10 Trinity Sq
Toronto, ON
M5G 1B1
416-598-4521
416-598-1432 (fax)
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Rental space available
Weddings at Holy Trinity
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Sun. 10:30 am, 2:00pm;
Wed. 12:15 pm
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reflections and sermons posted here are the work of individual members of Holy Trinity. Opinions expressed are those of the writer or preacher and do not necessarily reflect an official or even popular opinion within the parish.
Belonging
SARA BOYLES
Last Sunday someone came up to me and said, I want to belong here." I responded with, "That's great!" Then came the harder question, "What do I have to do?" My heart sank when I realized I had quite an ineffective answer. Not that I didn't know what to do. I did know enough to walk to one of the book carts and ask this person to fill out one of the blue forms. I even explained that with the new privacy legislation we would probably need to collect this information again shortly. I explained that we use the list internally for stewardship and communication purposes. We use it for relaying messages and signifying membership. At the same time I know this is only one small step on the journey to belonging. I said nothing though about expectations around participation or stewardship. I made a lot of assumptions and realized that wasn't fair to the person, community or myself. I'll have to continue the conversation next week.
Belonging generally takes time and getting to know a community can be quite foreboding. Some people explore a community by diving in and participating in everything. Others like to stay back and get an overview. They get to know others more slowly and for the longest times have a struggle with names and relationships among those who seem to be "in the middle". It is not a process for the fainthearted. It takes endurance to become known. Even then one does not always feel recognized or included. It seems to take forever to collect the history. There are some things that can't be rushed.
Might I suggest that coming to the parish weekend from May 13 to the 15th is a good way of discovering more about the Holy Trinity community? It is a casual week end laid out to facilitate conversation and interaction. It hopefully has enough spaces for those who enjoy privacy and time alone to have it. It has child care for some of the time and inter-generational time for another part. It is designed for more established parish members to renew friendships and to get to know people they have not yet met. It is designed for newer people to meet one another and those more established people I have just mentioned. Most of all it should be fun and each of us should come back hopeful and inspired. Do sign up soon!
Sara November 30, 1999 |
