Category: Mission - South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church

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!

Unity House Mission Team Receives NYAC Grant

11/29/2018

The people of South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church have been devoted to ministries and mission through Unity House, our former parsonage on Cutlery Avenue, for more than fifteen years. In connexion with other local United Methodist Churches and other local institutions, the Unity House mission team has prepared it for new seasons of doing God's work for refugee families and for local young adults and their families.

Now the Unity House team has received a special affirmation of support from The New York Annual Conference's Connectional Ministries - a $2,500 grant to help fund Unity House 2019 ministries.

We are deeply grateful for this affirmation of our goals and our efforts, and we hope and pray that everyone who loves and supports Unity House will consider this a beginning point for ensuring the long-term health and success of Unity House's mission to Meriden and the world Thank you, NYAC, thank you, Matt Curry, and all of the supporting members of NYAC leadership. May all of our ministries together in Christ be blessed!

Fall Into the Faith Habit! You're Invited to Practice 5 Tips for Renewed Life in Jesus

11/6/2018

As Fall leaves shine with brilliant colors, let's remember that Fall is the season to shed old habits, and to take on new habits that prepare us for the coming of Jesus into our lives and into God's world. We don't have to wait any longer to feel the warmth of faith's power and grace changing our lives - we can do it now, and grow in God's thanks-giving ways!
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Here are five ways that our church helps you to fall into the faith habit:

1. Tune out negative culture - and tune in redeeming culture. We all know that the world sells us negative thoughts, and negative things to do and to buy. Instead of complaining about it, why not practice being a part of a life-affirming community that accepts everyone as they are, and that invites people into positive activities and relationships? Make your culture a redeeming culture - and use our church to practice it!
What negative culture can faith lead me to surrender to God’s thanksgiving culture? Who can help me along the way?

2. Practice giving from your heart, not from your credit cards. On Thanksgiving Day, a day when we're supposed to give thanks for what God gives, the world screams at us to feel that we'll never be able to buy enough things for ourselves and others as the way to celebrate the coming of Jesus. Starting on Thanksgiving, can you commit to a holiday season that gives love instead of things that cannot replace love? Think about low-gift or zero-gift family celebrations - and share gifts of gratitude with God's world, so that we may be all Christ for one another.
What gift-giving can I prepare for that doesn’t come with a price tag? How can I prepare myself and my loved ones for this change?

3. Explore faith with trusted people. Share it with unknown people. Will your Christmas celebration be the start of another year of not knowing Jesus in your heart - or exploring how much you need God in your life? Our faith groups can help you to feel comfortable exploring and expressing faith in a safe group setting, and give you the courage to express your faith to others - maybe even people you don't know!
When can I try out a faith group to guide me into thanksgiving?

4. Move your muscles for Christ in your family and our community. We all lead busy lives, one way or another. But what can we do to proclaim the saving presence of Jesus in our lives? Our mission projects and our dedication to prayer changes lives for people of all backgrounds, here and around the world, in the name of Jesus. Our own families need to see and to feel our dedication to faith in action, not just words, as we change our habits in how we live with them. and for them..
How can I move my muscles in thanks for all that God gives us? Is it a phone-dialing muscle? A helping hand muscle? An amending muscle?

5. Invite others to come to worship with you - and to pray with you. Are you afraid of coming to church alone? Invite others who can share the experience with you! Are you wanting more church friends? Help your friends and family to become church friends and family, and to pray with you, and for one one another, and for God's world! By being an invitational church, we can help people to see how life does not have to be about what the world wants - and can be filled with the love that God wants for everyone.
Who can I invite to my church? How can my expressions of faith be a living invitation?

Share your own ideas for falling into a thanks-giving faith with us, with your church family, and with everyone who can help you to rejoice in the gifts that come from our loving God in this world. What a great way to spend these Fall days before Advent!

5 Tips for Falling into Faith

1. Tune out negative culture - and tune in redeeming culture.

2. Practice giving from your heart, not from your credit cards.

3. Explore faith with trusted people. Share it with unknown people.

4. Move your muscles for Christ in your family and our community

5. Invite others to come to worship with you - and to pray with you

Ready for Mission! Unity House Volunteer Roadshow Kicks Off at Meriden Public LIbrary

10/4/2018

The Unity House team managed to bring forth a great turnout for our first volunteer recruiting "roadshow" event at the Meriden Public Library on The evening of Tuesday, October 2nd. Experienced and newcomer volunteers heard an overview presentation of the new effort to welcome a refugee family to Unity House later this year, and signed up for the functional teams that will support this family.

There is still time to spread the word, and learn more about this great effort to bring the good news of God's universal love to families from war-torn nations seeking a new start in life. Contact Pastor John Blossom for details, or fill out the volunteer registration form and FAQ here and below. You can see the "roadshow presentation below also. Please consider joining this effort, and suggesting others who might be interested in helping!

