Calling all 1st-5th graders! Be part of an amazing STEM and Arts day camp this summer!
Dinners for 8 - June 2024
Come have dinner with some other folks from Trinity! These dinners will be in various host homes from June 1-10, so pick a date that works for you. There’s no agenda - just good food and conversation. This is a great way to get to know people. Once you register, the host family will be in touch with you with more details.
Current Sermon Series - Everything I Need
During the Eastertide season at Trinity (April 14-May 12), we will be exploring together the 23rd Psalm, and the abundant care of the Good Shepherd. In these words which have been treasured for thousands of years, God is pictured as the steadfast shepherd who tends and cares to provide everything needed for the well-being of the sheep.
"Growing Together" Auction Tickets + Volunteer Opportunities!
BNC Auction Tickets are Live
Buy yours today and support the people and programs of the BNC! $25/person
Volunteer for the Auction
At the BNC, we always say, "Better Together!" Sign up today to bring a dessert, help with the decorating, or serve on the cleanup crew! Many hands are needed. Middle and high schoolers encouraged to volunteer!
Sponsor an Easter Lily
It's a beautiful tradition at Trinity to have Easter lilies, given in honor or in memory of a special someone, adorn the Sanctuary on Easter Sunday. We invite you to sponsor a lily this Easter. After the service, you will take your lily home.
Register on Church Center, where you can pay online. You may also pay by check or cash. If paying by check, please write “Easter Lilies” on the memo line and place in the offering box in the entryway on Sunday. Orders must be received by March 25th.
Please reach out to admin@tpctacoma.org with any questions.
Join the Easter Choir!
Come one, come all! Join us this year for the all ages Easter Choir. No choral experience is necessary, and all are welcome to participate. Music and rehearsal tracks will be provided, and there will be three group rehearsal dates. Rehearsal dates will be announced next week to all who have signed up. Follow the link to register directly on Church Center!
Questions? Contact Emily Coates at worship@tpctacoma.org.
New Sermon Series Begins Feb. 4th
Abundance//Scarcity
God creates the world in lavish abundance. More than enough for everyone. But something has gone wrong. As we look around, we so often believe in the myth of scarcity, and conclude there is just not enough to go around. And so instead of receiving the lavish gifts of God, we find ourselves grabbing, taking, clinging, competing, and making our own way. And yet, in the midst of our perceived deficit, God continues to generously give - bread in the wilderness, children to the barren, home to exiles, a future to those without one, abundant Sunday life out of Friday’s death. What if we as a people might grow to see all of this life through the eyes of Jesus, assuming abundance and that there is ‘enough’? It might just change everything for us.
February 4 - “God, the Generous Host of the World” (Psalm 104 & Luke 12:22-34)
February 11 - “In the Beginning…Abundance!” (Genesis 1:1-2:2)
February 18 (Lent 1) - “The Seed of Scarcity” (Genesis 3:1-7)
February 25 (Lent 2) - “The Master Class in Scarcity” (Genesis 47:13-21 & Exodus 1:6-14)
March 3 (Lent 3) - “What Scarcity Does to Us” (Exodus 20:17 & Deuteronomy 5:21)
March 10 (Lent 4) - “Abundance in the Wilderness” (Exodus 16:2-5, 14-20)
March 17 (Lent 5) - “Working Always, Never Stopping, and Sabbath Abundance” (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)
March 24 (Palm/Passion) - “The End of Scarcity is Violence” (Matthew 27:11-50)
March 31 (Easter) - “Resurrection Super-Abundance” (Matthew 28:1-15)
BNC Mural Project
It was wonderful to have artist Lourdes Jackson in worship last week as he talked about the BNC Mural Project. Hear his meaningful reflection on "neighborhood" and the value of art as a way of honoring the neighborhood in his interview here.
Fundraising continues through April 30th. Donate to the Mural Project.
Dinners for 8
These dinners will be held in several host homes on different days from February 2-11. Sign up for a night that works best for you and your family. Enjoy a shared meal and get to know people at Trinity.
Get all the details and sign up here.
Contact Harlan if you have questions.
The Journey - Adult Spiritual Formation Cohorts Starting in January
Interested in something more? Hungering for greater depth in your life with God?
We’re looking for people who would like to join a weekly peer-learning spiritual formation cohort of 6-10 other Trinity people. It’s designed to create space for meaningful conversation about some of the most important things in our lives. Richard Foster says “Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primarily spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” Whether you’ve walked with Jesus for a long time, or you are just beginning your faith journey, we want to invite you, in the company of others, to discover more deeply who God is, and who you are so you can begin living more deeply into the particularities of God’s grace and God’s call in your life.
This cohort will run from January to June 2024, and like all the most important things in life, involves an investment of time and energy. The cohort will include a 90 minute weekly group meeting, Bible reading/reflection, a mentoring relationship, and a discovery process into your own story and calling. There is a cost for the materials for the cohort of $275, but we can cover half or all of that if that is in any way a financial hardship for you. Groups start the 1st week of January. Questions? Contact Pastor Matt Robbins-Ghormley.
Want to learn more? Check out this one-pager.
Register on Church Center. Signups close on December 15th.
