2020: The year when nothing "stopped," but everything changed
WHAT. A. YEAR.
2020 started off okay--- rather normal. Nine music ensembles rehearsed and participated in weekly worship services; students came to the building for Study Connection and for E3 programs; WELCA and Dorcas groups met, City Ministry volunteers greeted hundreds of neighbors to offer assistance twice a week, volunteers prepared and served meals in Wagenhals to many neighbors on Thursday evenings.
In February, 11 Members of the Junior Choir and adult chaperones made a week-end trip to the Frankenmuth, MI area; we still gathered for God on Tap and for Wine & Wisdom, Caring Ministries was still cooking, and Trinity Breakfast Club still met….and Pastor Erdos offered Ashes to Go at Parkview Field on Ash Wednesday, February 26. In the midst of all that, we were realizing the time was coming near for Pastor Haller’s retirement and planning was underway for honoring and celebrating her time at Trinity. A Call Committee had begun meeting to determine how to fill the upcoming vacancy on the clergy staff.
But by early March, we knew this year was different….
On March 4, we attended a large community gathering at the Coliseum focused on this “Novel Corona Virus: Covid-19.” People all over the world getting sick. But was it the flu? Did we really need to think about closing down the schools---or the church---for a few weeks??
Uh—yes. Yes we did. In fact, our staff went home for about three months. And in-person worship stopped March 15.
About March 23, we began online Midday prayers every weekday at 12:15 PM--- which continues to this day with a committed core group of more than a dozen attendees who see one another for prayers, a lesson, and fellowship each day. (Join us, anytime!)
The word was “pivot”—we had to turn our attention to website, e-newsletters, Facebook and Instagram, and the occasional postal mailing in order to stay in touch with everyone. We also (along with a sizable group of volunteers) contacted church members by phone and mail to let them know we were thinking of them, praying for them, and remaining available to them in this time of social separation.
Although we began Lent with Ashes to Go in person at Parkview Field and in the church for a worship, we finished Lent with virtual services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday (with pictures of stations of the cross) and Easter Sunday. What had seemed unthinkable---Easter morning service from an empty Church sanctuary…. Brought us together, virtually. More than 1,000 devices tuned in to our live service that morning.
As the Sunday live stream became the primary worship service, all existing plans were replaced with new ones, and cantors began leading the music for Sunday services.
When late winter gave way to spring, the annual May Music Fest didn’t happen in 2020.
BUT…Staff Musicians Bob and Evan recorded organ settings of hymns, preceded by narration with their history for the five “Virtual Variations on the Fridays in May.” We were starting to get the hang of bringing things online.
And The Dobson, Op. 41 Pipe Organ was purchased from a church in Iowa, and plans began to transfer it to Fort Wayne in the spring of 2021.
Though different, life went on, for all of us. The church building was closed to the public but work still needed to be done:
-Wagenhals Hall plaster repair & paint touchup
-Fireside Room exterior stone tuckpointing
-Various Classroom plaster repairs & paint touchup
-New LED Steeple lights
-New Building Management System is up and running
-Several Main Heating/Cooling lines have been repaired
And, in more recent months, Brian Eastman has been overseeing the next steps in preparing for the new Chapel organ:
-Chapel Balcony risers demolished and removed
-Steel support beams installed above Chapel Narthex ceiling
-Includes removing and reinstalling the Chapel Narthex ceiling
Some things happened as they would in any year: we welcomed six new babies, baptized 11 new Christians, celebrated 4 weddings and presided over 24 funerals. We also honored 9 Confirmands with a small worship service with them and their families and sent each one home with a small cake and other mementos. We awarded the Miser-White Scholarship to a graduating senior and honored all of our graduates.
We sent Journey Through Grief mailings of books and cards 9 times throughout the year to 16 people
In fact, we’ve kept the post office busy:
Several mailings went out to the whole congregation in the spring including
- Pastor Haller’s retirement letter,
A letter about her retirement celebration and gift,
a letter about the hiring of Vicar Hawkinson.
