Trinity United Methodist Church of Perry Heights
A place for healing and hope.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Monday, October 1, 2018
Thanksgiving Baskets Downtown
Registration for 2018
Saturday, October 13, 2018 9 am - 1 pm
Six registration locations:
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
425 Cleveland Ave SW Canton 44702
Stark Social Workers Network
1221 Harrisburg Rd NE, Canton 44705
J. Babe Stearn Community Center
2628 13th St SW, Canton 44710
St. Anthony/All Saints Catholic Church
1530 11th St SE, Canton 44707
God's Heartbeats to the City
1525 Shorb Ave NW, Canton 44703
St. Joseph's Catholic Church
322 3rd St SE, Massillon 44646
Late Registration - Saturday, October 20th (Two locations)
Stark Social Workers Network 9 am - 11 am
St. Paul's Episcopal Church 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
ONE REGISTRATION PER ADDRESS
*MUST BE PRESENT TO REGISTER*
NO PHONE OR ABSENTEE REGISTRATION
Bring Proof of current address and photo ID
Stark County residents only
Food Distribution: Saturday, November 17th
9 am - 3 pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Eulogy and Obituary for Loretta Wynn Doll
Eulogy for Loretta Doll
April 18, 2018
by Rev.
John Partridge
In 1915 the world was different than the one in
which we now live. In December of that
year, Frank Sinatra was born, President Woodrow Wilson married Edith Galt in
Washington D.C., WWI raged in Europe, heavier than air aircraft were still
largely experimental, Ernest Shackleton’s team attempting to cross Antarctica
overland was stranded as their ship, the Endurance, was crushed by the ice and
sank, and into that world, Loretta Wynn was born in Canton, Ohio on December 3rd,
1915.
Loretta lived with her parents, John and Loretta,
and eventually attended, and graduated from McKinley High School in 1934, and
then met and married Glen Doll on May 27th, 1939. Before too long,
Glen and Loretta welcomed Sally and Ted to their family as well and, in 1950
they moved from Canton to what was then a very rural Perry Township. By 1955 they had joined Trinity Methodist
Episcopal Church which would, in 1968, become the Trinity United Methodist
Church.
Although they did a
little camping and traveling in the early years, Loretta and Glen both liked
staying at home and working the land, planting a garden, growing things, and
then canning their produce. They liked to
design the landscaping for the two homes that Glen had built, and then,
periodically, or perhaps continually, redesigning and reworking it to suit
their tastes and their sense of style.
Maybe it was this sense of style that led Loretta into other adventures...The full text can be found here: Eulogy and Obituary for Loretta Doll
Monday, March 26, 2018
A Different Spring To-Do List
I know
that many of you will be reading this after Easter even though I am writing it in
March. But the arrival of Easter and
spring often signify a flurry of activity. Many of us are already making lists of things
that need to be done outside in our flower beds, gardens and lawns as well as a
host of things that we put off during cold weather. If we have children, there are even more
things being added to our schedules with the arrival of spring sports and other
activities. But in the midst of all this
busy-ness, I hope that you will also take the time to put a few spiritual
things on your to-do lists. Spring and
Easter are filled with images that remind us of God and of spiritual things. And so, in the midst of our rush to get
things done, I encourage you to take some time out to appreciate the gift that
spring really is, to “be still” and listen to the heartbeat of God, and to
notice the ways in which we are surrounded by the miraculous.
What
follows is far from being an all-inclusive list, but are just a few suggestions
to get you started.
·
Sit.
That’s all. Just sit. Once it gets warm enough, find a place on
your porch or in the back yard, pull up a lawn chair, and just sit. Leave your phone in the house. Feel
the sun on your face. Listen to the wind, the birds, the
neighbors, squirrels, or whatever it is that’s going on. Now remember the silence of the winter and
give thanks. You’re alive and all around
you the world is emerging from death and the grave of winter. Remember the resurrection of Jesus at Easter,
and imagine what your new birth will be like.
·
Look for the signs. Flowers, trees, and animals of all kinds have
been buried in the earth, or been dormant, in hibernation, or have migrated for
thousands of miles. Now they are
emerging from the earth, reawakening, and returning from far away. Within the boundaries of your lawn you can
find dozens of examples of rebirth and resurrection. Give thanks for all of these little miracles.
