Meet the AmeriCorps: Daniel

Daniel Akamine is an AmeriCorps member from Hawaii. Serving primarily with the Bobcat Learning Center at Jason Lee, Daniel teachers Enrichment Classes, tutors students, and supports the AVID classes. Daniel is a recent graduate of the University of Puget Sound, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Get to know Daniel more by reading of his time with Trinity so far.

I had never worked with middle school students before my AmeriCorps position at Trinity. My anxious assumption about these students stemmed from my own experiences as a 13 year old, when my friends and I enjoyed making our math and choir teacher cry. I assumed middle school students would be an intimidating and rambunctious group.

My expectations proved somewhat true. On my first day, I got into a argument with a student because they wanted to leave school early even though they were signed up for our after school programming. The interaction left me feeling like a failure, and I wondered if I was cut out to work with middle school students. As time went on, I continued to have similar interactions with students, but instead of failures, they were lessons. I realized these interactions could be a shout for attention; when students opened up to me about their personal lives, much of how they acted in school reflected the daily struggles they faced. I eventually learned that teaching middle school students is like a balancing act. You need to provide them with structure and rigidity, while simultaneously gives them slack and a nurturing environment.

I am continuously educating myself on how to better my approach my students facing difficult situations. This job keeps me on my feet and humble because not everyday is a good day for the students and I, but even the bad days are a catalyst as I continue to develop my communication and teaching style. The wisdom is in the work.

Rod Nash, Director of Outreach here at Trinity, recently observed Daniel while he worked at the Learning Center.

At the Learning Center we combine daily homework and study sessions with various enrichment activities for our Jason Lee students.  Last week I had the pleasure of watching Daniel Akamine lead his cooking enrichment activity.  15 or so students filled up the staff room at Jason Lee Middle School while Daniel worked with them to prepare tacos for their enrichment that day.  It was exciting to see Daniel’s skill and ability to work with all different types of students while guiding them toward a common goal of … well … tacos.  A worthy goal, to be sure!!   I could not be more proud of Daniel’s work with all our Learning Center students this year, and I know they are incredibly lucky to have him to work with each day after school.     

Thank you, Daniel, for being a part of the team!

Your support of the Trinity Outreach Programs, including the upcoming Outreach Auction, help us keep the incredible AmeriCorps staff on hand. We invite you to support this program and others, by registering for the Outreach Auction today!

Meet the AmeriCorps: Hayley

This year, Trinity is grateful to host Hayley Uliana as a second-year AmeriCorps member. Serving primarily with TAP, Hayley also oversees the Bryant Late Start program at Trinity, and serves in the AVID classes at Jason Lee with her AmeriCorps peers. Hayley comes to us from Hawaii, by way of Azusa Pacific University, where she received a BA in Philosophy, with a minor in English. Read on to hear about her time with Trinity so far.

“Having a year under my belt with the TAP program has been a wonderful thing. I have learned more than I could ever have thought to from teachers, coworkers, supervisors, and the kiddos themselves. I am humbled to assist in classrooms at Jason Lee and Bryant Montessori, seeing the teachers go through lesson plans and interact with students so smoothly, facing each challenge with quick wit, compassion, adaptability, and tact. No one is perfect, but even in their mistakes I see these teachers offering grace to themselves and being willing to admit when they are wrong.

“Our students at TAP give me the chance to practice the values I witness; compassion, humility and adaptability. I’m glad they have patience with me too; they either have the grace of a saint or the memory of a goldfish because Lord knows I make mistakes I don’t expect to recover from. But the kiddos are there the next day; smiles beaming and mouths running on about how they were the fastest runner during kickball. There are so many things I have learned and even more that I still will learn while working here at TAP. I am grateful the past year and a half of opportunities; from playing pranks on Roderic with my partner in crime, Rachel, to reading an entire lesson with a student in our best Liza Minnelli impressions.“

From TAP Coordinator, Rachel Boisen:

“I have had the pleasure of working with Hayley for nearly 1.5 years, and could draft an encyclopedia of her merits. But, instead of that worthy venture, let me tell you one of the greatest differences she has made at TAP these last six months.

