We appreciate members from our congregation who were able to participate in Giving Back To The Community. Additionally, we thank the local nonprofits who opened their doors and their grounds to our volunteers early in November. Those sites where our volunteers were able to work really made a difference with the tasks they completed. Leaders for the nonprofits graciously thanked our volunteers for their time and effort.
On Thursday, November 4, Friday, November 5, and Saturday, November 6, our congregation had the opportunity to give time and physical support to nonprofits and churches in the Richmond area. The time frame each day was from 9 AM until 12 NOON.
On the morning of October 29th Sherando UMC, on the Staunton District suffered a devastating fire. Their sanctuary and church building were destroyed.
Trinity has sent the congregation 100 prayer squares and a beautiful banner for their current worship space. These were made available by our Stitchers Ministry. We were in conversation with the District Superintendent, Rev. Doug Forrester, before we sent the items, to make sure this gesture was appropriate.
They were thrilled to receive our gifts and will present them on November 14, “Sherando Day” on their district.
Doug Forrester was delighted to hear from us, as our church is his home church.
This loving gesture was made on behalf of our church to a congregation experiencing deep grief.
We are grateful to our Stitchers for all that they do for so many!
This week Trinity responded to an urgent call from the Richmond District Office asking if we could house a team of volunteers from Team Rubicon. Team Rubicon (teamrubiconusa.org) is an international non-profit disaster response organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emerging response teams. Team Rubicon currently maintains a roster of 130,000+ volunteers.
Team Rubicon is currently coordinating with the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and other organizations to meet the humanitarian need in the Afghan Refugee Resettlement effort. Their teams are supporting logistics, the management, and distribution of donated goods at participating bases across the country including Ft. Pickett and Quantico. The teams staying at Trinity will be expanding the effort to Ft. Lee by processing donated goods at the Salvation Army Warehouse (the old J.C. Penny at Regency Square.) Teams will be housed in Trinity Hall, Oct. 15-31.
Bill Pike spends time with a Team Rubicon leader to help Trinity understand a bit more about our guests.
Thank you to all who prepared meals or helped make Team Rubicon feel at home while staying at Trinity.
Cub Pack 799 had their Pinewood Derby in April and were excited to see their friends as well as race their self-made, finely tuned Derby Cars.
Scout Troop 799 has two feature meetings in May. On 5/3 the Henrico County Police K-9 Unit (Bomb Unit) will demonstrate the operations of their officers and dogs. The following Monday night meeting on 5/10, Troop 799 will host members of the Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad as they discuss first aid.
Boys ages K-5th grade (Cubs) or ages 11-17 (Boy Scouts) who are interested can go to our troop/pack website to request more information – www.Troop799.org, www.Pack799.com or contact the Charter Organization Rep. Dennis.King1@gmail.com
Over the last year, many of you have asked about our French-Swahili congregation. As you might have guessed, the pandemic had an impact on them too.
A couple of families lost loved ones to assorted health issues in their home country. Also, for some of the congregation in Richmond, the pandemic impacted employment, education, and housing.
Luckily, those disruptions in Richmond were countered by your generosity. Your financial donations have allowed us to assist our French-Swahili families in their times of economic stress.
But also, like you, they have not been able to worship in person, and this has created an extra level of stress for a close-knit community. Working with some special funding, the church was able to purchase and donate 13 Lenovo Chromebook computers to help these families.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 16, their congregational leader, Vianney Kayimbula, stopped by the church to pick up the Chromebooks for distribution. As soon as Vianney walked into the church office corridor, he said with lots of emotion, “Oh, how I miss my church.”
So do we Vianney.
The Chromebooks will enhance their opportunities to connect with each other, help to restart their worship and prayer meetings, and assist with learning the English language.
We want to thank everyone who has helped with financial donations during the last year for our French-Swahili families. You have made a real difference for them during the pandemic.