·
Smell. Seriously. Take a moment. Snow doesn’t smell
like much, but now your yard and your neighborhood smell different. Pause for a moment. Take a deep breath. Smell the fragrance of spring flowers, the
aroma of dirt, earth, and grasses that are warmed by the sun. They are alive and growing. Even the more unpleasant smells are new. Rejoice in all the new-ness around you and give
thanks that you can smell, that you have life, and health, and can appreciate
these gifts.
·
Touch. Lean down and look at the spring
flowers, the buds on the trees, or even the tender shoots of grass. They are so small, so fragile, and so tender
that anything but the slightest touch might damage them. And yet they survived the winter, and they’ve
pushed their way through the soil or forced open the tips of a woody branch to
emerge into your world. Rejoice that you
are there to see it but also consider how God has made something so small, so
tender, so fragile, and yet at the same time, so determined, so tough, so
persistent, and so resilient. Remember
that the same God made you. Toughness, resilience,
persistence, tenderness, love, and compassion all live within you. Give thanks for the gifts God has given to
you and the ways that he has brought you through your wintery trials.
·
Your turn.
Consider. Contemplate. Be still.
Listen. In what other ways will
God reveal himself to you?
_________
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Monday, March 19, 2018
How "Local" is Mission?
How
“Local” is Mission?
Recently, I have heard folk from Trinity discussing
the need for our church to focus on, and to encourage the support of, more
local missions. My impression was that
the speakers meant to say that we might be focusing too intently on missions
that weren’t local and that local missions were more important. To be fair, one of those speakers was
deliberate in saying that other missions were important, but the implication
was that our focus might have shifted too far in another direction. I admit that my impression of that
conversation was probably shaped by other churches where I have served, because
I’ve heard that opinion expressed in other places before. My first reaction was to dismiss that idea as
wrong, but as I thought about it, I decided that I ought to look in our church
budget and see where our dollars were really going and next I decided that I
should probably write about it because if a few people are talking about it,
the odds are good that a lot of people are thinking about it.
Before I get into the details of what I found, I
want to remember why it is that we do missions.
First, in Matthew 28:18, as Jesus said goodbye to his disciples before
he ascended into heaven he gave us what is now called the Great Commission
saying, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” And
in Luke’s version of this story, found in Acts 1:8, Jesus says, “8 But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After
he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from
their sight.
Our calling, as the followers of Jesus is not just
to stay in Jerusalem, but to go share the gospel throughout the entire
world. With that in mind, I know that
caring for those people nearest to us has to have some priority because if we
don’t do it, who will? But, at the same
time, the good we can do in other places for a small amount of money, is also
vitally important. And so with that in
mind, I looked at our January finance report to see where Trinity spent its
time and money and divided those places into the same kind of categories that
Jesus used. Instead of using Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria, and all the earth, I translated that into local, Ohio,
National, and International.
While some of the ministries we support were a
little difficult to neatly put in one of these categories, and without asking
what mission the UMW supported, I counted 22 local missions, 2 Ohio missions, 7
National missions, and 4 International missions. Local missions were things like Perry Helping
Perry, Neighbor Helping Neighbor, the Homeless Outreach Team, the SAM Center,
Canton Calvary Mission, RAHAB ministries, Aunt Suzie’s Cancer Wellness,
Guidestone, and our own Trinity youth.
Ohio missions were things like Flat Rock Homes in Cleveland, and the
Kairos prison ministry. I classified
things like Disaster relief through UMCOR, Campus Crusade for Christ, and Red
Bird Mission, including our mission trip to The Joy Center, as National
missions. And finally, there were four
International missions such as Zoe ministries, Farmer to Farmer, Heifer
International, and Africa University. Financially,
the breakdown of these categories was, Local $10,727, Ohio $100, National
$7,739, and International $1300. It was
interesting to note that as far as I can tell, all of the missions in the
International category were given by our young people from your generous giving
to the noisy offering.
Ultimately, I think that we are finding a good
balance in these categories but if you have any concerns I invite you to share
them with me, or Jan Gash and our missions team. In total, the generous people of Trinity gave
nearly $20,000 to these missions and that is both incredible and
commendable. The people of Trinity have
good and generous hearts, and it shows.
At the same time, even this generous level of giving adds up to less
than 10 percent of our budget, so maybe we do have something to think about.
