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As another school year winds to a close, Holy Trinity would like to recognize members of the Class of 2023.  Graduating high school seniors will be affirmed during worship on Sunday, June 4.  Those graduating from college or graduate school will be recognized in the newsletter. If your family includes someone graduating this year, please send an email to laura.hudson@engagedbygrace.orglisting their name, institution from which they’re graduating, degree received, and post-graduate plans.

Congratulations to rising high school junior Ben Fox who was recently named head drum major for Upper Arlington High School’s marching band for the 2023-2024 school year.  Look for Ben leading the band in the 4^th of July parade and on the football field this fall!

Congratulations and Good Luck to rising college senior Adrienne Wachtman who will compete in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship this weekend in Rochester, NY.  Adrienne throws the javelin and is currently ranked 13^th nationally heading into the competition.

Reflections from Vicar Jaren

We have spent the past year journeying through the entirety of Scripture. We started with Genesis in the Old Testament, travelled through the Gospels, and ended with the stories of the Church in Acts and Paul’s letters in the New Testament. It has been a wonderful time full of God’s written word. We have completed Year One of the narrative lectionary and I think it is so important to reflect on what this journey has been like for all of us. You can see the entirety of this journey through the displays set up in the gathering space where you may interact with various reminders of the Bible stories that we encountered every week. By reading through the entirety of the Bible this year, we can also take time to recognize that the Bible’s story, God’s story, continues with us today. We are continuing to participate in God’s story just as our ancestors of faith have done long before us. We have travelled through the Bible from beginning to end, but God’s story does not end there. God’s story continues in every one of us, in our communities, in our homes. And so let us take a moment to reflect and be thankful for all we have encountered this year. Let us thank God for the gift of scripture and for the opportunity to learn about our Creator who relates to us in grace-filled love. I hope this year has been a great opportunity for you all to dive deeper into God’s written word, where we encounter God’s Living Word—Jesus Christ. Remember that God’s story continues with us all and that we continue to rely on God’s Word to sustain us. To celebrate this achievement, we encourage everyone to bring their Bibles to worship this Sunday, May 28. We will be using them in worship where we will be gifting Bibles to our 2^nd graders. We look forward to seeing you here!

All adults are invited to join us for food and fellowship at Holy Trinity’s progressive dinner Sunday, June 4 from 5-9 pm.  It’s a great way to get to know people in a smaller setting.  The evening begins at someone’s home for appetizers.  Then you proceed to another person’s home for the main course and conclude the evening with a group dessert buffet at Holy Trinity.  There are still openings for two or more people to host the main course or attendees that contribute to the dessert buffet at church. Please sign up at the Collection & Sign up Corner by Sunday, May 28 if you’re interested in hosting and/or attending the event. Childcare will be provided for those that need it.  Please contact Noelle Fox (Noelle.fox@engagedbygrace.org), Vicar Jaren Summers (jaren.summers@engagedbygrace.org), or Laura Hudson (laura.hudson@engagedbygrace.org) if you have questions.  We hope to see you there!

Get ready to “Splash in God’s Living Water!” at Vacation Bible School the week of Monday-Thursday, July 10th-13th (with a kickoff event on Sunday, July 9th).  Children in Preschool through 5th grade wishing to attend can sign up with this link.  Paper registration forms are also available at the church welcome center.

Our summer Vacation Bible School will be a wonderful time as we learn about the importance of ordinary water for life and growth.  While water is essential to our physical growth, God’s living water is necessary for our spiritual growth.

Everyone is invited to the VBS Kickoff Splash Party from 4:00-6:30 pm on Sunday, July 9th.  We’ll have water fun and games on the front lawn beginning at 4:00 followed by an indoor potluck dinner.

There are many ways for everyone (children, youth, and adults) to volunteer the week of VBS (Monday-Thursday, July 10th-13th).  Below are brief descriptions of roles that still need to be filled:

• Shepherds:  Lead a small group of children through the stations on Monday-Thursday, July 10th-13th.  No planning or advance preparation is necessary.
• Station Leaders:  Materials are provided for you to lead small groups of children for 25-minute sessions. Station Leaders are still needed for crafts and recreation time.
• Registration:  Welcome and sign in children as they arrive at VBS each morning from 8:45-9:15 am.
• Decorate:  We’ll be decorating the sanctuary and gathering space right after worship on Sunday, June 25th.  All are welcome to help!