The stewardship mailing.
The staff pitched in for these mailings as we had no volunteers during this time. We all wrote and mailed out hundreds of cards to members in the early weeks of the quarantine. We also mailed small tokens of appreciation to every woman for Mother’s Day and to every guy for Father’s Day. Maggie and Erin mailed birthday postcards every month to kids under 18 and mailed special gifts to our high school graduates.
The Youth Choir Trip to New York was cancelled.
In August we had the mailing of Pastor Haller’s devotional booklet to the whole congregation, and then created, assembled and sent out a large bulk mailing of Septemberfest-in-a-box--- we had a few WELCA volunteers to help with that, and a few other volunteers helped with the
Family Ministry Kickoff boxes. We brought in 20 volunteers plus staff for the big Adventbox assembly. We had a busy mailing season! AND…
We haven’t missed a weekly mailing to more than 100 homebound members.
When the “shutdown” started, we had been working on the next issue of “Thinking Out Loud” with a focus on the environment. We had even done some really interesting interviews and written several articles….but suddenly, it just didn’t seem as timely as it could be. So we shelved that topic and began the all-digital issue, which we called Thinking Out Loud…about the Shutdown. We just wanted to check in with people about how they were doing in the midst of the pandemic. Stories of weddings postponed, events cancelled, and graduations done differently. It’s still available on our website.
Pastor Haller’s upcoming retirement festivities needed to be reimagined. From an in-person party with gifts and food and cake to a virtual Thank You, done following the Livestream, with a drive-thru chance to wave and give cards. As with SO MANY things this year, it wasn’t what we wanted, but we did what we could.
We were constantly trying to come up with ways to connect with different groups--- young families, children, older youth, people who live alone, retirees, College Student Ministry communications, people in care homes---- you name it.
When the weather allowed for safer activities:
Our youth group managed to find ways to be together and to be of service to the community---
During Youth Mission Week , they did service projects with Allen County Dept. of Waste Management (litter pick up), United Way (emergency meal kits), did a Zipline at Timber Lake, and Chalk Walk with Promenade Park; they also organized linen closets at Redemption House and made snack bag for our homeless neighbors, distributed through Blessed Portion Ministry; and had a couple of “meet ups” in our Cloister Garden and at Promenade Park. In the fall, our youth were lucky to be invited to a bonfire and outdoor party at the Nieterts’ home.
And we migrated as much as we could to an online format---yes, ZOOM became our go-to way of connecting online, from staff meetings to a “social hour” after a Sunday service to the Call Committee’s first conversations with now Vicar Hannah Hawkinson.
We’re Zoomed Bible studies with Pastor Erdos and Vicar Hawkinson, and guided yoga practices with Maggie.
We held a virtual Vacation Bible School using the Compassion Camp model; and we moved Children’s Space, and Alpha online; offered a story time for the littles and a Youth Book Club for “middles”
Small group efforts from Christians in Action and Fostering Hope managed to offer safe, smaller gatherings for socializing and service projects.
In July, an in-person spoken service of Morning Prayer was introduced at the 8:00 hour on Sundays. The gathering follows all public health guidelines, including no singing—but an organ prelude and postlude are provided to frame the spoken service with music.
We figured out a way to offer Backyard Communion, at Trinity and at the homes of several members.
In July, an in-person spoken service of Morning Prayer was introduced at the 8:00 hour on Sundays. The gathering follows all public health guidelines, including no singing—but an organ prelude and postlude are provided to frame the spoken service with music.
In late summer, our musicians tapped into their creativity to find ways to keep the music alive for the Trinity family, including bringing:
In the Fall,
We collected prayers for all teachers, students, and staff going back to school, either in the classroom or by Zoom. And we prayed frequently for the Study Connection program and our volunteers who were (and are!) trying to make that important tutoring program work on a technology platform that needs help.
