The Holystic Community

 This Sunday is Trinity Sunday wherein we celebrate the holy mystery of the union of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We also celebrate our church’s naming day. But ours isn’t the only Trinity Church in our diocese.  So for this issue, we will celebrate with Trinity Church in Shelburne.  Happy Naming Day, Trinity Church!

 

Trinity Episcopal Church in Shelburne, VT

Trinity Episcopal Church in Shelburne, Vermont embodies its namesake in its foundation, its ministries and its calling. If one interprets (read that as saying “limits”) God the Father as the creator and master builder, then Trinity’s buildings and grounds and rich history represent those elements of the Father.  If the Son is the teacher who prepares his disciples to live a life manifesting the two greatest commandments—to love God and to love one’s neighbor, then Trinity exemplifies those characteristics by its worship and ministries.  If the Holy Spirit is the fire and light that call people to God’s purpose, then Trinity’s deep conviction of “community” reflects that Spirit.

Recently, Trinity built a new parish hall.  That building was designed to be unique to the church, but in keeping with the history and spirit of the parish.  Where the church presents an elegant, dignified space for worship of God, the parish house is where the Spirit rolls up her sleeves and cheerfully sets to work. It is here that the fulfillment of the calling of community takes place.  The juxtaposition of the parish hall and the worship space of the church creates an outdoors safe harbor with a sensation of being gently and comfortingly wrapped in loving arms.  It is in this space that the Meditation and Memorial Garden offers

collage of Meditation and Memorial Garden

peace and tranquility.  Trinity has a dedicated group of parishioners who tend and lovingly maintain this sacred place, and as I walked through the church, the garden and the parish hall, I was moved by the sensation that in this parish, the calling of “community” is a holistic one: it includes those past, present and future with a very slim measure of liminal space separating these members. Trinity’s ancestral history and founding members are as defining of its community as its current members are, and its future members are so integral to the whole corpus of the community that they direct the ways in which current projects and plans will be fulfilled, as is apparent in the thoughtful consideration that went into the new building.

collage of Tiffany stained glass window images

As you look at the beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows at the altar and in lieu of a Rose window, the depictions of Jesus are representations of him still teaching his disciples—the disciples of today.  At the altar, Jesus is portrayed as The Way. In the nave, Jesus is our master role model, teaching of the significance of baptism and communion. The communion of Trinity Church looks upon these windows every Sunday and is reminded of is Spiritual calling.  The Spirit enables further learning opportunities, not only in the capable preaching of Rev. Craig Smith during worship, but in a special program they call “Space for Grace.”  Each week between services, folks gather together to learn about issues of our time and discuss in what manner our baptismal covenant requires us respond. 

Like most churches and other sacred places, Trinity opens its doors to a variety of groups and organizations throughout the week.  But I got the feeling that at Trinity in Shelburne, those groups are welcomed as additional members of the Trinity Community—not as outsiders who make use available space. As part of a regular schedule, Trinity Church members gather together to prepare a mass meal that they take to Salvation Army in Burlington that helps to feed the many homeless and impoverished of that city.  They also offer “senior” lunches a number of times each year to remind those who cannot come to church regularly that they are still important and beloved members of the Trinity Communion.

I learned while I visited Trinity Church that it is not so much what one does to fulfill God’s purpose that is important, but that it is fulfilled together in community.  I learned that community defined in a broader, holistic understanding of the word results in the kind of grace that is Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne. I would venture to say that the community of Trinity, Shelburne is stirred not merely by the Spirit, but by the Trinity.