Trinity Sandwich Shoppe

This morning a group of Trinity Church Members gathered in the kitchen of the Fellowship Hall to make 500 sandwiches that will be delivered to Urban Ministries later today. Whether it was taking the twist-ties off the loaves, laying the bread out, slapping the mayo on, adding the ham, or bagging the sandwiches back up - there was a job for everyone!

Thank you to those who helped out this morning!

Cheryl Howard, Lisa King, Erica King,

Curtis Buchanan, Daniel Black, and Madison King

Madison helping take the twist-ties off!

Willie McManus and John Moore

(way in the back) were there too!

Love Thy Neighbor - Aug. 16th

For those of you who were unable to attend our services this morning, we would like to offer you a brief summary of what you missed! There was an amazing amount of love in the sanctuary this morning. It was wonderful to see the parking lot full of cars and the pews full of people there to worship the Lord in His house. The rest of the Montana Mission Team has made it home safely, and many of them were in attendance this morning (filling up 1 1/2 pews themselves!). Lynne filled in for Misti on special music and sang "Revelation Song" beautifully.

Trinity Welcomes the Campbell Family

We welcomed four new members into our congregration: Tom Campbell, Marlene Campbell, Brittney Campbell, and Kristen Campbell Stroupe. Kristen is married to David and Donna's son Justin Stroupe. They came to Trinity UMC through transfer from Davidson United Methodist Church. Welcome to the Campbell family!

Love Thy Neighbor

The message was brought to the congregation this morning by Preacher Rick, who just returned from the mission trip this past Tuesday. It was obvious that the experience he had in Montana has certainly influenced his sermon!

The Most Important Commandment

Luke 10: 25-29

"One day an expert in religious law stood up to Jesus by asking Him this question: 'Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?' Jesus replied, 'What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?' The man answered, 'You must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 'Right!' Jesus told him. 'Do this and you will live!' The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, 'And WHO is my neighbor?'"

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10: 30-37

"Jesus replied with an illustration: 'A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.' 'Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?' Jesus asked. The man replied, 'The one who showed him mercy.' Then Jesus said, 'Yes, now go and do the same.'"

This is the question that Rick presented to the church. WHO is YOUR neighbor? Many people today think so quickly of themselves before they think of others; however, that is not what Jesus has taught us. He has taught us to love our neighbors AS we would love ourselves. So who do you consider your neighbor to be? The person that you have time to help? Those who ask for help? Someone that you have decided deserves your help?

Think about the perspectives in the story. The Jewish priest could have been on his way to a very important "board meeting." Have you ever been in such a hurry to do the "work" of the church, that you passed by a neighbor in need? The Temple assistant, who was knowledgeable and intelligent, may have thought about the danger that he would face in helping the man. Have you ever let your head get in the way of helping someone, because of the dangers in offering someone a hand or because you thought about what others might think or say about you? Then consider the Good Samaritan. He was most likely on this path for a specific reason, and he had other things that he needed to take care of. He probably wasn't considered rich by any means; however, he felt pity for this man and was willing to give of his time, risk his life, offer his donkey, and pay for his stay at the inn. He choose to make the sacrifice for his fellow man, a man that would have considered the Samaritan to be "unclean."

This relates well to our mission in Montana. The people of Heart Butte are our neighbors and we are called by God to love them as we love ourselves. It is hard to see people living in such poverty, children who do not feel loved by their parents and eat as though they haven't eaten all week, and adults that will not take pride in their homes or their land. We as a church have visited with this community now for 13 years. In that time, we have made a difference. You will see the community come out of their homes to help our team pick up the trash and weed the yards. The children may not always feel love from their parents, but it is guaranteed that when our team leaves they feel the love of Jesus Christ and that kind of love will last a lifetime. This is what we are called to do as Christians. We are to love our neighbors, and in doing so, we are to show them the face of Jesus.

So who is your neighbor?

One Moment of Thanks... Spread the Word

By: Mike Redding (Stop and Smell the People)

Mark this down: Noon, Friday August 14. Here’s why…

In Arlington National Cemetery, a family marks the one-year anniversary of United States Marine Captain Garrett Lawton's death. After reading my story from Arlington National Cemetery, “One Soldier’s Death,” many of us have been asking the same question: How do we say thank you to those who serve?

