Trinity Together | April 2018

A MONTHLY LOOK AT our life with God,
one another, and our neighbors

WHY WE NEED TO DISCUSS RACE: UNITY IN DIVERSITY

BY SAM HEATH

Last summer, after my wife and I bought a house, I decided to research the history of our land. I wanted to know who had owned it and what had happened on the land. Doing research online and with cranky computers and dusty books at the county clerk’s office, I discovered in three separate deeds for our land, all from the 1920s and '40s, this phrase: “The property hereby conveyed shall not be owned or occupied, servants excepted, by any persons not of the Caucasian race.”

I was angry. I was embarrassed. And I was shocked, but not too much. Sadly, this practice, a form of the restrictive neighborhood covenants, was legal until 1968, and Charlottesville has quite the difficult history when it comes to race and racism. I felt punched yet again with the realization of how I had benefited from the searing and continual effects of racism. I wanted to apologize to someone, and I didn’t know who that could be. At our annual homeowners’ association meeting, I was given time to make a presentation on our neighborhood’s history, and part of my presentation was going to be a public confession of what I’d found. When the exact moment came for me to present, the fire alarm sounded, we had to evacuate the building, and the meeting was canceled. The irony of having lost my chance to speak about racism, when so many are silenced so often, was not lost on me.

But I took heart because I recalled that God treasures unity. Speaking of His people, God desires that “they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:11). God also treasures diversity (Revelation 7:9). God also treasures unity in diversity (Acts 2, Colossians 3:9-11). And while “all are precious in His sight,” what God sees, what heaven reflects, is not uniformity, but unity.

Trinity is hosting a Faith Seeking Understanding Forum on race on Friday, April 20, and Saturday, April 21. You can read a full schedule and description here. In this Forum, Trinity seeks to discuss individual and institutional racism and how both require a private and public response. Trinity wishes to become a “multi-ethnic community,” and this forum is part of a journey toward being a multi-ethnic church, a journey that we understand will take us well into the future.

We need to determine what love looks like in this cultural moment. Jesus Christ gives the clearest method and motive for entering into suffering, whether it be individual or institutional, and the clearest method and motive for a private and public response.

Please come. Please register. Please join us to consider how we all can develop a posture based on a desire to be effective rather than right, conversational rather than confrontational—yet truth is often hard. But the church is a body, a diverse one with many necessary parts (1 Corinthians 12). And we need each other.

session summary: FEBRUARY/MARCH

In February we approved Zach Kirshner as co-chair of the Adult Ed Committee, replacing Fitz Green. Be sure to thank Fitz for all his hard work and Zach for taking on these new duties.

Sam Heath updated us on the upcoming Faith Seeking Understanding Forum entitled Race: Unity in Diversity, which will take place at Trinity April 20–21. There will also be a special adult ed session on Sunday the 22nd.

Among the scheduled events is the screening of a documentary filmed in Charlottesville in 2010, That World Is Gone, which tells the story and history of the Vinegar Hill neighborhood in downtown Charlottesville. I encourage you to register soon for this very timely and pertinent forum.

We approved the $2,858,533 budget recommended by the Finance Committee for the current year. Praise God for His gracious provision!

In March we discussed the annual meeting many of you attended on the 4th. We had received many positive comments about the meeting, on both the content and the quality of the presentations. The Annual Report document itself received the highest praise. Overall we thought the meeting raised the bar for similar events in the future.

Pastor Wade gave an interesting overview of the spiritual practices many in the church are following. He concluded with a discussion of the practice of confession, particularly as practiced within the Chapter and by Trinity members. Some features he noted: it is asymmetrical—that is, one who confesses does not hear the confession of his/her confessor; it is completely confidential; it leaves room to not say anything; over time patterns of sin may emerge. If you have questions about the practice of confession or any of the others, please let a pastor or elder know. We’d be happy to talk with you about them.

There was the normal amount of routine stuff as well, but these are the highlights.

He is risen!

Have a question about our Session? Email session@trinitycville.org.

meet DEACON MICHAEL JOYCE

Michael Joyce and his wife, Mallory, were both members of the Trinity Fellows class of 2009–10. Though Mallory is a UVA graduate and Michael graduated from UNC, they first met as undergrads when Michael visited a friend in Charlottesville. They reconnected during their year as Fellows and married in 2011.

After serving as an EMT during college Michael felt he might be headed toward a career in healthcare. As a Fellow he worked with Dr. Andy Macfarlan on a project with the Free Clinic that led him to consider healthcare administration, so he took an administrative job with MJH Orthopedics for a couple years. God had different plans in store as Michael later moved on to begin a career as a personal financial advisor with Taylor Associates, which is affiliated with Northwestern Mutual. Michael enjoys playing in an adult soccer league, hiking, and fishing.

Mallory and Michael live in the South Parish and enjoy participating in their parish small group as well as being involved with the Accessibility Ministry and New City Arts. In March 2017 they welcomed their first child, daughter James Nora. With interests in art and design, Mallory first used her creative impulses to work with an online art company. She started her own wedding design and floral business five years ago and most recently co-launched a tabletop rental company with a friend.

Michael credits his year as a Fellow for reigniting in him a passion for the role and work of the local church in building and serving the Christian community. It is this work that he wants to support and enhance as an officer in our church. He was ordained as a deacon in 2016, and during his two years he has served in a variety of areas as needs arise for the Diaconate. These have included being diaconate clerk for a year and assisting with many ministry, mercy, and facility events and projects. He appreciates the depth of gifting and diversity with which God has blessed our congregation’s formal and informal leaders and has loved building new relationships through his role as a deacon. As we again seek new deacons Michael challenges those who might like to participate in shaping Trinity’s future to talk with other members about their interest and to consider stepping forward. He and other deacons would welcome the chance to share their experiences with men who want to know more about being a deacon.

Michael serves on the Trinity Finance Committee, which he feels has blessed him as he gets to see the breadth and depth of the church’s ministries and initiatives. During the past year when the Session and Diaconate decided to establish a joint Stewardship Committee, Michael stepped forward to fill a gap and serve as one of its co-leaders. In both his profession and Christian community he wants to help others grow in financial literacy with skills to manage well the resources they have available. For Christians this means understanding that all we have truly belongs to God, not to ourselves, so each of us is responsible for investing and stewarding our gifts and practicing generosity with our time, talents, and finances. Michael prays that each of us can learn to experience sacrificial giving as a source of true joy as we participate in the Christian life.