A big “thank you” to all who gave your tithes and offerings this week, either through the Church Center app or by mailing checks directly to the church! We suffered a financial deficit in March because we were unable to take our regular offering in our church service, but thankfully we are on our way back. If you haven’t done so yet, please download the Church Center app for electronic giving. Consider setting up regular automatic giving. Of course, you can always go low tech and mail your check to the church. Thank you for providing the means to reach out with God’s inclusive love in Jesus Ch ..read more

With extraordinary circumstances come extraordinary opportunities. That we live under extraordinary circumstances is undeniable—sheltering in place, working at home, social distancing, no in-person church services. Virtually no one alive today has ever experienced such a time as this. Because we live in unprecedented times, more and more people are turning to the internet and social media to meet their emotional and spiritual needs. Just in the last few weeks alone, literally hundreds and hundreds of people have turned to the livestreaming and social media of Trinity United Methodist Church ..read more

As I shared with you last Sunday, I somehow accidentally (or perhaps providentially) rented Frozen II last week. The movie’s signature song is “Into the Unknown.” What an apropos phrase to describe what we are all going through right now! We are in unknown and uncharted territory, experiencing an event that very well may alter how we go about our daily lives long after the current crisis is over. I think it is likely to permanently change how we do church. The important thing to remember is that we are all going through this together. Continue to call, email, and text one another. Join us ..read more

Trinity Family, In light of the guidelines issued yesterday by both the federal government and Dallas County officials, all activities at Trinity UMC are cancelled for the next two weeks. In two weeks time we will reassess if further closure is necessary. We will still be broadcasting live on Facebook for the next two Sundays at 11:00 am. I will be postponing the scheduled sermon series and instead offering the message “Love in the Time of Coronavirus.” While the exact shape of our online service is still being determined, we will be taking live prayer requests during the hour. We can ..read more

This Sunday we will be winding up our sermon series “Are We Sure We Want to Talk About That?” Our sermon will be entitled “Jihad for Jesus.” We will explore how Christians should relate to those who practice other faiths. We will also be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, not only with our St. Patrick’s Day potluck, but we will also be celebrating Celtic Christianity in our worship service. Celtic refers to the people of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man, Brittany, and Galicia. They practiced a unique form of Christianity, which will be reflected in our Call to Worship, prayers, and ..read more

Even under the best of circumstances it can be difficult to talk about race. Last Sunday we examined how our inability to discern the vestiges of racism in our own hearts hinder the conversation. This coming Sunday will be exploring what it means to be “politically correct” and a Christian. Choosing the right words these days can sometimes feel like walking through a minefield. Let’s see if our relationship with Christ can help us walk through unscathed. The post “Are We Sure We Want to Talk About This?” Sermon Series Continues appeared first on Trinity United Methodist Church ..read more

Where were you on that Thursday evening back in 2016 when five Dallas area police officers were gunned down while patrolling the Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Dallas? How did you react? What did you feel? Does the thought of that night still cause you sadness? Does it still make you angry? The events of July 7, 2016 revealed many of the cracks in our culture regarding race in America. And one of the things it revealed was just how complicated race relations are in this country. And they haven’t gotten any easier since then. This Sunday we will look back on that night in 2016 and ..read more

The season of Lent will soon be upon us. It will begin with Ash Wednesday on February 26 and continue for forty days (excluding Sundays) until we celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter morning (April 12). Historically Lent was a time of fasting and preparation for the baptism of new converts on Easter morning. It has evolved into a time of penance and self-reflection for all Christians. Traditionally this has included either the self-denial of a particular habit or the adding on of a specific spiritual practice. Now is the time for all of us to be thinking about how we might want to ob ..read more

Every four years our society goes through the gauntlet of an election year. Not only do we elect our nation’s president, but a slew of other leaders as well. Often the makeup of boards and committees turns over on the quadrennium. To add to the spectacle, we host the summer olympics (and we used to try to pry in the Winter Olympics too). And of course, just in case it gets boring, every four years The United Methodist Church also holds its regularly scheduled world wide General Conference. It’s a year of conflict and competition that can leave us emotionally exhausted and ready to tune out the ..read more

Last Monday was Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day we remember not only the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis, but the other five million human beings who were also slaughtered in the death camps. Eleven million people—each one a child of God, created in God’s image. Yet so were the Nazis. So was Hitler. All of them were children of God made in God’s image. One aspect of being in the divine image is that we have the freedom and capacity to chose to do good. But we also have the freedom and capacity to chose to do evil. I have visited two concentration camps—Dachau, outside of Munich ..read more