No matter our politics, we all want or soldiers to return home safely… to be reunited with their families. In the meantime wouldn’t it be nice if our servicemen and women knew how proud we are of them, how often we think of them, and how much we appreciate their sacrifice?

Anna and I have been looking for a simple way for masses of people to say thanks. I think we’ve stumbled upon something. It was under our noses all along. What if on Friday at noon each of us updated our Facebook or twitter status by writing something to our soldiers?

You could offer a prayer… or a moment of silence… or simply type a soldiers name… anything that for you says, “I care!” I’m not asking you to be pro-war… or anti-war. All I’m asking is for you to tell our troops and their families you haven’t forgotten them.

If for one moment we stopped yelling at each other about health care and instead made are voices one. What would that look like? What if we all tweeted or updated our FB status at the same time as a grateful nation to all the men and women serving our country?

Anna and I have reached out to the people who inspired this idea… Sgt. Carlos Baldeosingh’s widow, Rebecca; Chaplain 1LT Thomas Watson, the Charlottean leading our soldiers through their toughest hours in Iraq; and Soldier Cody Fowler who has been reading this website from the frontlines in Iraq. They all love the idea. (You’d be amazed at how “plugged in” our soldiers are to social media.) Your gratitude will reach them.

So, we are asking you to join us on Friday, August 14, 2009 to take a moment and offer up some simple words of thanks to our troops.

Also, lets see how many people we can get on board. Start telling all your Facebook and twitter friends. Let’s see how far we can spread this simple gesture of thanks.

In case you’re like me and need it spelled out… here’s how our simple plan will work…

1. On August 14, 2009 at 12 NOON EST (9AM West Coast… 7PM Baghdad… 8PM Kabul, Afghanistan) we’ll all “tweet” or update our Facebook status with a few words of gratitude, or the name of someone serving or the name of someone killed in action. (If you don’t have Facebook or Twitter you can post your words of gratitude here on this site under “comments.”)

2. Before Friday, August 14 tell everyone you can and ask them to join in our moment of thanks… and ask them to pass along news of our effort to everyone they know.

We have about 24 hours, people, get the word out!

(Copied from Stop and Smell the People by Mike Redding)

Last night a few members of Trinity headed down to Charlotte Douglas International Airport to pick up and welcome back 9 of the 20 team members of the Montana Mission Team. After waiting anxiously for quite a while, the team finally landed last night at 10:07pm and were welcomed by a slew of hugs, hand shakes, and questions like "Did you miss me??". Be sure to ask them about the trip, they are so excited to tell everyone! Welcome Home Montana Mission Team!

The Welcome Wagon!

The team coming down the escaltors!

The rest of the team!

Hugs!

Welcome Back!

Coming Home....

The team in Heart Butte, Montana is full of heavy hearts today - excited about being able to see family and friends again, but saddened by the fact that they have to say goodbye to some people that have become close friends over the past two weeks.

Although, I have not been in contact with the team, I am confident that they said most of their goodbyes last night over dinner at the church. Smokie, Wishie, Arlene, and Eloise MUST have been there. Arlene may have even performed a smudging, which blesses those in attendance and asks God to protect and guide them through their travels.

This morning, they awoke to eat a breakfast of leftovers in hopes to eat up anything left in the fridge before they leave. They will begin packing their luggage, cleaning the church, and then loading up the cars soon. Around 12:00 EST they will pile into the rental cars and start out on the two hour drive to Great Falls International Airport. The kids will most likely talk about things that happened at Sam's as they pass by, and the adults will look toward the airport ready to get home, but not ready to leave.

They will quickly board the airplane on their way to Minneapolis/St. Paul where they will land around 6:00pm EST. They will have a short layover, which will give them time to grab a quick bite to eat and then they will board the last plane on their journey home. Northwest Airlines Flight #1287 from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. They will arrive in Charlotte around 10:00pm to a crowd of family and friends there to welcome them home! Many will have made signs and banners and they will all wait patiently at baggage claim for the team to start down the escalators.

I hope that you will be one of those who is waiting there to welcome them home. Whether your immediate family was a part of the team or not, as a church family, we should all be there in support of this mission team who was ready and willing to answer the call of God to be the hands and feet of Christ to the Blackfeet Indians of Heart Butte, MT.

-Shelly Black
Missionary to Heart Butte, MT 2005, 2006, & 2008

Montana Here We Come!

