year, 2021. What look like plus signs are actually crosses signifying that this is a Christ-centered action. The letters C, M, and B actually have two meanings. The first is the latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat, which means, “Christ bless this home.” But there is also a second meaning. This is, of course, an Epiphany tradition and the three letters have also come to mean Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, the three names traditionally (but non-Biblically) with the Wise Men who came and paid homage to Jesus.
Participate in this tradition if you wish. Feel free to toss the chalk if you do not. Either way, please know that you are an important part of Trinity, we are praying for you in these challenging times and we pray that 2021 will be a year of many blessings for you.
If you have chalked your doors, we’d LOVE to see those photos! You can drop them here or use the button below to send them our way!
Introducing: Trinity’s Wednesday Night Jam and Sing-along!
Have you experienced joy and peace through music and singing?
Do you play an instrument or have a heart for singing?
Do you have kids who love to sing and dance like no one’s watching!?
If you answered a resounding “Yes!” to any of the above questions, we encourage you to tune in to our Wednesday Night Praise and Worship Jam at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom! Co-hosted by Aaron and Bryce Miller.
With the events of the last week I am heartbroken for Richmond, heartbroken for America and heartbroken for the pain and anger of our brothers and sisters of color. I cannot express the reality and the urgency of the situation better than the poignant words of our own Bishop Lewis. Please read her letter carefully and prayerfully.
May 29, 2020
A Call to Action on Systemic Racism
Dear Virginia Annual Conference:
On Memorial Day, when the world was honoring and remembering all military men and women for their sacrifice to this country, Mr. George Floyd, another African-American man, while handcuffed and in police custody, was pleading for his life. His dying statement, “I can’t breathe,” rings again in my ears just as it did in 2014 when Eric Garner used those same words as he was dying from being held in a chokehold by a New York Police Department officer.
As I have reflected since Monday, I find my emotions range from sadness to anger to disbelief. I ask myself the simple questions – “How long, Lord? How long, Lord?”
Isn’t it enough that we are fighting a pandemic and at the same time fighting life’s other challenges? Isn’t it enough that we witnessed the senseless death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, the disturbing exchange between Christian Cooper and Amy Cooper in Central Park, and the barely-mentioned Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville Metro Police Department officers executing a warrant at the wrong house in March?
When do we as children of God decide that God is calling us into action? When do we decide that mere words or social media interactions for a few days are just not enough?
When do we as children of God decide that the systemic racism in our society, whether manifested overtly or covertly, is a sin that hinders our relationship with Jesus Christ and is antithetical to the gospel?
When do we as children of God in the second largest annual conference in The United Methodist connection decide to have the crucial conversations and examine our own experiential and inherited stories of race and racism? I believe that everything in life begins and ends with the story you have accepted as truth about yourself and others. These stories shape our thinking, actions and assumptions about different races.
The lesson from these senseless deaths is that the fight to eradicate racism is not another person’s problem but humanity’s problem, and I believe that I’m not the only voice in the Virginia Annual Conference that wants to see real change and work toward the complete eradication of racism.
As the Resident Bishop of the Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, I am requesting that leaders of the Virginia faith community join in a conversation about policing with Governor Ralph Northam. The requested conversation will focus on statewide community relationships and policing training and practices.
In addition, I would like to invite the people of the Virginia Annual Conference to join me in these call to action steps:
We need informed clergy and laity to have authentic conversations about race and reconciliation in houses of worship, communities, and workplaces in which we acknowledge racism as a sin and actively pursue whatever is necessary to dismantle the injustices. One resource for starting that conversation is the Racial Justice Conversations Guide produced by the General Commission on Religion and Race;
Community policing emphasizes working with neighborhood residents as partners in creating public safety. We can offer our support and involvement with law enforcement agencies that want to work with community residents to identify problems and collaborate on implementing solutions that produce meaningful results for the community; and
We can encourage civilian participation in oversight of law enforcement in order to strengthen trust with the community. Every community should define the appropriate form and structure of civilian oversight to meet the needs of that community.
Continue to pray for the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Let us hold close the words of the Apostle Paul, who reminds us in Romans 12:21; “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (NKJV)
Peace and Blessings,
Bishop Sharma D. Lewis
cc: Governor Ralph Northam Attorney General Mark R. Herring, Esq.