“By far, the greatest struggle TAP faced last year was finding sufficient volunteers to tutor with our students. Our program is structured with the intent that three days a week, each student benefits from one-on-one literacy tutoring. Last year, we couldn't manage it. Overzealous student recruitment, and the necessary departure of several faithful volunteers left us with an unfortunate imbalance in our programming. The remaining team bore the burden well, but we clearly were not operating under optimal conditions.

“When 2016-2017 program planning began, Hayley took up the cause. In the short weeks between beginning her second Service Year and the start of TAP, she recruited enough volunteers to meet our program needs and even expand to include additional children. As time has progressed, she continues to spearhead tutor recruitment and training to ensure our students receive the support they need.”

“All of our students are progressing admirably through the program, making impressive gains that would not have been possible without the individualized tutoring Hayley's recruitment allows for. It continues to be a privilege to have her on the team, filling important gaps and assisting in creating a more sustainable program.’

Thank you Hayley for being a part of the team! You support of the Trinity Outreach Programs, including the upcoming Outreach Auction, help us keep the incredible AmeriCorps staff on hand. We invite you to support this program and others, by registering for the Outreach Auction today!

The Men's Retreat - in his words

“A great time to build deeper relationships with other men from Trinity.”

While the stereotype of the American male is a taciturn beast who grunts occasionally when prodded, the men of Trinity break that mold. In describing their annual weekend retreat away, Trinity's men are voluble and sound almost giddy with a bit of joy thrown in. And they've already planned next year's Men's Retreat: January 19 - 21, 2018. These guys are serious about getting away together.

Listen to them describe their retreat . . . in their words

“Great time to let go of the daily grind and just have some good old fashioned fun while allowing space to make deeper connections with other guys.”

"Each year the Men's Retreat seems to get better and better, probably because guys just know each other better and we build on the past years' momentum.  I'm really grateful for all the men who make it a priority to be there, and as someone said last year, the Retreat really makes Sunday mornings (and our whole church) feel totally different.  Thanks to everyone who helped make this one happen!"

““There isn’t a better group of 38 guys around to share a weekend with! Great time to get to know and be known.”

What do I like best about the Men's Retreat? Let me give you a list: 

1. Fellowship gained from laughter, open and playful competition, becoming more closely united.  

2. Spiritual growth as co-equals in spiritual fellowship with each other and Jesus' inter mediating our unity.

3. The accumulative affect from the efforts of each leader's guided focus. Members of our small groups being able to reveal ever increasing parts of our personal stories. ...I came home off a personal "mountaintop" experience.

Trinity Youth at Peace

Less than a week after we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., Trinity youth visited our neighbors at Peace Lutheran Church. Here, they had the opportunity to learn more about the unfolding story of the Hilltop neighborhood, and the differences that churches like Peace and Trinity have made in bringing life to the vision of a thriving neighborhood, where "All Lives are Precious."

Trinity Teens participated in worship, met with Peace youth directory, Brendan Nelson, and heard about the ways racism, lack of affordable housing, and lack of access to healthy food and quality education are affecting the lives of real people, and what youth in the church can do about it.

Thank you, Peace Lutheran and Brendan, for hosting our Trinity Youth as we continue to pursue reconciliation in the Hilltop together.

Thanks to Dorothy, a beloved intern!

If you've been around TAP or Tony's Kitchen over the last few months, then you probably met Dorothy!

Dorothy has been serving an internship program at Trinity's Afterschool program as a part of her studies at Tacoma Community College's, Human Services program. Between her knack for wrangling kids, and a commitment to serving our community with dignity, she was an important part of the team. Even though her internship requirements are completed for TCC, Dorothy has fallen in love with these programs this fall, and will continue to serve on the Tony's Kitchen team in the new year.

Thank you Dorothy for all your hard work, and thank you TCC for sending her our way!

The Advent Family Devotional Returns

Back in 2014, Julia Corbett, our Children, Youth, and Families Director, wrote an Advent Family Devotional Booklet to be used each day in Advent. It was so popular that we have brought it back for your use this year as well.  Your family's nativity set is the focal point for the devotions.  To download a pdf of the booklet, press the button below. 