O Come, Lord Jesus - Celebrating Advent
Advent is the holy season in which we connect again with the longing and yearning for Christ to come. Jesus-followers from as early as the 6th century developed a pattern of praying together seven short prayers that reverberate with longing and hope - which evoke images of the promised Messiah from the prophet Isaiah. These prayers are known as the “O Antiphons”, and name the way that Jesus is the fulfillment of our deepest yearnings - “O Wisdom!” “O Adonai!” “O Root!” “O Key!” “O Light!” “O King of the Nations!” “O Emmanuel!” At the heart of these prayers is the bidding for Jesus to “Come” - as he came to Bethlehem, to come now in us, and at the end of time, in and for all. The familiar Advent hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is probably the best known echo of these “O Antiphons” - in fact, you’ll notice each of the seven “O Antiphons” are the seven verses of the carol. This Advent/Christmas season at Trinity, we’ll be joining in the chorus with all of creation in the longing of these Advent prayers to the One who has promised to come and make all things new.
November 26: First Sunday of Advent
December 3: Second Sunday of Advent (Communion)
Intergenerational Advent Event After Worship
Zoom Coffee Hour After Worship
December 10: Third Sunday of Advent
Maker's Market After Worship
December 17: Fourth Sunday of Advent
Trinity's Christmas Pageant During Worship
December 21: Longest Night Worship Service - 7:00 PM
December 24: Christmas Eve Worship - 7:00 PM (no Sunday morning service)
The BNC Welcomes Faith Brown
Faith Brown is a proud Tacoman with firm roots planted in the City of Destiny whose dedication to the community is evidenced throughout her progressive professional journey. She has a strong background in finance and program coordination supporting the mitigation of gaps and inequities in systems built for underserved families and individuals. Together with her husband, Ty, they continue to promote civic pride and responsibility as active advocates and volunteers. You will find her in her free time with Ty and their three amazing kids, Dylan, Dia, and Juno, where they will be swimming in any body of water, cruising on wheels alongside each other, playing basketball, or navigating themselves toward the sun.
Youth Wreath Sale!
The Annual Trinity Wreath Sale is live! There are a variety of beautiful fresh Pacific Northwest grown wreaths to choose from. The wreaths are assembled here in Tacoma by Turnbull Evergreens. You can order wreaths by following this link and a portion of each sale goes back to our youth programs making events, retreats, and summer trips less expensive for everyone. It has also helps us establish a scholarship fund for any students needing financial assistance to attend youth events. Sale closes November 12th.
Wreaths will be available for pick up from the BNC on
Sunday, November 26th from 11:30 AM -12:30 PM and
Monday, November 27th from 5:15-6:30 PM.
Time to Switch Your Online Giving
We are changing to a new online giving platform. Many of you already use Church Center for signups, so we hope this will be a relatively easy transition.
“Turn off” your giving at THE OLD SITE. Look for scheduled payments and delete them.
Set up your giving on THE NEW SITE. If you contribute towards more than one ministry (the BNC, Front Door, etc.), be sure to click the "Add Donation" button for each account you'd like to switch over.
Some of you give directly from your bank or credit union, such as through “bill pay.” This is a good time to consider using the new online site instead. “Bill pay”/ direct payment from a bank or credit union generates a paper check for us to deposit. The cost in staff time to do this can be greater than the online service fee.
If you are having challenges, contact Charin (“Karen”) Hedstrom during office hours:
Tuesday-Friday, 9:00am-2:00pm
admin@tpctacoma.org
253-272-8819, press 1 for the office
Blanket and Sock Drive
Now that the weather has turned, the BNC invites you to support our Thursday Night Community Meal and Front Door by bringing socks and blankets for our unhoused neighbors on the first two Sundays of November. Look for the box in the Fellowship Hall that says "Sock & Blanket Drive."
TAP is Recruiting Tutors
Make a difference in the life of a Bryant Montessori first through third grader by tutoring at TAP one hour a week! You’ll meet one-on-one with a student from the Bryant Neighborhood, use an easy literacy curriculum, read lots of fun books together, and be a positive influence in their lives.
Questions or ready to sign up? Please contact Kelly Humphreys.
Small Groups Forming for Fall
Starting this October, small groups will be gathering and forming around the topic of "Growing Up, A Life Long Journey" centered on a book by Robert Loane and Randy Reese. Each group will meet at various times during the week and continue for 7 weeks. Some of the questions raised are: What does it means to continue to grow as a follower of Jesus? Am I a growing person? What does growth look like? What do I do to nourish growth?
Contact Harlan for more information.
Back to School Night Was a Blast at the BNC!
What an amazing night for families and community partners alike! At Back to School Night on September 5th, we gave out lots of backpacks filled with school supplies and enjoyed some tasty barbecue. In fact, the food was so delicious, we had only five hamburger buns left at the end! A big thanks to everyone who came out for this event!
Come Work at the BNC!
The Bryant Neighborhood Center has a new role for an Operations/Communications Manager to provide behind-the-scenes leadership and support for development efforts to help deepen the BNC's impact in the community. Check out job description and/or talk to Nikki Davidson.
"Tree(the)ology" Sermon Series Sept 10 - Oct 1
Other than God and people, the Bible mentions trees more than any other living thing. There is a tree on the first page of Genesis, in the first psalm, on the first page of the New Testament, and on the last page of Revelation. Every significant moment in the Bible seems to be marked by a tree. That’s why Alan Jacobs says: “If you understand the trees, you understand the story.” During September, as our PNW trees start to turn colors and autumn is upon us, we’ll take a look together at the Trees of the Bible, and how they help us to understand what it’s all about.