Households who requested them received “Septemberfest in a Box” ---a small way to send a flavor of the annual event home ---and the musicians recorded a few of the traditional Septemberfest hymns out at Salomon Farm, which were inserted into the Live Stream that Sunday. We even did a Zoom “happy hour” after the livestream that day. It wasn’t the same as being there---but it gave us a taste of the event.
Of course, following Pastor Haller’s retirement, Vicar Hawkinson joined us in September
After watching the country and our own community respond to several challenges to social justice, we put together a wide-ranging curriculum on Racism, and began weekly Zoom meetings on the topic. Using books, speeches, letters, sermons, and the Bible, more than 60 people have read, discussed and learned more about this complicated subject.
In October, we moved to a virtual gallery of our special pets when we couldn’t do an in-person blessing of the animals on St. Francis’ Day in October
Also in the fall, over numerous , careful rehearsals and recording sessions, eight music ensembles recorded music for the Candlelight service. The 78th annual Candlelight Service occurred, online this time---combining archival pictures and music with the recordings created in October.
Looking ahead to Christmas and wanting to give everyone a sense of ‘connectedness’ through the Livestream services, Erin and Maggie came up with the idea for an Advent Box: a box brimming with little gifts and symbolic trinkets with strict instructions on when to open each item. The pastors would cue the time each Sunday when to open that week’s item--- from the First Sunday in Advent, all the way to Epiphany. Creating and curating the box, entirely from scratch, was a labor of creativity and commitment. Again, the packers and wrappers and labelers were assembled form staff and volunteers and the bulk mailing went out on time!
We offered Holy Communion at the church by sign-up during Advent.
City Ministries sponsored two food drives in November and December: welcomed volunteers to help with parking lot food drop offs benefiting Community Harvest Food Bank—we raised more than 2200 pounds of food in those efforts.
Brian Eastman and his staff spent hours trying to get the sound better for the Livestream, tweaking camera placements and helping make most all of the recordings for the Advent season service streams etc.
Just before Christmas, Bob Hobby and several Trinity singers incorporated advice from the local health department, and technology to deliver the music onto the radio, and offered a fun CAR-oling event, to give folks an opportunity to sing their favorite carols in the safety of their own cars in Trinity’s parking lot.
Maggie and Erin worked with our production videographer Joe Collins to write and produce an online recorded Family-focused Christmas Eve service
Bob and Evan ---with the help of the sextons---- set, tore down, and reset trees, wreaths, and paraments so members of the Chancel Choir and furloughed players from the Philharmonic could record all the music for the traditional Christmas Eve Service. They met in a series of short recording sessions over several evenings. Bob and Evan went above and beyond to ensure the safety and health of all the musicians---and the results are as impressive as ever.
We were able to offer Advent communion in the church building done by reserving a spot.
Pastor Erdos, along with some Trinity friends and neighbors, produced a recorded Christmas Eve meditation on what it’s like to be outside of the building in this season---Called O Holy Night, it also featured the musical leadership of Evan Anderson and Trinity Creative director Makayla Tedder.
And as we wrap up 2020, we have raised enough money to support the purchase of more than 100 pack and play cribs for dads in our community who want to be able to offer safe places to sleep for their infants and to be more involved in their children’s lives.
When we started this wrap up, we were calling it, “The Year the World Stopped.” But it didn’t stop. Church life and church business didn’t stop. God’s love and protection and peace didn’t stop. Our commitment to you didn’t stop. Trinity stood strong in this very, very weird year--- ready to keep being God’s people in this world---- no matter how weird it gets.
Here is to the fervent prayer that 2021 is kinder and gentler to all of us.
2020 started off okay--- rather normal. Nine music ensembles rehearsed and participated in weekly worship services; students came to the building for Study Connection and for E3 programs; WELCA and Dorcas groups met, City Ministry volunteers greeted hundreds of neighbors to offer assistance twice a week, volunteers prepared and served meals in Wagenhals to many neighbors on Thursday evenings.
