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Welcome
in the Season of Pentecost
 “I bind unto myself today the
strong name of the Trinity by invocation of the same, the
Three in One, and One in Three”
-
St. Patrick’s Breastplate, Hymn 370
Each year on Trinity Sunday we
begin our worship with a heartfelt singing of this ancient text,
attributed to St. Patrick, and widely available in many versions. It
invokes all of God’s creation and celebrates the love of God for
us in Christ Jesus. So I welcome you to Trinity Episcopal Church and
to the journey of faith we make together as God’s people.
The months following the feast of
Pentecost are called in church lingo “ordinary time” but they
are, of course, anything but ordinary for most of us.
It is the “long green season” – referring to the color
of the vestments, but also perhaps to the period of time in which we
are to grow and flourish spiritually. It is a time of vacations and
travels and perhaps visiting a new church. If you are visiting St.
Louis you are warmly invited to join us at Trinity.
We are a faith community in both
ordinary and unusual ways. We
are deeply connected to each other through worship, fellowship,
outreach, and service. Not so unusual. We are also committed to
radical inclusion: all are welcome and invited to communion. Less
usual. We find ourselves most comfortable on the progressive edge of
the wider church. We don’t pretend to have the answers, but are
committed to honoring the questions. These are the ways we encounter
God. So it is that I invite you to come and join us.
Perhaps
you are seeking some kind of healing, or want to find a
spiritual home in community with other Christians. You
may have questions about God, the church, Jesus, the Bible, or
contemporary issues. You may care deeply about the natural
world and issues of social
justice and want to put them in a spiritual context. Your
children may be asking you questions that you cannot answer. You may have an ache in your soul that needs to
be filled with the grace of liturgy and music. Trinity is a church
where all such concerns may be addressed.
Trinitarians
are committed to diversity of all kinds, because we have
discovered that it is our differences which make for a rich
and lively experience of God’s grace. We don’t always agree
on theology, but are united in our commitment to deeply meaningful
worship. We love our traditional liturgy with its chant and
incense, but we also love to have fun. Join us in Tower Grove
Park on Sunday, June 29th, for our annual “Mass
on the Grass” before the Pride Parade, and if you’re so
inclined, join us in the parade too.
Each week
at the services I say, “Wherever you are on your journey of
faith there is a place for you here at Trinity, for it is God
who calls us to the altar.” Because we have known God
as a God of love, communion is
offered freely – you don’t have to sign up or sign on the
dotted line or swear to a doctrine. You will meet people like yourself who have a deep well of spiritual
concern and an intelligent curiosity. Many of us who have found a
church home at Trinity have found an oasis of acceptance we didn’t
think was possible in organized
religion. We are
an Oasis congregation and are
affiliated with the Center for Progressive
Christianity.
We
also take our baptismal
promises seriously. Being followers of Jesus, and not just
admirers, we know that
discipleship is costly. It means giving up privilege, sharing
resources, and supporting
ministry with our time and our money. Our resistance to evil
must be conscious, and is therefore sometimes uncomfortable. We
are willing to have assumptions challenged.
Always, our love of God and confidence in our support and
love for each other keep us connected on the journey that is the
pilgrimage of our lives. I invite you to join us on
that journey, and I look forward
to meeting you.
Blessings,
Anne Kelsey
Rector
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July
Trinity Times
Audio
Sermon - August 17, 2008
Previous sermons
available from menu at top of page
 "Heavenly
Beings"
Art Exhibit
June
22 through
September 14
North Parish Hall
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