Dear Trinity,
ADVENT (which begins in three Sundays) is a time set aside by the church to help us get ready for the mystery that is coming. It is easy to walk right through a mystery, and hardly even be aware of it! Many of us long to enter more deeply into the mystery of the incarnation, and Advent is a time that we can set aside to do this very thing so that we are not caught unawares on Christmas Day - wishing we had been more attentive along the way.
There won’t be Godly Play classes during this season, but instead all the children will meet downstairs during the sermon of the 10am service for special Advent lessons. Advent activities for young and old to take part after second service downstairs. We love our tradition of getting ready in community, whether it is making wreaths, praying, singing, fasting or remembering those who need help this season.
More details will be shared in the following two weeks about new prayer booklets, advent activities, and how we’re making an effort to be present to you this season.
Lessons and Carols - Join the Choir
It's that time of year.... calling all singers to re-assemble the Christmas Choir! We are looking for men and women (teenage+) to sing in December. This year, rehearsals will be Dec. 1, 8, & 15 (Sundays) after the second service.
On Sunday 12/22, the choir will lead music for both services and finally on 12/24 at 11pm the choir will lead the Lessons & Carols Christmas eve service. Questions? contact Hannah Pick: hannahmontzingo@gmail.com // (206) 354-2947 or simply show up to rehearsal!
Last Sunday's Missions Pop Up
How to Help Danish Daniel, Zubaida, Mary, and Salvia Find a Home in Canada
Two years ago, Linda and I shared with the church that we were trying to help Danish Daniel and his family, who are Pakistani refugees living in Thailand, immigrate to Canada. Linda and I lived in Thailand from 2014-2019 and we have many friends in Bangkok, including many refugees whom we met at the Anglican Church we attended.
Danish and his family fled Pakistan in 2014 because of death threats and abuse from religious extremists. They went to Thailand in the hope they could get official refugee status from the United Nations office in Bangkok, but they were unable to do so. They cannot legally work, and they live in constant fear of being caught by Thai police and taken to the Immigration Detention Center, a horrible, overcrowded, and dangerous place, especially for women and children. It is worse than any prison.
Take a moment and think about what it means to be homeless, stateless, faceless, hungry, despised, and rejected.
But there is good news. Psalm 146: 7-9 reads:
He upholds the cause of the and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked…
Linda and I have spent the last two years trying to find a church in Canada that will sponsor Danish and his family through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program. This very effective program has resettled thousands of refugees in Canada. We have had the privilege of helping five families, four from Pakistan and one from Sri Lanka, move to Canada, and they are all thriving.
And we have good news; Refuge Church in Langley, B.C. has agreed to sponsor Danish and his family. To sponsor a refugee family a church agrees to support the family for a minimum of one year by helping the family find a home to rent, schools for the kids, employment, access to health care, and any other assistance that will help this family thrive in their new home.
Refuge Church is also required to raise funds to guarantee financial support for one year. The cost to sponsor Danish and his family, will be approximately $38,400 USD. Linda and I told Refuge Church that we would raise funds to contribute 50% of the sponsorship cost. This is $19,200. We need to raise $9600 now and the other $9600 will be due in 9-12 months.
If you would like to contribute, you can give to the Trinity “World” Fund. This is a secure, dedicated fund to support global partnerships, pilgrimages, and missions trips. Contributions are tax-deductible. You can do this online on the Trinity website.
If you'd like to write a check to Trinity Church, include “World Fund” in the memo line and send the check to Trinity Church, 535 Okanogan Avenue, Wenatchee, WA 98801. You also can give the check to me, Linda, or Susannah Kellogg after the service. We will then give the checks to Trinity for the “World Fund”. Please call Gordon or Linda at 509-668-1901 for more information.
Thank you,
Gordon and Linda Congdon
Bulletin Board
Our bulletin board is a place where you can express a need to our church body (ex: housing, items needed, jobs wanted, etc.) so that others can reach out and respond. Have a submission? Please email hello@trinitywenatchee.org for us to review.
We are looking for someone to plow snow in our parking lot this winter. We pay for this service. If you know of someone reliable and reasonable cost-wise, please call or text Mike Andreini at 509-881-0523.
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