In February, 11 Members of the Junior Choir and adult chaperones made a week-end trip to the Frankenmuth, MI area; we still gathered for God on Tap and for Wine & Wisdom, Caring Ministries was still cooking, and Trinity Breakfast Club still met….and Pastor Erdos offered Ashes to Go at Parkview Field on Ash Wednesday, February 26. In the midst of all that, we were realizing the time was coming near for Pastor Haller’s retirement and planning was underway for honoring and celebrating her time at Trinity. A Call Committee had begun meeting to determine how to fill the upcoming vacancy on the clergy staff.
But by early March, we knew this year was different….
On March 4, we attended a large community gathering at the Coliseum focused on this “Novel Corona Virus: Covid-19.” People all over the world getting sick. But was it the flu? Did we really need to think about closing down the schools---or the church---for a few weeks??
Uh—yes. Yes we did. In fact, our staff went home for about three months. And in-person worship stopped March 15.
About March 23, we began online Midday prayers every weekday at 12:15 PM--- which continues to this day with a committed core group of more than a dozen attendees who see one another for prayers, a lesson, and fellowship each day. (Join us, anytime!)
The word was “pivot”—we had to turn our attention to website, e-newsletters, Facebook and Instagram, and the occasional postal mailing in order to stay in touch with everyone. We also (along with a sizable group of volunteers) contacted church members by phone and mail to let them know we were thinking of them, praying for them, and remaining available to them in this time of social separation.
Although we began Lent with Ashes to Go in person at Parkview Field and in the church for a worship, we finished Lent with virtual services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday (with pictures of stations of the cross) and Easter Sunday. What had seemed unthinkable---Easter morning service from an empty Church sanctuary…. Brought us together, virtually. More than 1,000 devices tuned in to our live service that morning.
As the Sunday live stream became the primary worship service, all existing plans were replaced with new ones, and cantors began leading the music for Sunday services.
When late winter gave way to spring, the annual May Music Fest didn’t happen in 2020.
BUT…Staff Musicians Bob and Evan recorded organ settings of hymns, preceded by narration with their history for the five “Virtual Variations on the Fridays in May.” We were starting to get the hang of bringing things online.
And The Dobson, Op. 41 Pipe Organ was purchased from a church in Iowa, and plans began to transfer it to Fort Wayne in the spring of 2021.
Though different, life went on, for all of us. The church building was closed to the public but work still needed to be done:
-Wagenhals Hall plaster repair & paint touchup
-Fireside Room exterior stone tuckpointing
-Various Classroom plaster repairs & paint touchup
-New LED Steeple lights
-New Building Management System is up and running
-Several Main Heating/Cooling lines have been repaired
And, in more recent months, Brian Eastman has been overseeing the next steps in preparing for the new Chapel organ:
-Chapel Balcony risers demolished and removed
-Steel support beams installed above Chapel Narthex ceiling
-Includes removing and reinstalling the Chapel Narthex ceiling
Some things happened as they would in any year: we welcomed six new babies, baptized 11 new Christians, celebrated 4 weddings and presided over 24 funerals. We also honored 9 Confirmands with a small worship service with them and their families and sent each one home with a small cake and other mementos. We awarded the Miser-White Scholarship to a graduating senior and honored all of our graduates.
We sent Journey Through Grief mailings of books and cards 9 times throughout the year to 16 people
In fact, we’ve kept the post office busy:
Several mailings went out to the whole congregation in the spring including
- Pastor Haller’s retirement letter,
A letter about her retirement celebration and gift,
a letter about the hiring of Vicar Hawkinson.
The stewardship mailing.
The staff pitched in for these mailings as we had no volunteers during this time. We all wrote and mailed out hundreds of cards to members in the early weeks of the quarantine. We also mailed small tokens of appreciation to every woman for Mother’s Day and to every guy for Father’s Day. Maggie and Erin mailed birthday postcards every month to kids under 18 and mailed special gifts to our high school graduates.
