A famous icon of the Trinity is drawn to depict three figures gathered at table with the viewer as the fourth. At the heart of the doctrine of the Trinity is the conviction that God’s essence includes community, it seems to suggest.
On Sunday we will mark Trinity Sunday. It always follows Pentecost. The Spirit of God blows us into community. At St. Stephen’s the season after Pentecost means it is time for the summer experiment. These are trials and innovations which we try on for a season to see if they fit. Sometimes they stay, sometimes we learn from our failures.
This Sunday we begin the 2023 summer experiment which is designed to foster and deepen our connections with one another in community. We are coming together in space, in story, and in roles. You will notice on Sunday that six pews have been removed from the back of the church, inviting us to move closer to the front. We will also be setting up hospitality in the back of the church so that we can linger, even when the heat tops 90 degrees outside.
We are also encouraging everyone to wear their name tag and to greet someone at the peace that you do not know, calling them by name. We are also asking a member of the vestry to extend welcome each Sunday so that the congregation may match faces with names.
Our hope is that through this experiment our congregation will come to know each other a bit more and can deepen our sense of community.
-The Reverend Lisa Hunt, Rector