Inside this issue:

On the Journey… 2

College of Elders Dinner 2

A Fond Farewell 3

2019 Elders-Elect 3

Weekday School Update 3

Session Highlights 4

What’s Happening 4

A 2013 study on the equality of opportunity found that Charlotte-Mecklenburg ranked fiftieth out of fifty in upward mobility, meaning that a child born into poverty will not es-cape poverty in their lifetime. Education is a key to this escape. Education, especially at an early age, is critical in giving children tools to improve the trajectory of their lives. Children not prepared for kindergarten begin school at a deficit making them half as likely to be proficient readers by third grade. To compound this, children who are not proficient read-ers by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. Essen-tially, children entering kindergarten have four years to become excellent readers. And if you are born into poverty, what are your chances of achieving this? In Matthew 19, little children are brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heav-en belongs to such as these.” Jesus has brought us little children. They attend Nations Ford Elementary, one of our key partners here at Trinity. We can potentially alter the course of entire lives and break the cycle of poverty in Charlotte-Mecklenburg by helping to educate God’s children.

Stewardship Corner

Our Future. Our Faith. Our Time. Your Stewardship Ministry Team

wishes you the best of the upcoming holiday season. And

thanks you for your faithful year-end support of the work and

ministry of Trinity. Make church

giving easy by using online giving at our

website or the Church Life Mobile App.

Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m.

Church Office Hours: Monday - Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Contact Information: 3115 Providence Road Charlotte, NC 28211 trinitypreschurch.org

Phone: 704-366-3554

Email: info@trinitypreschurch.org

PostScripts November/December 2018

G r o w i n g T o g e t h e r , W e l c o m i n g A l l O n P r o v i d e n c e

Moment for Mission: Education in Charlotte

On the Journey... PostScripts

Page 2

THE SESSION Dr. Stephen B. Lindsley, Moderator

Lynette Neel, Clerk

Donnie Bobbitt, Pres. of the Corp.

CLASS OF 2018

Casey Field David Hood

Sean Kirby Kim Nims

Dale Sarjeant Caroline Reid

CLASS OF 2019

Claire Etheridge Brent Mullis

Laura-Nelle Parnell Hurst

Kathleen Schneider Sherese Smith

CLASS OF 2020

Phil Blount Steve Griffie

Sarah Henry Debbie Thompson

Meredith Thompson

ADMINISTRATIVE ROSTER

CLERK: Lynette Neel

MINISTRY TEAM CHAIRS

Equip

Personnel: Phil Blount

Capital Campaign: Walter Reid

Finance: Louise Sanford

Buildings & Grounds: Dale Sarjeant

Stewardship: Brent Mullis

Grow

Christian Formation: Kim Nims and

Sherese Smith

Youth: Casey Field and Caroline Reid

Worship: Laura-Nelle Hurst

Weekday School: Amy Shook

Serve

Mission & Outreach: Meredith Thomp-

son & David Hood

Fellowship: Sean Kirby

Congregational Care: Sarah Henry

Welcoming: Debbie Thompson

Communications: Cookie Parnell

CHURCH STAFF

Dr. Stephen B. Lindsley, Senior Minister

Rev. Grace Lindvall, Assoc. Minister

Dr. Chris Gilliam, Director of Music

Michael Rowland, Organist

Dr. Reta Phifer, Children’s Choir Dir.

Ali Lambert, Office Manager Temp

Cheryl Jernigan, Financial Administrator

Rick Neil, Facilities Manager

Stephanie Palmer, Weekday School Dir

Jill Billings, Weekday School Asst. Dir.

Mark Grube, Part-time Event Assistant

Jane Bostian Arant, Minister of Music

Emeritus

"I'm sorry," she says.

"What for?" I ask.

"My child. Making a racket in worship. I'm sure you noticed. I'm so sorry."

I actually didn't. While I can see a lot from our pulpit, I don't actually notice much. Besides, as I assure this young mother, there is absolutely nothing to be sorry for. Par-ents bringing their children to worship is not just the greatest gift they give their kids. It's the greatest gift they give our church.

Take a few moments to read, "Dear Parents With Young Children In Church" (http://bit.ly/kids-worship), endorsed by our Worship Ministry Team. "When we teach children that their worship matters," the author says, "we teach them that they are enough right here and right now. They don’t need to wait until they can believe, pray or worship a certain way to be welcome here."

My hope is that all parents of young children, member or visitor, know that they have in Trinity a loving and supportive faith community which embraces all the joy their children bring - even and especially when that joy is expressed in "cries, whines and giggles." It is not by accident that the very first pillar of our 2020 Vision reads: Create space for children and youth to fully engage in the life and leadership of the congrega-tion. May it always be that way with our worship!

2018 College of Elders Dinner

The 2018 College of Elders Dinner took place in our Carson Fellowship Hall on Sunday, September 23, and fellowship was evident everywhere! From the delightful dishes pre-pared by the Trinity elders to the upbeat State-of-the-Church report from Steve Lindsley to the special remarks by our guest speaker Jan Edmiston, General Presbyter, the warmth of fellowship was matched by the informative details imparted. Of particu-lar note was Ms. Edmiston's entreaty to be authentic within the pews and in our neigh-borhoods, asking questions of each other that get to the heart of Christian concern, while being open to new ways to be church in the 21st Century. We ended with a pray-er of blessing for Bruce and Carolyn Voorheis as they prepare to move to their new home at the coast.

