This week.

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness–
on them light has shined.
–Isaiah 9.1

Adversity, we all go through it.  For each of us there comes a day or a period where we just struggle, and no matter how hard you try or how good you are, you just have a hard time.  What helps us in times of adversity is our willingness to invite or accept help.  None of us get where we want to go in life on our own efforts only; we need others to help us see what we can’t see or be companions along the way, because companionship is good.  This new year at Trinity Commons we’re going to use our Tuesday afternoons and evenings a little differently this year as we engage with our community. and engage differently with God and one another.

Starting this week, Pasta Night will return at 6 pm.  Each month, the last Tuesday of the month, will be our community meal, Pasta Night, followed by Compline in the chapel upstairs.  Come and join us for what you can; if you come late that’s fine, if you need to leave early that’s fine too.  The first Tuesday of each month will be Evensong at 5:30 pm in the chapel at Trinity Commons.  Evensong is a chanted version of Evening Prayer designed to give thanks to God by nurturing our own faith in an ancient way.  I imagine many of you aren’t used to chanting but like all things you’re unfamiliar with, come give it a try, you’ll soon get the hang of it.

The second and third Tuesdays of the month will involve a Bible study or an opportunity to engage with an organization helping people in our community.  The idea is that we open ourselves up to God to learn more about what our faith is, what it means, and talk about how we can best live it out.  Then we go out into the world to live it out by helping people who need help, listening to their story, and sharing our life as Jesus models it.  The faith we learn becomes the faith we put into action.

I’m excited about this change and I look forward to having you with us as we engage God, engage our knowledge of what we believe and why, and engage our neighbor.  May this new season of change invigorate you too, and may you, in whatever darkness you’re walking in, be courageous enough to come find the light which shines for you so that you may be a light to others.

–Thomas