The Montana Mission Team headed out of Charlotte last Friday, July 31st and arrived in Heart Butte, Saturday, August 1st. After a VERY long trip to get there, they all arrived safely in Great Falls and made the standard trip to Sam's for grocercies. Since the grocery store is a two hour drive from the church in Heart Butte, you plan on buying EVERYTHING you will need for the WHOLE two weeks in ONE trip! Plus, you have to factor in feeding a LARGE part of the community during your stay. It makes for QUITE an expeierence to say the least! If you have been a part of this mission trip and been a "Team Leader" on the trip to Sam's you know what I'm talking about!

After heading out of Sam's, the team started on the two hour journey to the United Methodist Church in Heart Butte, MT where they will be staying until Tuesday, August 11th. During this Mission Trip, they will host Vacation Bible School with up to 40-50 kids EACH day, serve dinner to the community several nights, repair a few roofs (I'm sure!), build a wheelchair ramp (if needed), talk to the people and more importantly listen to them, chase a few kids around the church (more than once), tell Regis to stop setting things on fire, tell Colby to stop doing something (I'm sure!), take a day trip into Canada to enjoy God's creation, TAKE TONS OF PICTURES, study God's word, and receive a tremendous amount of blessings!

I have included some photos from previous mission trips to Montana. For those of you who have been before, this should bring back memories... and for those of you who haven't been a part, this might just make you want to go. Enjoy!

Waiting at the Great Falls Airport.
You can pretty much see the entire airport in this photo!

The view on the way to Heart Butte, driving across Mt.

Vacation Bible School. We always feed the kids lunch.

Craft time at Bible School. Preacher Rick is "helping" Jeron.

Donnie is helping Bunky.
He couldn't see very well, so Donnie is letting him use his glasses.

Wishie telling us a story about something! =)

The women's work project! Cleaning out the vestibule!
It was being using for STORAGE!

We got the room cleaned out!
Then we stained the wood wall and filled holes in the plaster!

The we painted the walls, the floor, built this new table, and hung art work!

This the room complete! Hopefully it looks exactly like that this year!

The men's work project was to build a storage unit for all the stuff in the vestibule.

Jeff and Donnie working hard!

Loading the storage shed up with all the stuff that was kept in the vestibule of the church.

The New Storage Shed for the Church... Complete!

Smoky and Arlene taught Yates the Hand Game

Girls Night. 9-13 year olds came to the church and spent the night.
We painted finger nails, gave pedicures, and giggled the whole night!

Pow Wow is an annual event held in Heart Butte

Pow Wow Dancer

Drummers at Pow Wow

Prayer cloths hung in a tree on the butte.
For each prayer the natives hang a cloth in a tree.

"Big Sky Country"

The Abe Cox Memorial Room

Charlotte Knights Baseball July 25th

This past Saturday, a whole lot of Trinity Church was seen at the Charlotte Knights stadium! In support of the Montana Mission Team, a large group rode the bus and several families drove separately to enjoy a Saturday night baseball game in Fort Mill, SC. The Knights hosted the Rochester Red Wings! Although the game started out a little slow, things picked up in the last few innings! We went into the top of the 9th with the Knights up 6 to 4... thinking the game was over we were preparing to watch fireworks as soon as we got three outs! The Red Wings had something else in mind... as we went into the bottom of the 9th the game was now tied at 6. The Knights managed to get the bases loaded and the Red Wing Pitcher WALKED in the WINNING RUN! Not the most exciting and glorious victory... but we'll take it! The Knights won the game 7 to 6 in the bottom of the 9th! A whole lot of fun was had by all that were able to make it!

Baseball and Hot Dogs! A great Saturday Night!

Cynthia and her family had a great time!

The first couple innings were pretty slow.

Carolyn had some ice cream... and gave Lawrie the bowl.

It became the perfect hat for Mr. Walrus!

We had a pretty big crowd! Marion Elliot caught a foul ball!

At this point... the game was getting exciting!

But the kids weren't as interested...

Enjoying the game...

There were lots of our youth there!

Most of them didn't know much about baseball.

Cynthia was explaining the game a little to Beau and Blake.

The bottom of the 9th inning... game tied 6-6... two men on base!

WE WON!

Fireworks were great!

A little loud for the little ones... but enjoyed by all!

Just watching the fireworks.

It was pretty long too!

The grand finale! The perfect end to a great day at the ball park!