The Youth Choir Trip to New York was cancelled.
In August we had the mailing of Pastor Haller’s devotional booklet to the whole congregation, and then created, assembled and sent out a large bulk mailing of Septemberfest-in-a-box--- we had a few WELCA volunteers to help with that, and a few other volunteers helped with the
Family Ministry Kickoff boxes. We brought in 20 volunteers plus staff for the big Adventbox assembly. We had a busy mailing season! AND…
We haven’t missed a weekly mailing to more than 100 homebound members.
When the “shutdown” started, we had been working on the next issue of “Thinking Out Loud” with a focus on the environment. We had even done some really interesting interviews and written several articles….but suddenly, it just didn’t seem as timely as it could be. So we shelved that topic and began the all-digital issue, which we called Thinking Out Loud…about the Shutdown. We just wanted to check in with people about how they were doing in the midst of the pandemic. Stories of weddings postponed, events cancelled, and graduations done differently. It’s still available on our website.
Pastor Haller’s upcoming retirement festivities needed to be reimagined. From an in-person party with gifts and food and cake to a virtual Thank You, done following the Livestream, with a drive-thru chance to wave and give cards. As with SO MANY things this year, it wasn’t what we wanted, but we did what we could.
We were constantly trying to come up with ways to connect with different groups--- young families, children, older youth, people who live alone, retirees, College Student Ministry communications, people in care homes---- you name it.
When the weather allowed for safer activities:
Our youth group managed to find ways to be together and to be of service to the community---
During Youth Mission Week , they did service projects with Allen County Dept. of Waste Management (litter pick up), United Way (emergency meal kits), did a Zipline at Timber Lake, and Chalk Walk with Promenade Park; they also organized linen closets at Redemption House and made snack bag for our homeless neighbors, distributed through Blessed Portion Ministry; and had a couple of “meet ups” in our Cloister Garden and at Promenade Park. In the fall, our youth were lucky to be invited to a bonfire and outdoor party at the Nieterts’ home.
And we migrated as much as we could to an online format---yes, ZOOM became our go-to way of connecting online, from staff meetings to a “social hour” after a Sunday service to the Call Committee’s first conversations with now Vicar Hannah Hawkinson.
We’re Zoomed Bible studies with Pastor Erdos and Vicar Hawkinson, and guided yoga practices with Maggie.
We held a virtual Vacation Bible School using the Compassion Camp model; and we moved Children’s Space, and Alpha online; offered a story time for the littles and a Youth Book Club for “middles”
Small group efforts from Christians in Action and Fostering Hope managed to offer safe, smaller gatherings for socializing and service projects.
In July, an in-person spoken service of Morning Prayer was introduced at the 8:00 hour on Sundays. The gathering follows all public health guidelines, including no singing—but an organ prelude and postlude are provided to frame the spoken service with music.
We figured out a way to offer Backyard Communion, at Trinity and at the homes of several members.
In July, an in-person spoken service of Morning Prayer was introduced at the 8:00 hour on Sundays. The gathering follows all public health guidelines, including no singing—but an organ prelude and postlude are provided to frame the spoken service with music.
In late summer, our musicians tapped into their creativity to find ways to keep the music alive for the Trinity family, including bringing:
- Four virtual Friday in September noon-hour concerts were recorded and accessed on our website, featuring Emily Bird, the newly appointed Associate Artistic Director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, and three ensembles consisting of furloughed players from the Philharmonic.
- The Chancel Choir and Brass recorded music at the Salomon Farm for inclusion at the service that would typically be Septemberfest.
- A modified offering of music rehearsals and E3 activities began in the middle of the month. Over 75 people chose to participate. The ensembles prepared and recorded music that would later be inserted to Sunday live streams from the end of September through December 20th. In all---28 pieces were recorded!
- About 20 members of the Chancel Choir made a surprise appearance to sing Happy Birthday to Kay Jurgensen outside her home on her 100th birthday---Kay is a long-time member of Trinity’s Choirs.