_________
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Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Leaders Lead from the Front
General George Patton demanded much from those under his
command, but he never asked them to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do
himself. During the heat of battle,
General Patton demanded that his troops only sleep once every two or three
days, but he did that himself. Being his
driver was known to be a dangerous assignment, because George Patton was often
so close to the battle that he got shot at and lost at least one Jeep to shell
fire. General George Patton led from the
front and intended for his officers and men to follow his example.
This is also a repeated theme in the writings of the
Apostle Paul. Paul often says things
like “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians
11:1), and “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and
just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”
(Philippians 3:17). But Paul also
expected the members of the church to live their lives the same way saying, “And
so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” (1
Thessalonians 1:7) Our calling is not
only to hear about Jesus, and read about Jesus, but, as much as possible, to
live like Jesus so that others can learn from our example.
While this applies to every believer, I believe that it is especially
true for those in leadership. Just as it
was in the time of the Apostles, people today still look to their leaders to
model what it means to be a follower.
This is why many people are so disappointed when our heroes fall, or
when our elected representatives and other government officials act in ways
that we think are inappropriate. As a
pastor, I find this to be especially challenging.
While I try to be a good example of how to lead a Christian
life, I know that I often fall short.
But, at the same time, because I know that others are watching, I often
try to lead from the front. While I can’t
come to every event, I try to pass out food at Perry Helping Perry, bag
potatoes with the Society of St. Andrew, help where I can with the Homeless
Outreach Team (H.O.T.) and participate in other ministries of the church. This is also why I go on mission trips to Kentucky
and Liberia. I realize that some of the
things that I am doing may be new to you.
But I hope that when you see me doing something new, you might ask
yourself if maybe God might be calling you
to do something new as well.
I’m obviously not perfect, but I am trying to follow the
example of Jesus Christ, and I hope you are too. But as we follow Jesus together, please
remember that just as the believers in Macedonia and Achaia were watching the
example of the Thessalonians, your friends, family, and coworkers are watching
your example too. Your life may be the
only Jesus that they ever see.
Will you be leading from the front?
_________
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Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Important Preparations
Advent isn’t about being warm, or having the house well stocked, or even about feeling festive on Christmas morning.
As we enter December, we are also entering the season of Advent. Advent, much like the season of Lent before Easter, is meant to be a season of preparation.
But what does that mean?
Honestly, an easy way to think about it is the same way we think about preparing for many other things during this time of the year. We know that winter is coming, and with it our usual mix of snow, ice, and cold weather. And so, in preparation, many of us have spent time digging our winter coats, hats, mittens, scarves, and other things from the backs of closets. We’ve stocked up on salt for the driveway and made sure that our snow shovels and snow blowers are ready to go. Similarly, we have begun preparing our homes for Christmas by pulling our decorations out of the garage, attic, basement, crawlspace, or wherever else we’ve stored them since last year. And we’re making plans to bake cookies, make candy, bake pies, and whatever else needs done to make us feel “ready” for the arrival of Christmas day.
Some of us, and I am one of them, need this time. It is sometimes hard for me to feel festive at Christmas. I drift more easily toward “humbug” than to “Ho ho ho.” And so to prepare, I deliberately try to listen to Christmas music, and watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and other classic Christmas specials that we grew up with, along with various Hallmark Christmas movies on television.
But Advent isn’t about being warm, or having the house well stocked, or even about feeling festive on Christmas morning.
Advent is about our heart condition.
Advent asks us to think about whether or not our hearts are ready to receive the Christ child at Christmas. Advent asks us if we are ready to accept the greatest gift that God has ever offered to us. And so, for four weeks, we are offered this season of preparation. This is a time for us to consider the condition of our hearts. To read, and to listen to the stories of scripture, to fellowship and sing with others and, just as we are preparing our homes, to prepare our hearts so that we will be truly “ready” for Christmas and the arrival of God’s greatest gift to humanity.
So consider this an invitation to the season of Advent. Come with us on a journey together. Let us spend time worshipping together, singing together, and studying together. I invite you to be a part of something bigger than yourself. Perhaps to pick up an Advent devotional and have a few moments of daily quiet time alone with God.
You wouldn’t dream of being snowed in this winter without coats and hats, shovels and salt, and a pantry full of food (with a few cookies and fudge).
You want to be prepared.
The Savior of the world is coming. God’s greatest gift.
Please take the time to prepare your heart as well.
Blessings,
Pastor John
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