The next American Red Cross blood drive at Holy Trinity will be on Thursday, June 1.  Go to www.redcrossblood.org/give or call 1-800-REDCROSS to make an appointment.  All donors in June will receive a $10 gift card to a merchant of their choice.  Thank you for considering giving the gift of life!

On April 25^th, 1650 people of faith, including seven members of Holy Trinity, met at the Celeste Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds for the B.R.E.A.D. (Building Responsibility, Equality, And Dignity) Organization’s Nehemiah Action meeting.  The B.R.E.A.D. Organization is composed of 44 central Ohio congregations of various faiths, and it includes five Lutheran congregations. At the annual Nehemiah meeting, B.R.E.A.D. confronts serious community problems important to its member congregations by asking public officials with power to solve these problems to commit to B.R.E.A.D.‘s proven solutions.

Achieving a solution is challenging and often takes years of research and negotiating. B.R.E.A.D. works with experts to understand the problem and identify evidence-based solutions, and then negotiates with the officials to address their concerns.  The Nehemiah is important because B.R.E.A.D. leaders ask the officials to commit publically to implement the B.R.E.A.D. proposals. Because the officials make their commitments in public, they can be held accountable.

At this year’s Nehemiah, B.R.E.A.D. celebrated progress by the City of Columbus’ adoption of three B.R.E.A.D. issues: Columbus Violence Reduction Initiative (CRVI), an Elder Care program, and an environmental issue.  B.R.E.A.D. has worked on these issues for several years and officials were diligent in following through on their commitments. The B.R.E.A.D. community rejoices in these results.

B.R.E.A.D. was also successful this year in having Jennifer Adair, President of the Columbus Board of Education, respond positively to the issue of implementing Restorative Practices in Columbus City Schools. “Restorative practices is a field within the social sciences that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities (www.iirp.edu).”  In particular, research shows restorative practices help effectively address conflicts among students and others by working to make the victim whole and relationships restored.

Other issues on the agenda concerned affordable housing, municipal identification, police-community relations, and an Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) program.

• The affordable housing issue addresses the needs of those spending over half of their income on housing and making less than ½ of the median income in central Ohio.
• Not having an identification card is a problem for about 80,000 people in central Ohio and a municipal identification will allow access to banking, libraries, food pantries, visitation at schools, local government buildings, and emergency housing.
• Relationships between the Black community and Columbus police are tense and B.R.E.A.D. is advocating for a formal reconciliation program between the community and police.
• The ABLE program is aimed at teaching skills for police officers to act when they see other officers, including superiors, making egregious errors.

B.R.E.A.D. has identified solutions for problems underlying these issues, but at this time, no public official will commit to B.R.E.A.D.’s solution.  B.R.E.A.D. research committees will continue to work with the appropriate public officials so that these serious community problems can be addressed.

If you are interested in knowing more or becoming involved in the work of the B.R.E.A.D. Organization, please contact Dave Kriska, Sharon Hamersley or Benson Ross.

Director Nancy VanFossen Announces Retirement

The Holy Trinity Child Development Program hosted its “End of the Year Celebration” at Fancyburg Park recently with the preschool and K-Club children and their families. It was so good to see everyone enjoying a perfect evening of fun and friendship. Beautiful weather, great ice cream, and that familiar and precious sense of community were certainly what made the event so special.

It is that sense of community that makes the news I am sharing so difficult. I have notified the HTCDP Advisory Board that I will be stepping down from the position of director of Holy Trinity. I will work through August with the Summer Fun Program and then be available through the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year to help train and transition new leadership. It is a good time for some new adventures for Miss Nancy. I have confidence that the center will continue as a place where child-centered decision making is the focus.

It is hard to leave something I love so dearly. A 5-year-old asked this morning, “Does that mean she’s going to kindergarten?” This is the greatest job in the world! I thank you for allowing me to serve with you in this family of faith.

– Nancy VanFossen aka Miss Nancy