We are very excited about Trinity’s newest class of elders-elect: Eric Banks, Mike Campbell, Eric McGovern, Jeremy Mobley, Henry Pickett and Fran Worthing-ton.

This year’s candidates add to our ex-isting Session to provide a nice balance of age, experience, gender and talents. New Elder Gatherings have already com-menced! These comprehensive training sessions with Steve Lindsley are preparing them to begin service in 2019.

Our candidates will be examined at the November Session meeting and ordained/installed during worship on Sunday, Janu-ary 6, 2019. Mark your calendars for this important day!

We are thankful for the enthusiasm of this class as they continue their work in God’s church. We know that the congrega-tion will continue to offer prayers of sup-port and love as they embark on this new adventure in their faith journey.

November/December

Page 3

A Fond Farewell

WDS Thank You 2019 Elders-Elect

The Weekday School Team is so thankful to the many volunteers that joined us dur-ing our “moving in” days this summer! We were overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, care and willingness to do any and everything to get the job done. Volun-teers were unpacking boxes, breaking down boxes, setting up rainy day spaces, running errands, decorating bulletin boards and so much more! Words cannot fully express our gratitude! The many hands involved made the “To Do” list a little easier to bear.

AND a very special “thank you” to Lynda Opdyke and Peter Devlin who came every work day to assist the WDS staff in so many ways and were of great encouragement! Also, we are so grateful to Dale Sargeant and Rick Neil for their tireless efforts during the summer…and always with a smile… to make sure our weekday school was ready for our students’ first day on September 4th. The WDS is blessed to have the sup-port of so many special people.

Tribute is defined as "an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, re-spect, or admiration." And on Thursday, September 6th, members and friends of Trinity gathered in the parlor to bid a fond farewell to Becky Purnell with just such expressions of gratitude, respect and admiration.

The mood in the parlor that sunny afternoon was festive as Becky was feted with acco-lades and tokens of the congregation's appreciation, including a rendition of “Close to You”, yet bittersweet with the awareness of just what we were losing with her retirement.

Becky served as Trinity's Office Manager, and so much more. For almost two decades she greeted church members, visitors, vendors, and the ever present copy machine re-pairman with a warm word of welcome and her ready smile. Her commitment to the con-gregation evident always in the professional yet personal touch she displayed in each situ-

ation with each person, each concern. Her persona the essence of life lived as a Christian.

Becky was wished Godspeed by all pre-sent during this final opportunity to rec-ognize her contributions to the life and ministry of Trinity. She and husband Jim left with joyful anticipation of their com-mitment to family, stepping into their role as grandparents-in-residence to grand-sons James and Sweet Baby Jack. Godspeed indeed.

Old Kitchen/ New Kitchen

During the Weekday School renovations and updates last summer, the old kitchen in the

Education Building was demolished and a re-source room for the Weekday School was

made.

At the same time, a stor-

age closet for tables and

chairs was made into a

warming kitchen for the

Carson Fellowship Hall,

with access to the new

parking lot for caterers.

Save the Dates

Page 4

PostScripts

Church Triumphant

August 29 Vivian Holt Mynatt

Congregational Sympathy

September 7 Melanie Irwin Wallwork,

daughter of Anne Irwin

Congratulations

September 7 Ray and Ginger Weeks,

50th Wedding Anniversary

Marriage

October 20 Amy Alderman Poe and

Nicholas Giao Nguyen

Baptism

October 21 Eleanor Reed Hurst,

daughter of Laura-Nelle and Mark Hurst

Session Highlights August 19, 2018:

Session approved Cookie Parnell as Treasurer for 2019.

Session approved Debbie Thompson to be the Sessional

Representative on the ONC in the class of 2020.

Financials as of September 30 September YTD Annual Actuals Actuals Budget

Receipts: 58,108.28 472,034.32 656,093.00

Unrest. Funds Used: 3,156.75 20,848.50 47,100.00

Boltz Funds Used: 0.00 5,941.00 5,941.00

Endow. Funds Used: 0.00 59,515.00 59,515.00

Gilchrist Funds Used: 0.00 0.00 1,500.00

Sanford Bldg. Maint.

Funds Used: 191.58 1,724.22 2,299.00

Thomson Funds Used: 0.00 0.00 4,000.00

Expenses: 76,272.06 655,824.92 914,200.00

Surplus/Deficit: (14,815.45) (95,761.88)(137,752.00)

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November 1–16 WDS Wreath Sale

November 12 WDS Closed for Veteran’s Day

November 21-23 WDS Closed for Thanksgiving

November 22 & 23 Office closed for Thanksgiving

December 5 Room in the Inn begins

December 16 Christmas Pageant @ 9:45 a.m.

Caroling & Dinner @ 5:00 p.m.

December 19 Longest Night Service @ 7:00 pm

December 19 – 31 WDS Closed for Christmas

December 23 Lessons and Carols @ 11:00 a.m.

December 25 & 26 Church Office Closed for Christmas

January 1 Church Office and WDS Closed

for New Year’s Day

Our Church Family

Staff Retirement Party for Becky