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Our Life is In You, Lord! Dec 16th Worship at South Meriden Trinity UMC

12/16/2018

Our theme in our "Open the Gifts of Faith" Advent series this week was "Restore" - re-store the gifts of faith that restore real life in us, and in God's world. Pastor John's message reminded us that a world is thirsty for salvation - and thirsty for the basics of human dignity, like clean water, that John the Baptist asks us to provide to our fellow children of God, as fruits worthy of repentance. Pastor John also shared with us his "shopping list" to restore his faith in the coming year - you can read it here.

We thank Laurie Brandl and Jesse Desjardins for our uplifting music this Sunday - our life is in you, Lord, when we open the gifts of faith! Worship podcast with sermon, slides, prayers, and sending below, text of Pastor John's sermon is here and below the podbast. Have a blessed week - Alleluia!

OUR CHARGE TO KEEP THIS WEEK
Re-store your life with everything that God wants to give us to restore our lives in God! Fill your life with the gifts of faith that God offers us at Christmas!

Re-store Your Faith - Sun Dec 16th at South Meriden Trinity UMC

12/14/2018

How wonderful it is to feel restored by a drink of fresh water. How would it feel to have a thirsty soul re-stored with the gifts of faith? This Sunday at 10AM, our Advent celebration in our new Christian year is preparing us to open the gifts of faith, using key tools of faith-building, with reminders in our free travel kits. This week, Pastor John's message will look at why we need to re-store our faith, and what we need to go "shopping" for to get it. There will be joyful music, heartfelt prayers, and warm fellowship afterwards, offering us the hope that comes only from faith. See you then!

You Are the Light of the World! Our Church at the CT District Gathering

12/12/2018

Members of South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church were among the hundreds from our Connecticut District who gathered at Hamden Plains UMC on Tuesday night for an evening of joyful singing and prayer, great food and conversation, training, and a very important presentation by our New York Annual Conference Bishop Tom Bickerton.

As the evening started, everyone in attendance received a special pen that lit up in the dark - we waved them to express our faith that our churches can be the light of God's world! Our thanks to Jeanne King and Mary Barker, who attended these workshops. They came home with important information that they will share in the weeks ahead.

Join us Mondays at Noon for Prayer Walks and Brown-Bag DiscussionS

12/10/2018

Prayer is a powerful tool of faith to open our eyes to God's possibilities in our lives, and in God's world. We are resuming our community prayer walks, which we invite church members, friends, and community residents to join us in, so that we may seek together God's will for us as people who can bring forth God's fruits of faith in this place.

Pastor John will organize these prayer walks, which take off from the church sanctuary steps at noon on Mondays, as weather and appointments permit. Pastor John has been continuing prayer walks already, and invites everyone to join us in them. After our prayer walks, you are invited to join us in the Clark Room for a brown bag luncheon and discussions, using our holy conversation guidelines to make them safe and fruitful.

A menu option on our office telephone menu will give you the latest status on prayer walks. We look forward to you joining us - and to inviting others into them!

Refresh to Re-Flesh! Sun Dec 9th Worship at South Meriden Trinity UMC

12/9/2018

With this morning's lector Corky Collins sporting a unique and joyful Christmas sweater, the scene was set for a morning of joyful worship. We started off by praying together our church's prayer of invitation to God's possibilities, which invites us to pray together for all of the possibilities that God can accomplish in our lives, in God's church, and God's world. Please try to pray this prayer every time you can - Pastor John will be praying it every day with us in this new Christian year.

Pastor John's message "Refresh: Open the Gifts of Faith" reminded us how good it feels to refresh our connection with God and God's world through faith - it's like stepping out of a shower in a clean-as-can-be "birthday suit," and realizing how much the world needs God's cleansing touch with us. Worship podcast with sermon, prayers and sending below, sermon text here and below the podcast. Have a blessed we of reflecting and refreshing!

OUR CHARGE TO KEEP THIS WEEK
The God who became flesh for our sake wants refresh us in the waters of God’s everlasting love. Invite God’s forgiving love into your life now, and always!

Companions of Hope: Dec 8th Service of Remembrance at South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church

12/8/2018

Our church was privileged to serve as the hosting congregation for Beecher and Bennett Funeral Service's annual service of remembrance, for families who have lost loved ones recently. The service was a warm time of both remembrance and hope, as beautiful music from Laurie Brandl, our Music Director, filled the air with God's Spirit of companionship. Participants lit candles in memory of their loved ones, and Pastor John Blossom's message "Companions" reminded us that God's living Companion, the Holy Spirit, enables us to always find healing and hope on life's journeys. A podcast with audio and slides form the service is below, including Pastor John's message. The text of his message can be viewed here and below the podcast.

