The Messenger AUGUST 2017

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Growing as Disciples of Jesus Christ through Worship, Learning, Fellowship and Outreach

THE ANGLICAN WAY perfect for new members, those seeking confirmation, and those looking

to better understand the Anglican Way of spiritual growth As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to follow Him in a way that transforms us from the inside out to become like Him. This is the purpose and goal of following Jesus! How, though, does that transformation take place? How do we become more like Jesus? The short answer is that we must cooperate with God’s grace through the intentional exercise of spiritual disciplines.

Spiritual formation, becoming like Jesus, doesn’t happen on its own; it isn’t automatic. Rather, it is, as theologian Bruce Demarest succinctly puts it, “the shaping of our life after the pattern of Jesus Christ…a pro-

cess that takes place in the inner person, whereby our character is reshaped by the Spirit.” Dallas Willard, always one to turn a beautiful phrase, said it this way, “spiritual formation in the Christian tradition is a process of increasingly being possessed and permeated by the fruit of the Spirit as we walk in the easy yoke of discipleship with Jesus as our teacher.”

So how do we do that?

Our Anglican heritage has always held out a two-part, basic curriculum for spiritual for-mation: The Daily Office (Morning and Evening Prayer) and Holy Eucharist. It is my be-lief that this curriculum is a wonderful and flexible foundation for spiritual growth. As we

come to understand both the content and the structure of the Daily Office and the Eucharist, we come to understand the wisdom of the ancient Church’s curriculum for growing as a disciple of Jesus.

The Anglican Way is a course designed to explore the content and shape of the services of the Sunday Eucharist and the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. In The Anglican Way, we explore topics like:

What do the services say and mean? What is the theology behind them? Why is it in the order we find it? Why do we sit, stand, kneel, bow, and cross ourselves?

So who is this course right for?

For New Members interested in understanding more about the Anglican heritage and why we do some of the things we do in worship.

For Confirmation. Bishop Menees will be in Bakersfield in ear ly Novem-ber to offer Confirmation. Confirmation is for adults who want to enter into the Anglican tradition and for young adults (high school age) who are ready to make an adult affirmation of faith in Jesus.

For those who want to know more about our rich liturgical heritage. For those who want to draw upon the wisdom of the Church in their spir-

itual growth.

For more information, see the ad in this month’s Messenger or check out our website.

Yours in Christ,

In this issue:

Rector’s Article p.1

Assistant’s Article p.2

Parish Family p.3

Anglican Way p.3

Preschool p.3

Clergy Coffee p.4

Family Gathering p.4

Birthdays p.5

Ages to Ages p.4

Stats p.4

Information p.5

Our Anglican heritage has always held out a

two-part, basic curricu-lum for spiritual for-

mation: The Daily Office (Morning and

Evening Prayer) and Holy Eucharist.

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Adam, Eve & Evolution: Wrestling with Science and Scripture The all-too common narrative is that Christianity and science are at odds with one another. The ‘creationism vs. evolution” debate is the high profile example that reinforces this narrative in the popular imagination. The problem with this debate, as I see it, is that it is highly polarized, and any sort of thoughtful middle ground is dismissed by the loud voices on either extreme.

To adapt a quip I read some time ago: the debate on origins is a lot like the public swimming pool. All of the noise comes from the shallow end.

The public debate leaves us with ‘either-or’ kinds of questions like these: Is the universe the result of natural processes, or did God create it? Did humanity originate from a long evolutionary devel-

opment, or was humanity created by God in his image? Are scientists or Genesis 1 right about how our world came to be the way it is? Are we to trust the Bible or science?

From my perspective as an Anglican pastor a much better question to explore is this: Can we find a way to be faith-ful both to the Bible and to the results of scientific inquiry?

As it so happens, I am not the first person to ask this question. There have been many thoughtful people throughout history who have grappled with this question and have come up with powerful and persuasive answers. Even today in the midst of loud, polarizing debates, there are many who have taken up this question with fervor, integrity and fidelity to both Scripture and Science. They have charted out a thoughtful middle ground.

In the five-week course Adam, Eve & Evolution: Wrestling with Science and Scripture, we will explore the range of positions in the conversation between science and faith on origins. We will examine the results of scientific in-quiry and grapple with the implications they have for our reading of the Bible.

All are welcome to attend, whether creationists, evolutionists or those wondering if they can find a way to hang on to both.

What: A five week class explor ing a thoughtful response to the creation v. evolution debate

Where: Tr inity Anglican Church, 11300 Campus Park Drive, Bakersfield, CA

When: August 27-October 3; two class times are offered: Sunday mornings at 9 AM or Tuesday evenings at 7 PM

Registration: tr initybakersfield.com/news-events/adam-eve-evolution or (661)665-7713

Cost: Free

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In The Parish Family

Congratulations to …

Great Grandparents, John & Meg Pryor, and to new grandmother, Regina Pryor of the birth of Hudson Thomas, who was born on July 11th. Happy parents are Nick & Jennifer Hennagin.

First time grandparents, Dennis & Melanie Mullins. Melanie’s daughter gave birth to twins, Cora Isobel Davidson and Thea Evangeline Davidson, who were born on July 19th.