HERE: Prayer Vigil

Last month, Trinity hosted a 24 hour Prayer Vigil, lifting up our church, our ministry, and the HERE Campaign in a full day of prayer.

This time gave our community an opportunity to engage in expressive prayer through different mediums like art, sparkle jars, and images for reflection. While the experience was unfamiliar to many participants, Dustin Haferbecker and his boys found the time to meaningful. Said Dustin,

“I went with my older boys (8 and 6), and wasn’t sure how they would do. Before I knew it, an hour had gone by and we were all engaged. On our way out, the host asked the boys how it was, and my oldest responded, “an emotional experience”. As we pulled out of the parking lot my 6 year old asked if we could do it again soon. When we got home, they ran into the house before me and said to Jenny that it was “awesome,” and that she would have loved it. It was creative, well planned, and beautifully put together. It felt sacred, and it was.”

As we continue to move forward with our HERE Campaign, we invite you to continue the ministry of the Prayer Vigil by creating a Circle of Prayer around our space. When you arrive at Trinity and when you leave, you are invited to walk around the building and ask God to bless the church and the vision of the HERE Campaign.

"Dear People of Faith..." Recap

On the evening of Tuesday, October 27th, Trinity was honored to welcome Dr. Jen Harvey, professor of religion at Drake University, for a workshop entitled, "Dear People of Faith ... Now What?"  The workshop was coordinated in partnership between Trinity, Pacific Lutheran University, Bethany Presbyterian, First United Methodist and Tacoma College Ministry, and focused on issues of racial justice, reconciliation and reparation in the United States.  

A group of 80-90 attendees from the Tacoma/Seattle area gathered to hear Dr. Harvey’s thoughts on what it means for 21^st century Christians to not only seek racial reconciliation in our current national climate, but to change that paradigm by considering the work that is required in true reconciliation - something that Dr. Harvey suggests is seldom considered in this conversation.  

We are grateful for the many attendees who took time out of their schedules to engage in this critical conversation and to taking seriously Dr. Harvey’s charge that we, the Church, have real work to do in the area of racial repair on our way to true reconciliation.

Dr. Harvey’s teaching, writing and public speaking focus on encounters of religion and ethics with race, gender, spirituality, justice and other social issues. She is also an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches USA and author of Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation and Whiteness and Morality: Pursuing Racial Justice through Reparations and Sovereignty.

 

Congratulations to the Learning Center!

The Raikes Foundation of Seattle recognizes youth programming effort as among best in Pierce County.

A Seattle foundation has honored Trinity Presbyterian Church's middle school Learning Center program with an award for Trinity's ongoing commitment to youth program quality. Members of Trinity Presbyterian's staff were presented the 2016 Youth Program Quality Initiative Pinnacle Award at an event hosted by the Raikes Foundation on the evening of October 25th, at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.

The award, accompanied by a $500 gift, acknowledges that Trinity Presbyterian Church's middle school Learning Center program stands out among other youth development programs in Pierce County.

The award was presented by Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Program Officer, Holy Chea, and accepted on behalf of Trinity Presbyterian by Learning Center Coordinator, Jaquette Easterlin, and Trinity Director of Outreach, Rod Nash.

Chea said, "Trinity has been selected as this year's 2016 Raikes Foundation Pinnacle Award recipient by demonstrating high quality scores in 3 out of 4 domains the Pyramid of Program Quality over time. This past year, Trinity's program staff have worked hard to create opportunities for youth to lead and also prioritize time for youth to reflect and make choices during program. The Raikes Foundation Pinnacle awards are awarded to organizations that demonstrate a commitment to creating a culture that elevates quality and embeds quality practices for all of their youth programs. These organizations/programs also produce high quality scores and progress data over time, and involves staff at all levels into the continuous quality improvement process."