In the Fall,
We collected prayers for all teachers, students, and staff going back to school, either in the classroom or by Zoom. And we prayed frequently for the Study Connection program and our volunteers who were (and are!) trying to make that important tutoring program work on a technology platform that needs help.
Households who requested them received “Septemberfest in a Box” ---a small way to send a flavor of the annual event home ---and the musicians recorded a few of the traditional Septemberfest hymns out at Salomon Farm, which were inserted into the Live Stream that Sunday. We even did a Zoom “happy hour” after the livestream that day. It wasn’t the same as being there---but it gave us a taste of the event.
Of course, following Pastor Haller’s retirement, Vicar Hawkinson joined us in September
After watching the country and our own community respond to several challenges to social justice, we put together a wide-ranging curriculum on Racism, and began weekly Zoom meetings on the topic. Using books, speeches, letters, sermons, and the Bible, more than 60 people have read, discussed and learned more about this complicated subject.
In October, we moved to a virtual gallery of our special pets when we couldn’t do an in-person blessing of the animals on St. Francis’ Day in October
Also in the fall, over numerous , careful rehearsals and recording sessions, eight music ensembles recorded music for the Candlelight service. The 78th annual Candlelight Service occurred, online this time---combining archival pictures and music with the recordings created in October.
Looking ahead to Christmas and wanting to give everyone a sense of ‘connectedness’ through the Livestream services, Erin and Maggie came up with the idea for an Advent Box: a box brimming with little gifts and symbolic trinkets with strict instructions on when to open each item. The pastors would cue the time each Sunday when to open that week’s item--- from the First Sunday in Advent, all the way to Epiphany. Creating and curating the box, entirely from scratch, was a labor of creativity and commitment. Again, the packers and wrappers and labelers were assembled form staff and volunteers and the bulk mailing went out on time!
We offered Holy Communion at the church by sign-up during Advent.
City Ministries sponsored two food drives in November and December: welcomed volunteers to help with parking lot food drop offs benefiting Community Harvest Food Bank—we raised more than 2200 pounds of food in those efforts.
Brian Eastman and his staff spent hours trying to get the sound better for the Livestream, tweaking camera placements and helping make most all of the recordings for the Advent season service streams etc.
Just before Christmas, Bob Hobby and several Trinity singers incorporated advice from the local health department, and technology to deliver the music onto the radio, and offered a fun CAR-oling event, to give folks an opportunity to sing their favorite carols in the safety of their own cars in Trinity’s parking lot.
Maggie and Erin worked with our production videographer Joe Collins to write and produce an online recorded Family-focused Christmas Eve service
Bob and Evan ---with the help of the sextons---- set, tore down, and reset trees, wreaths, and paraments so members of the Chancel Choir and furloughed players from the Philharmonic could record all the music for the traditional Christmas Eve Service. They met in a series of short recording sessions over several evenings. Bob and Evan went above and beyond to ensure the safety and health of all the musicians---and the results are as impressive as ever.
We were able to offer Advent communion in the church building done by reserving a spot.
Pastor Erdos, along with some Trinity friends and neighbors, produced a recorded Christmas Eve meditation on what it’s like to be outside of the building in this season---Called O Holy Night, it also featured the musical leadership of Evan Anderson and Trinity Creative director Makayla Tedder.
And as we wrap up 2020, we have raised enough money to support the purchase of more than 100 pack and play cribs for dads in our community who want to be able to offer safe places to sleep for their infants and to be more involved in their children’s lives.
When we started this wrap up, we were calling it, “The Year the World Stopped.” But it didn’t stop. Church life and church business didn’t stop. God’s love and protection and peace didn’t stop. Our commitment to you didn’t stop. Trinity stood strong in this very, very weird year--- ready to keep being God’s people in this world---- no matter how weird it gets.
Here is to the fervent prayer that 2021 is kinder and gentler to all of us.