In Sympathy for …

Ann Lingo and her family on the death of her father, Owen Rees.

Nnamdi & Lynda Oyeka on the recent loss of their unborn baby, Grace.

We are happy to announce that

will be opening on August 1, 2017

This has been a very exciting time for us all and we can't wait until we fill the pre-school up with lots of children. Thank you again for all the donations, and the hard work

that so many of you volunteered to do. If you know any families with children between the ages of 2-6 years old, please send them our way. They can call the office Monday-Friday or stop by for a tour. Trinity Preschool at Belcourt will be the best preschool in town and it will be filled with kids, love and Jesus! Be blessed, Jennifer Coburn Preschool Director

The Anglican Way Are you new to Trinity and want to learn more about our Anglican heritage? Are you interested in getting fully involved at Trinity and being Confirmed?

Are you wanting to more deeply understand how to grow spiritually?

The Anglican Way is an exploration of the basic Anglican curriculum for spiritual formation found in the Dai-

ly Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer and in the Sunday Eucharist. By exploring both the content and the structure of these services, we discover ancient wisdom for modern day spiritual growth. This course is perfect for those who are new to Trinity and want to get more deeply involved, for those interested in the Anglican Way of spiritual formation, and for those seeking Confirmation. Confirmation is for adults who want to enter into the Anglican heritage and for teens who are ready to make an adult declaration of following Jesus. The course will be offered over seven weeks on Sunday mornings from 9:00 - 9:45 beginning September 10 and concluding October 22.

Total Pledged: $2,714,692

Total Collected: $2,208,590

TRINITY STATS

Attendance

July 2nd 200 July 16th 201 July 9th 175 July 23rd 195

Giving

June Year-to-Date Income $40,933 $262,716 Expense $48,671 $259,376

CLERGY COFFEE

For new(er)comers If you are new(er) to Trinity and would like to know more about who we

are, what we do, and how you can get more fully involved, come join us on

Sunday, August 13 at 11:30 in the Youth Room (110) for our Clergy

Coffee. It is a time to get to know us, for us to get to know you and answer

any questions, and, of course, to have some goodies and coffee!

Trinity

Family

Ministry

The FAMILY GATHERING

Sunday, August 20th

After the 10:00 Service

The Family Gathering is a regular op-portunity for the families of Trinity to gather for a meal, for life together and for conversation about the joys and struggles of living lives of discipleship as families. On Sunday, August 20th we will gath-er after the 10:00 service to share a meal together and to continue the con-versation about what it looks like to live out the Christian faith as families. RSVP with the Church Office—$10 per family

—Trinity Family Ministry Presents—

Sunday School resumes on September 10th!

Registration for Pre-K - 6th Grades can be done on the church website now!

Youth Group launches on September

10th!

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OUR CLERGY

The Very Rev. Dr. Karl E. Dietze, Rector

The Rev. Joseph Lawrence, Assistant

The Rev. John M. Wilcox, Retired

The Rev. John LaMar, Deacon

The Rev. Ron Christolear, Deacon

11300 Campus Park Dr.

Bakersfield CA 93311

661-665-7713

office@trinitybakersfield.com

www.trinitybakersfield.com

WORSHIP SERVICES

Sunday Morning

8 a.m. Holy Communion

10 a.m. Holy Communion

Thursday Morning

10 a.m. Healing Service

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mark Smith Sr. Warden

Dennis Gibson Jr. Warden

Guy Lingo

Jeff Mendoza

Olga See

Priscilla Beck

Steven Brown

Phil Lamirand

Larry Bright

Kaye Camp

Harley Pinson

Jerry Starr

Ed Taylor Treasurer Anne Giles Clerk

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

Kurtis Garcia Louise Henderson Sherrill Lindstrom Rachel Miller Bryan Williams Dan Gray Karen Cartmell Steven Faulk Kevin Ray Andrew Lawrence

Mady Fredriksz Jeffrey Fredriksz Dick Weringer Jenn Young Denise Irvin Penelope Franco RJ Chaffee Sue Norton Rick Radon Emily Chaffee

Dcn Ron Christolear Lori Miller Elizabeth Garcia Angelo Haddad Haley Longbottom Linda Schuler Diane Steward Scott Parker Paul Kelsay Val Lewis Samantha Chaffee

NEIGHBORHOOD WALKS

Now that we are moving into our new home, we want to get to know our new neighbors and extend the love of Christ to them! On Saturday, September 9, we will have an event to introduce ourselves, and our new facilities and preschool, to the community. In order to personally introduce ourselves and truly get to know our neighbors, we will take “Neighborhood Walks” to let people know about the event and ask if they have any prayer needs our church family can uphold them in. During the weeks leading up to the event, groups will go out into assigned portions

of the neighborhoods around Trinity. We will have a brief explanation and training session on how to do “Neighborhood Walks” after Church on Sunday, August 27. You can do as much or as little as you want, and you can pick a group that fits your schedule. Don’t miss out on this exciting, easy, and low-key way to extend the love of Christ to our new neighbors!