Learning Center Coordinator, Jaquette Easterlin, remarked, "This award is a reflection of our commitment not only to program quality, but to our youth, their families, and our community. We are engaging youth by providing them with opportunities to lead in our leadership class and the after-school program. Students become invested in day-to-day tasks through leadership opportunities. They are managing the Bobcat Learning Center Store, providing staff with student feedback to improve program, and planning our Family Nights. We are not done yet! This award is only a pit stop on our journey to even greater program quality."

"This is very much a shared award," said Director of Outreach, Rod Nash. "We absolutely could not do what we do at the Learning Center without the ongoing partnership of Peace Community Center and the Tacoma School District, specifically Jason Lee middle school. This award highlights what can truly be accomplished when a community comes together on behalf of its young people." 

Last year, over 200 students participated in Trinity Presbyterian Church's after-school programs.

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation is committed to building a vibrant, compassionate and engaged Pierce County. They work with individuals, nonprofits, businesses and community partners to promote effective philanthropy and connect people who care with causes that matter.

What We Need Is HERE House Parties

What you need is here. And what you need to know about Trinity’s Capital Campaign can be learned at one of the upcoming HERE House Parties. We invite you to join us at the HERE House Parties for refreshments, fellowship, and enrichment. This series of small gatherings will celebrate why we call Trinity home, while also providing an opportunity to learn more about our building’s future. Leaders in the congregation will present more information about the capital campaign, including our goals, anticipated challenges, and member involvement. A purposeful component of the HERE House Parties will also be to create a space for dialog, questions, and feedback. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of how the plans for our building fit into the church’s mission and ministry. No financial commitments will be asked for or received at these meetings.  

For a list of dates and times of HERE House Parties click here. To makereservations to a specific HERE House Party, click here or visit the HERE table in the Fellowship Hall of the church after the Sunday worship service.  HERE House parties will be offered from October 11th to November 6th. Don't delay!  Sign up today!

October at Trinity: Seeking the Shalom of the City

Transformational Presence Month 2016

Since October of 2011, the term “Transformational Presence” has been a guiding term for Trinity’s ministry posture here in the Bryant Neighborhood.  Trinity strives to be an authentic faith community whose presence not only brings relief and compassion to those in crisis, but hope through our efforts around education, advocacy, and authentic relationships with our neighbors.  In all that we do as a community, as we learn from one another and step into each others’ lives, our prayer is that mutual transformation takes place among us all. During the month of October, we focus on our commitment here at Trinity to live out this calling ... here in this place ... together.  

This October we will be taking a month-long look at Jeremiah 29:4-7 and God's call to seek the peace (shalom) of the city. Each week a different preacher will share the good news of what this reality has meant in their lives.

Bryant Late Start at Trinity

Once again, Trinity is offering childcare for students in Kindergarten - Fifth Grade on the "Late Start Days" in the 2016-17 school year.  Late Start is every second Wednesday of the month during the acadmic year. 

Students can be dropped off at Trinity after 9 AM. Trinity Staff will walk the students to school at 11:30 AM.

Our staff supervise fun activities and free time for the students, in addition to a light snack.

We have space for 25 students. 

TO REGISTER

Contact hayley@tpctacoma.org or call 253-272-8819 to let us know you're coming!

Cost is $10 for the first student, and $5 for each additional student in the family. Payable via check or cash when you drop off your student.

Click here to download the registration form. Return in advance, or turn in Wednesday morning.

B2SN 2016

Backpacks, bicycles, and cotton candy. This was Back 2 School Night, 2016.

150 students attended B2SN on Sept. 6, 2016, receiving backpacks, school supplies, bicycles, and cotton candy in honor of the start of the school year.

Every person found themselves cheerfully greeted by Trinity's Iris Jackson at the front door, before a team of AmeriCorps volunteers with the Northwest Leadership Foundation distributed bags of carefully collected and sorted school supplies.

Next, families were invited to the parking lot for hot dogs, chips, and cotton candy. Additionally, a collection of community organizations had tables offering resources for our Hilltop Neighbors. The rainless skies allowed all our guests to enjoy each other's company in peace, while kids puttered around on their new bikes and tried on the new helmets. 

