Category: Mission - South Meriden Trinity United Methodist Church

Slide Hill Rd Fire Donations - Sat Feb 23rd, 9AM-12 Noon

2/20/2019

Meriden Record-Journal Coverage

Recently, a tragic fire has made a South Meriden home uninhabitable, as a son of the home's residents died nearby. Our church is supporting the collection of donations being organized by Holly Wills on behalf of the Meriden Council of Neighborhoods this Saturday in our fellowship hall, 9AM-12PM Noon. We appreciate the further help of the South Meriden Volunteer Fire Department to help raise funds and awareness of this important need in our community.

Donations being accepted are household items such as dishes, small kitchen appliances, glasses, silverware, bath towels, blankets, pillows, sheets, and toiletry items Gift Cards and monetary donations will be gladly accepted also (checks payable to: Council of Neighborhoods). For more information on volunteering and donations, please email Holly Wills at:
cwills0142@sbcglobal.net Please pray for this family recovery from their tragic losses.

Valentine's Day Pot Roast Dinner Sat Feb 16th 5PM - Feast for Mission!

2/7/2019

Great food, great price, great cause. Tickets In advance, Adults $12 ($14 at the door), 10 & under $
Take out available Reservations -203-634-0017

We know pot roast - and we know you love pot roast! Put yourself in the seats of our fellowship hall on Saturday, February 16th, at 5PM< and enjoy a hearty meal that will help raise money for the good work our church does for people in our community, in our nation, and in God's world. If you're an on-the-go person that night, order up, and take some home! We thank everyone for pitching in for what will be a great dinner, and all of you for helping to support it. Enjoy!

New Year, Fresh Faith - Start Off With Another Way

12/30/2018

You can have the same old kind of year, doing the same old things.
Or, you can find another way.
Our church offers all kinds of people ways to re-engage and revive their faith, so that our faith can change not only our lives, but God's world.
Even you.
It starts every Sunday at 10AM, with our joyful worship, and warm fellowship.
It grows during the week as we walk through our community in prayer each Monday, with brown bag lunch discussions afterwards. It continues during the week as we pray together for God's possibilities.
It brings us into circles of friends at our Faith Groups every Wednesday at 5 and 7 PM, and as we bring faith to our families during the week.
It puts us in touch with people, in our community, and around God's world, who need the healing touch of God.
We have events throughout the year that make a difference in people's lives.
We hope that you will choose a fresh approach to your life, through faith, that will help you to grow in new ways, and to find real joy in life, whether life is perfect or not.
Let us know how you'd like to begin. Or, just start. We look forward to seeing you soon!
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A Shelter of Grace! Our Annual ShelterNow Christmas Celebration Brought Food, Gifts, and Love

12/27/2018

Meriden's ShelterNow program provides emergency housing and guidance for people of all walks of life who need to get to the next right step in their lives, and we are blessed to be in ministry with them throughout the year. But at Christmas, we get to give back to them in ways that bring special joy to shelter residents - and to us!

Mary Barker and Linda Kirk spearheaded our efforts again this year, assembling over 20 bags of much-appreciated gifts of clothing and hygiene items, and a fantastic dinner that would make a fine feast at tny table! Friends of the church pitched in, and we had a great time with the men of the shelter program, sharing some laughs and touching stories, getting to know one another, praying and offering the gospel's hope for the new year.

We thank Mary, Linda, and everyone in the church who made donations to help fund this mission effort, and who volunteered to make it a success. May you all feel the warmth of Christmas blessings in your heart for helping to bring them to people who need God's hope so very much!

Annual Shelter Now Dinner and Christmas Celebration This Sunday, 5PM

12/20/2018

Gifts are lining up in our Clark Room, ready to be part of our annual Adopt-A-Gift dinner and celebration at Meriden's ShelterNow residence - a moment to bring joy and hope to our sisters and brother who need to find the next right step to wholeness in their lives. It is a wonderful event, and we thank Mary Barker, Linda Kirk, who do such a great job putting this project together, and all of our church members who are supporting it with their kind donations and helping hands. If you'd like to contribute or lend a helping hand on the evening of December 23rd, please contact, Mary, Linda, or Pastor John. What a friend we have when people act like Jesus!

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!