As the Apostle Paul teaches us, “…there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.” (Colossians 3:11)
Armed with this knowledge, and as a people of faith, let us renounce the blasphemy of racism in all of its forms. Let us hear and see the pain of our neighbors. And let us commit ourselves to live and work to create a beloved community of justice for all.
“But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Boy, I sure hope so. As I’ve mentioned from the pulpit a number of times, waiting and patience have never been my long suit. In point of fact, the truth is rather the opposite. I like to see things happen (and on my schedule). I am often disappointed and frustrated.
I know that many of you are wondering, “When will we reopen? When will we begin in-person worship?” While I can’t give you a specific answer, I would like to let you know how things are unfolding.
Last week the Bishop released Protocols for a Plan of Return. These protocols are mandatory for all Virginia United Methodist Churches. Our protocols are in phases mirroring the executive orders of the Governor, but they are also more conservative. I want to say that I believe this is appropriate. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors and loving our neighbors must mean protecting not only the most vulnerable of our own congregation but also the community and our health care providers as well. The Bishop and her team lifted up the Three Rules of John Wesley:
Do no harm.
Do good.
Stay in love with the Lord.
What follows is my own, very incomplete, synopsis of the plan (the full Protocol is some 65 pages) with comments for Trinity. We are currently convening a Healthy Church Team (HCT) as is every Virginia UMC.
Phase 1. (Starting May 24)
Each District will have two “Pioneer Churches” that will re-open to in-person worship of no more than 25 persons and strict protocols. (Trinity is not a Pioneer Church.)
All other churches will continue online or virtual worship.
Phase 2 (Start date determined by the Bishop. I personally would not expect this before mid-June.)
Churches may reopen to in-person worship with strict Protocols that include (in part)
No more than 50 persons in worship.
Reservations must be made ahead of time.
Maintain 6 ft. Social distancing.
No singing. (No congregational singing, no choir, no soloist.)
Mask worn at all times (including clergy)
No children under age 7 present.
No fellowship time or space.
Phase 3 (Determined by the Bishop.)
A “New Normal” aligned with prevailing state guidelines.
Friends, my purpose here is to give you a sense of where we are and how we will proceed. I know you will have questions and frankly I probably do not have the answers. We will have to decide how and when we move forward under such limitations. For now, I am so appreciative of the way we as a church have responded and carry on in the midst of this pandemic. Further, let me also say that the Church of Jesus Christ has been through much worse in the past (the Roman persecution, the Black Plague, the Spanish Inquisition, the Thirty Years War, just to name a few.) We will carry on. We will love our neighbors. We will proclaim the Good News to all who will hear it. We will be the Church. Be strong. Keep the faith. And the grace and peace of Jesus the Christ be with us all.
The Trinity Foundation has approved $12,500 in scholarship awards to Trinity students who are pursuing higher education. The funds derive from five scholarship accounts established in honor or memory of: J. Stuart, Alma T., and Bruce Graham; Lee Edward Galaspie; David C. Ekey; William G. McClure; and Alysia Burton Basmajian.
Congratulations to the following recipients of this year’s scholarship awards: Jackson Dike, Clay Given, Meredith Given, Emma Jordan, Turner Jordan, Farai Madzudzo, Juliet Madzudzo, Lucy McLaughlin, Gretchen Neary, Abigail Oguich, Noah Smith, Zachary Smith, Russell Schwartz, and Abigail Taylor. Your Trinity family supports you and prays that you will continue to grow in knowledge and in faith!
These scholarships are made possible by the generous of gifts Trinity donors. If you are interested in supporting Trinity’s students, please consider a donation to one of Trinity’s scholarship funds or establishing a new fund. To learn more about the Trinity Foundation, see: https://www.trinityrva.net/documents/TrinityFoundation.pdf.
Over these weeks apart Trinity continues to work to find ways to connect.
On Easter Sunday we shared videos of our choir singing and on Sunday, April 19 we offered this sing-along video of “Because He Lives” during our worship service.
Thanks to all who participated in the singing and helped us made this possible!