Pat's Closet was also open, offering it's usual fair of clothes, as well as a collection of school uniforms. And the volunteers at the Neighborhood Health Clinic provided 13 sports physicals and served three other patients throughout the evening.

This year's school supplies were made possible by our partners at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Puget Sound Christian Center, the Salvation Army, and generous contributions by the good people of Trinity. 

Additionally, we'd like to thank the various Community Organizations who offered resources to our neighbors: Community Healthcare, United Healthcare, Food Mania with WSU, Tacoma Housing Authority, and the Bryant PTO.

Finally, none of this would have been possible without our incredible team of volunteers. Special thanks goes to the fantastic School Supply Sorters: Stephanie and Lucia Ayer, Jaquette Easterlin, and the Trinity Youth; our Grill Masters: Paul Duke and Harlan Shoop; Sue Shoop for overseeing the rest of the food; Dre and Gabby Frank, who brought their cotton candy machine; the 15 AmeriCorps who comprise the Urban Leaders in Training with the Northwest Leadership Foundation; and the team of doctors, nurses, and front desk people with the Trinity Health Clinic.

Once again, Trinity is so grateful to all the phenomenal people who made this possible. We look forward to next year and the opportunity to continue these beautiful partnerships.

11 Weeks in the Hospital

Trinity's Director of Outreach, Rod Nash, spent most of Summer 2016 on leave, participating in a Clinical Pastoral Education internship at St. Joseph's Hospital. Here, Rod offers us a reflection of his experience.

For 11 weeks this summer, from early June to mid-August, I served as a Chaplain Intern at St. Joseph's Hospital here in Tacoma. I was part of a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) class alongside five other Chaplain Interns from all over the country. Together, with the guidance of our supervisor, we processed our collective and individual experiences serving as hospital chaplains. The 11 weeks were, as you might imagine, intense, challenging and tiring, as well as encouraging, eye-opening, and personally revealing about my own growing sense of pastoral identity.

I met daily with patients and their families. In those meetings I encountered people dealing with everything you can imagine - from emergencies to minor surgeries, to imminent death, and even death itself. I talked and prayed with people in those challenging places, and accompanying patients and families in their questions and their grief and their grasp for hope. I participated in more sacred spaces and conversations than I could possibly recall, and felt immensely privileged to be there for them.

The hospital is an especially vulnerable place. For many people, it is a place that brings up the greatest human fears; those of pain, loss, suffering, and death. Being a patient puts immense stress on individuals and their relationships. While I saw many people struggling mightily in the face of their fears, I also saw inspiring resilience, courage, and faith. This dynamic of vulnerability produced deep, rich conversations and connections with people throughout my entire summer experience.

One of my greatest takeaways from the summer was realizing the tendency that I have have to want to bring people out of the depth of whatever pain they may be facing. I deeply desire to give others hope and help them focus on the positive in their situation. However, in meeting with people day in and day out, I soon realized that what people need most in these situations is not someone who is going to try and make it all better (as if I could), but someone who is willing to accompany them in their darkness and to sit with them in the depth of their pain. Giving a voice to hope, especially the hope we have in Christ, is still vitally important, but I learned to allow the moments of verbally expressing that hope to come in their own time, usually after sitting with someone in their pain for a long while.

I'm very grateful to Trinity for allowing me the time off this summer to take part in this CPE experience, and and to the Olympia Presbytery for making it fiscally possible.

Meet the Staff: Iris Jackson

Iris Jackson has been part of the Trinity Community for almost 15 years. Recently, Tim Morton, a member of Trinity's Personnel Team, had a chance to sit down with Iris over breakfast.  Here is a excerpt of his thoughts from his time with Iris.

What a great way to start the morning - spending time with Iris Jackson over breakfast. I complimented Iris on her Cleveland Cavaliers Jean jacket, but she admitted that she wasn't a huge NBA fan, but does like LeBron James. Iris is a fun and jovial person. She has a great passion for people and their needs. 

Born in Philadelphia, Iris comes from a large family with nine brothers and sisters. Her family  moved often during her childhood because her dad was in the military. Iris lived both overseas, moving to various parts of the world, and all over the United States. Ultimately her family settled in Tacoma, and this has been “home” ever since Iris was sixteen years old.