Help Them to Get a New Start! Unity House Refugee Family Project Kickoff, Tuesday, October 2nd [VIDEO]

9/4/2018

Your commitment to peace, justice,and hope for families, here, and around the world, is a valuable community asset. Unity House, a cooperative ministry of local United Methodist Churches, is inviting both local United Methodists and an interfaith coalition of other local congregations, to together to help a new refugee family coming to Meriden, CT this fall, through the IRIS refugee resettlement agency. Our first meeting to organize local volunteers for this project will be Tuesday, October 2nd, 6PM, in the Griffin Room at the Meriden Public Library. The following video gives an overview of our goals.

For more than fifteen years, the Unity House coalition has welcomed families from around the world in need of a fresh start, in addition to local families. There are a wide range of resources and activities needing volunteer support to help this family after their arrival. Housing, basic clothing, bedding, initial food and supplies are essential, but there is much more that these families need to adapt to American life Orientation to American culture and communities, language, education, health care, transportation, finance, employment, and more are needed to encourage their success in establishing a new life. Anyone with a good heart and a basic knowledge of how our culture works can help.

Most importantly, these families need our compassionate help. They are selected by the IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Resettlement Services) agency as people who are escaping truly dangerous and dire conditions in their own nation. By acting together, our community can provide them with wide, deep, and consistent support to welcome them to our nation - a foreign nation, to them.

A signup form with frequently asked questions is here and below. You may bring this form to the organizing meeting, or send it in to our office ahead of time. Thank you for your interest in our project - and please spread the word!

New Birthday/Anniversary Card Ministry Lights Up Hearts!

8/20/2018

While our office has for many years sent out birthday and anniversary cards to our members, Jeanne King came up with the idea of making this ministry a group ministry for all of our interested members to join. As you can see in the photo, we had a GREAT turnout for the first card-writing get-together this Monday, as members caught up with August anniversaries and birthdays, and got ahead of the curve for September birthdays.

We thank Jeanne and every one who turned out for this joyful celebration of our love for our community in Christ, and we thank Charlene Bodero and Emily Belanger, who continue to support our members and church friends who are ill and who have lost loved ones recently. We are a loving, sharing and caring church, and we are so grateful for members who "walk the talk" of faith. Watch our announcements for the next "write'in" event!

Love, Share, Care! Our National Night Out Touched Meriden's Families

8/11/2018

On Tuesday night, the weather was hot, humid, and getting ready to rain, but the rains never came, and thousands of people did come to Meriden's National Night Out event. Hundreds of families came by our table, and got to know how our church touches lives for God here in Meriden, in our nation, and around the world. Dozens of God Bags went flying off the table into the hands of eager children, and when they ran out, our Lay Conference Delegate Jeanne King dabbed on dozens more hand tattoos, while Pastor John chatted with their parents. Our thanks to Jeanne, and to Corky Collins and jeanne's husband John, who helped with transporting the table. We all belong to God - and may we all reach out to everone to share that good news!

Be the Peace! Learn Peace-Making Skills for Your Own Life at Our Free Peacemaking Workshop

8/7/2018

“She made me do it!” “He made me do it!”

You may have shouted this out sometimes as a child, when you reacted hurtfully to something that annoyed you. Maybe your reactions got you into trouble with your parents.

Is it so different today with us adults? All the time we hear hurtful and self-justifying words said in our homes, in public, and online. There have also been hurtful and self-justifying words hurled back in response to those words. And sometimes, it isn't just words that get thrown back. Sometimes, people get hurt - or die.

There is a better way.

Our church invites you to the first of a series of free peace-making workshops, on Saturday morning, September 29th, in the Cook Room at the Meriden Public Library, starting at 9AM. A signup form is below - the workshop is free.

The morning workshop will cover breakthrough insights into how people of all kinds, in all situations, can learn to "wage peace" - even in the middle of our "wars!" The workshop is based on non-religious materials that have helped thousands of people around the world to take a new perspective on how they view and manage potentially hurtful conflicts. After the morning workshop, the workshop leader will be available in the Cook Room to help workshop attendees practice peace-making skill for their real-life situations

The core of the workshop is based on the book The Anatomy of Peace, by the Arbinger Institute, a non-religious research and training company that helps people to live more productive and peaceful lives.The key concept of the book is that if we have "hearts at war," often our peacemaking efforts will fail - and our "wars" will continue. If we learn to have hearts that are peace, then we can learn to have good relationships - and, perhaps, even love - even with people who we treat as our enemies.

Coffee and light refreshments will be available. For more information, please contact Pastor John Blossom of South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church at pastor@smtrinity.org or 203.293.8511 tel/txt.

Join us for National Night Out, Tuesday, August 7th!

8/3/2018

Our church will have a table at this year's annual National Night Out community event at Hubbard Park, where the police, fire department, and dozens of non-profit organizations share the joy of Meriden being a caring community. We will be sharing gifts with visitors, and inviting them to join us for traditional worship and a new faith experience in the planning stages through our Worship Committee. We'll be down near the bandstand, near the food, so hopefully we'll see many of the thousands of people attending this event. See Jeanne King if you'd like to help out at this event - or just come, and help us to spread the joy of our church!