We thank Beecher and Bennett for their service to our community's families, who benefit so much from their heartfelt professional services, and we hold all families whose loved ones have passed into God's eternal hands the living comfort of God in their lives, now, and forever.

Refresh! Open the Gifts of Faith this Sunday, Dec 9th, at South Meriden Trinity UMC

12/6/2018

This Sunday at 10AM our Advent worship invites us to experience God's possibilities as Pastor John Blossom's sermon series offers us the next faith tool we need "Open the Gifts of Faith" - Christian refreshment! God offers us more than just a bottle or water or a hot bath to refresh our lives through faith: God wants us to experience faith in a God who became flesh for us on Christmas; God wants of to refresh our flesh, our hearts, our souls, and God's world, through faith in Jesus!

Our beautiful church is decorated with warm and inspiring reminders of the coming of Jesus at Christmas, our fellowship will invite you into the heart of God's church, and our worship is joyful, and affirming of all people seeking God. Every worshiper will receive a special travel kit, with reminders to help them to open their gifts of faith in this new Christian year - and to use throughout the year practically! See you on Sunday, at 10AM- come to be refreshed!

Sign Up for January Membership and Member Affirmation Classes

12/6/2018

We have people interested in becoming new members of our church - as well as current members who need to be ready to walk alongside new members in renewed United Methodist discipleship.

Everyone, including long-time members and youths, are encouraged to attend three sessions in January that will explore three key topics that are essential for success in church membership:

What does it mean to be a Methodist Christian?
What does is mean to be a United Methodist?
What does mean to be a member of a United Methodist Local Church?

A schedule for signup will be available in our sanctuary through December. There will be multiple time slots available, and you are free to "mix and match" time slots that work best for your schedule.

Each session will be about two hours in length, ending with a church-wide weekend mission project in our community at the end of our class time in late January or early February. Later in February, we will welcome those wishing to become new members of the church at a Sunday worship service.

To help both existing and new members to become more effective together in Christian ministry and discipleship, EVERY church member and church friend is encouraged to attend these sessions.

As we get ready for a year of becoming a church that invites us and our community into God's possibilities, January will be the time for us to remember how to invite those possibilities as a Methodist Christian community - and to welcome new people into the church who can join us in inviting those possibilities. We are already in a new year of Christian faith - let's get ready to open the gifts of faith in fresh new ways!

City-Wide Ecumenical Holiday Remembrance Service, Sat, Dec 8th, 2PM

12/4/2018

It is our church's humble privilege to be serving the people of greater Meriden as this year's host for Beecher and Bennett Funeral Service's annual holiday remembrance service. The service will be held in our 145 Main Street sanctuary starting at 2PM on Saturday, December 8th.

The service is a time when people paying tribute to their loved ones can come together for fond remembrances, and ecumenical words of assurance and hope, that spring from the God of our faith.

If you plan on going, contacting Beecher and Bennett at 203.235.4152 is appreciated, so that they may plan for a services that comforts you most appropriately.

As a reminder to all, our parking lot at the far end of our education building is available on Saturdays for off-street parking, and limited space for handicap parking is available in the driveway next to our handicap-accessible entryway ramp. Ample curbside parking is available also.along Main Street.

We look forward to being of service

Until Jesus Comes! Dec 2nd Worship and Christmas in the Village at South Meriden Trinity UMC [PHOTOS]

12/2/2018

With over 800 visitors visiting our church on Saturday for South Meriden's Christmas in the Village festival, and an action-packed worship service for the first Sunday in Advent, it has been an amazing weekend to reflect on. We have lots of photos from the Christmas in the Village celebration below the podcast on this post, and here is a link to a Record-Journal article on the festival that featured major quotes from our members Edie Marcantonio and Jane Namnoun. Our love for the people of Meriden shone out - thank you to all the people who worked from their hearts to make this event a success!

Worship for the first Sunday in Advent was memorable, too, with Jesse Desjardins making his worship music debut on our drum set - It brought a joyful noise to our worship, as we wait for Jesus to come!

Pastor John kicked off his Advent worship sermon series "Open the Gifts of Faith" by introducing us to a great gift - a travel kit, equipped with tools for opening the gifts of faith, our prayer of invitation to God's possibilities, and colorful armbands reminding us of the prayer. His sermon focused on the first tool in our travel kits - Christian reflection, inviting us to slow down in Advent, and to see what God wants us to see, in us, and in God's world.

Worship podcast with sermon message, prayer, and sending is below, followed by lots and lots of Christmas in the Village photos. Sermon text is here and below the podcast. Have a blessed week opening your gifts of faith!

OUR CHARGE TO KEEP THIS WEEK
In this new year of Christian faith, turn to God, and to people seeking faith in God, to open your gifts of faith! Look in the mirror! Your redemption is near!