Iris and her husband Barry have two grown children. The Jackson family have attended Shiloh Baptist Church, but Iris has been a part of both communities. Initially Iris worked with youth at the Boys & Girls Club. Then she served Trinity as the Nursery attendant, caring for all of Trinity's babies (no small task). Later she and her husband, Barry, worked as Trinity's custodians until they retired in 2014. 

One role that Iris has not given up, is her integral work on Thursday nights at Pat's Closet, Trinity's Clothing Bank ministry. Iris not only is the staff member in charge of the Clothing Bank on Thursday nights, but she has begun providing simple meals to those who come with their clothing needs.  

Concerning Trinity, Iris states, "I like the dynamics of the church" particularly, Iris is drawn to the youth.  Iris wants to be present to the youth, especially during the rough times of adolescence. Her own home has often been a haven for troubled youth in the neighborhood. Iris would love to see more people at Trinity join in the work on Thursdays and Fridays at Pat's Closet. 

We discussed many of Iris' ideas and dreams for ministry at Trinity. Iris believes that deeper integration between Trinity and the Bryant neighborhood is crucial for both to prosper. Perhaps as Trinity's desire for church renovation comes to fruition, Iris' dreams of an expanded ministry with and to the neighborhood will become a reality.  

Creation Care Camp

What has animals, art, and activities? Trinity's Creation Care Camp!

June 28th - 30th, 2 interns, 6 volunteers, 20 youth volunteers, and 36 children came together for Trinity's first VBS style camp. Creation Care Camp encouraged kids to enjoy creation, cherish creation, and co-create with God. The jam-packed mornings were full of songs, dancing, games, art, and science! Children crafted beautiful, fish-shaped wind socks, looked through microscopes, and visited real live animals at our own petting zoo!

A special thanks to all our incredible volunteers! This multi-faceted week of fun would not have been possible without your commitment to our kids, and God's glorious creation!

Meet the Staff: Nate Nolting

Nate Nolting has been the Custodian at Trinity since November, 2014. Recently, Tim Morton, of the Personnel Committee, had the chance to sit down with Nate and hear a little of his story. Here are his thoughts.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Nate Nolting, the Trinity Custodian, over a cup of coffee. Nate thoroughly enjoys his work at Trinity, having a history of cleaning churches and church camps.

Nate grew up in Pullman, Washington. His father was a Lutheran pastor and his mother was a public school teacher. A sports fanatic, Nate enjoyed living in a university town and attending the many sporting events at Washington State University. Additionally, WSU provided him with a number of mentors who invested in his life.

When it came time to pick his own college, Nate left Washington for Valparaiso University in Indiana, where he studied Youth, Family, and Educational Ministry. There, Nate met his wife Kia, a nurse practitioner working in urgent care.

In his early career, Nate spent time in the church as a youth ministry intern, youth director, and camp director. A lot of his time went to cleaning camps and churches, just as he cleans Trinity now. But he enjoys the solitude of the task, listening to podcasts while giving the church sparkle and shine.

When he isn't attending to his custodial duties, Nate works as a substitute teacher in the Tacoma Public School district. He and Kia attend St. Mark's Lutheran Church of the Narrows, and enjoy exploring all that Tacoma has to offer.

We finished the last of our coffee and Nate left to work at the church, insisting the caffeine would cut cleaning time in half. I left content, happy to have had the pleasure to meet and get to know this wonderful person.

Listening Project: We want to hear from you!

Trinity has launched a Community Engagement project in an effort to intentionally listen to our neighbors about what they think makes a thriving neighborhood, and how we can dream about this vision together. As part of this process, we are looking for 300 different voices to inform our Listening Project! 

Do you have a few minutes to be one of these important voices and tell us your views on what makes a thriving neighborhood? Take a few minutes to complete our survey!

Create your own user feedback survey

To further the reach of this process, Trinity will be hosting a Community Forum on June 8th in the Trinity Fellowship Hall. We hope you will join us! Click here (link to event page) to find out more.

