All Souls

Just a reminder that this Thursday is the Feast of All Souls, a day on which we remember and give thanks for the lives of the all departed who have influenced our lives for good or for ill. This is a particularly good occasion for mourning those whose funerals we have been unable to attend, or at whose funerals we were unable to fully grieve because we were busy making space for others’ grief. Even when we have been able to grieve at the funeral, All Souls is a good time for reflecting on the ways in which our memories of the dead have changed over time.

At Holy Trinity, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls with a service of remembrance and benediction of the blessed sacrament. We print the names of the departed on small slips of colored paper. As we read each name, we fold the slip of paper and insert it into spaces in a specially-designed monstrance. A monstrance is used for the exposition of the blessed sacrament. The one we use for All Souls is cross-shaped, with three vertical bars and three horizontal bars which create the spaces into which we insert the names. At the crossing of the bars is a space for the consecrated host.

At the Eucharist, we consecrate an extra host which we insert into the monstrance. After a brief time of meditation, the priest blesses the congregation with the words, “this is the body of Christ which was given for you.” Our focus is thus on the way we are called to seek Christ both in the breaking of the bread and in the lives of those around us.

If you have not yet turned in your list of names, please do so by email before noon on 11/1 (tomorrow). Better yet, bring your names in person to the service at 6:30 pm, writing them either on the blank slips of paper made available there or on any (1” x 3”) slips of paper that are special to you. We will already have printed the names of all on our year’s mind list in advance.

Changes to Soup After School

For the past three years, neighbors have gathered with us here at the Church of the Holy Trinity for Soup After School, an opportunity to sit down together for conversation over a free meal of soup, bread, a drink and something sweet. There is always something fun for the kids to do, and for us grown-ups it’s a safe, warm place to gather and get to know one another!

This year, we are staring a bit later—funny how folks don’t seem to want soup when it’s warm outside! We are also moving to the second and fourth Tuesdays rather than the first and third. In this way we hope to be more responsive to the needs of those who get paid on the 1st and 15th of the month, only to find that there are too may days, and not enough paycheck.

All are welcome, even those who don’t particularly need a good hot meal. Come just to sit and chat, or come to help out with cooking or serving soup, with supervising the children or with cleaning up. We offer you this time for a bit of peace (though not necessarily quiet!) in a busy and troubled world.

Dates For

Soup After School: 2017-18

• October 24
  
• November 14
  
• November 28
• December 12
• January 9
  
• January 23
  
• February 13
  
• February 27
  
• March 13
  
• March 27
• April 10
  
• April 24

While Soup After School is not, strictly speaking, a religious gathering, we do try to offer an activity each time that will engage the kids in the seasonal life of the church. After clearing away the dishes at 6pm, those wanting to join us for worship troop into the church for a 6:30pm Eucharist where we give thanks for the opportunity to seek and serve Christ in every human being. Our hope is that the transition from supper table to communion table will become yet another way in which we can offer our neighbors a taste of the life we share in Christ. Pray with us that, in that taste, both we and our neighbors will see that the Lord is good!