Bleedership Conference

Trinity Youth, Carleigh Templin, and her fellow cadette, Julia Witecki, are hoping to make menstrual health a little less awful.

The pair of Girl Scout Cadettes are hosting the upcoming Bleedership Conference at Trinity Presbyterian Church on May 28th from 10 AM - 3 PM. Their mission: "To make periods better for everyone here and around the world by talking openly and honestly about menstrual health."

Does reading about a conference on menstruation make you cringe? That is the stigma and shame they are combating. "It's hard to talk about in our society," Julia explained. "But if you've got a problem, you should tell someone. Women are strong, and shouldn't be afraid to talk about a natural body function."

The self-described "Masterminds" were inspired to host the Bleedership Conference when they noticed their friends acting ashamed whenever menstrual periods were mentioned. The pair have  met every Thursday since November to make this event come alive. With the support of their parents and troop leader, they've planned t-shirts, organized speakers, recruited a team of volunteers, and hosted a Bloody Mary Fundraiser.

"It's ongoing and stressful," they explained with a laugh. But it's clear the two believe the work is worth the outcome.

The conference will feature an assortment of seminars on topics such as period nutrition, personal safety, and "Is that NORMAL? A Q&A Session about Menstruation and Puberty." A complete schedule is available on their website, bleedersareleaders.com. Participants are welcome to attend the full event, or drop in for the seminars that most intrigue them.

In addition to the seminars, a team of volunteers will spend the day sewing reusable pads in the Fellowship Hall. These pads (and proceeds from the suggested $5 donation) will be distributed by an international organization intending to put reusable pads and a sanitary kit in the hands of every girl who doesn't have these supplies by 2022. You are invited to bring cotton and flannel for reusable sanitary pads and storage bags, and unopened packages of tamps and sanitary pads to be distributed locally.

Carleigh, Julia, and their team invite all girls and women to join them on Saturday, May 28th, from 10 AM - 3 PM at Trinity Presbyterian Church, to learn how to make periods better for yourself and others.

While at the Front Door

Rachel Boisen serves as Trinity's Front Door Ministry Coordinator and the Administrative Assistant at Trinity House. Answering the doorbell and our phone calls, she has the most contact with people seeking assistance. Below, find her thoughts on a recent interaction.

"Every morning, I settle into my desk at Trinity House and see the voicemail light blinking on the phone. Every morning, I push the button, enter the code, and hear the stories:

“I’m on disability and I need help with rent.”

“Do you help with utilities? I’ve got a shut off notice.”

“I need a gas voucher to get to a doctor’s appointment.”

“Please call back. I don’t know what to do.”

Most of the time there are no funds. There is nothing I can do but pray.

And then last January, thanks to a generous Christmas Eve offering, I had the money to help.

“I just need a little help to get a job.”

The Front Door Ministry paid for a new ID and fresh car tabs so she could legally drive to interviews. She stopped by a few times to get all the paperwork taken care of, carefully planning trips to preserve gas. I gave her information about jobs I’d heard about, and prayed something would turn up.

Most of the time, I don’t hear from anyone after they receive their check. Faces and stories cycle through my memory, and I wonder if the divorce finalized, the lawsuit was settled, if they managed to keep their home.

Monday, I arrived at work to find a pile of pamphlets pushed through the mailslot, and a new kind of voicemail blinked on the phone.

“Rachel, I got a job! Thank you so much for all your help!”

She found a fantastic job, offering important services to the same clientele we serve at Trinity House. “Pass out the pamphlets. Trinity helped me so much, I wanted to offer help in return.”  With the information she shared, others can acquire specialized skills to find jobs of their own!

I was so happy - floating through the day.  As the “face” for Trinity’s Front Door ministry, I have learned to offer what we have with faith that the little we can give makes a difference. But it gets hard to continue to see all the need. Thanks to one woman’s thoughtfulness and joy at finding a job, I was reminded that what we do matters - to the individual and to the Trinity community.  “For whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 24:40).

Trinity provided her with help with her finances. She gave me the gift of joy and the priviledge to see the church at Christ's work.