~ From the Rector ~

May 20, 2003

Dear Parish Family,
            During the past few weeks I have been reading Mourning into Dancing by Walter Wangerin. The small print before the title reads, “Many things can cause sorrow, God alone turns our Mourning into Dancing.” Throughout this year of CPE training I have been reviewing my life and have discovered that much of that process is one of mourning or grieving the losses, disappointments, failures and deaths that have occurred. Wangerin writes: “Grief is a grace of God! Grief is the gift he slipped into our error, a hook to return us to him after all.” It was indeed excellent Easter reading!

             Mourning into Dancing tells the story of the various losses/deaths we suffer, beginning with our disobedience and rebellion which separates us from God, and continues through the smaller deaths of children growing up, asserting their independence and leaving home, job loss, divorce, disappointment and failure to the death of important people, parents, children, spouses, in our lives. He calls all of these secondary losses. Losses that powerfully teach us that we are not God, that we are finite and not infinite. As Wangerin connects his experience to the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection he writes: “This is the paradox of our faith: joy is forged in sorrow. Death leads to life. And grief is the road between them. It is grieving that drives us from dying to living, from death to life again--from any Secondary Death that we might suffer, back to the bosom of God, which relationship is the fullness of life for us.”
            All of this has made me more deeply aware of the importance of grief, even the goodness of grief. This may seem a contradiction. We work so hard to avoid it. but it is essential for our growth in trust. Wangerin writes: “It’s the fall that teaches us trust. It is trust that allows the Resurrection.” It is a paradox, but the truth of our faith is that joy grows out of sorrow. We are human. We will have pain and suffering. All of us will die, and before we do we will experience numerous secondary deaths. As we grieve these losses, instead of pretending they didn’t happen or feeling sorry for ourselves, we can know ourselves truly, grow in grace and trust of God and experience new life, resurrected life, the life of God in us.
            In the final chapters Wangerin says, “Resurrection blots out neither death nor the long sorrow it caused. Resurrection is not the sweetening of bitter truth. Nor is it a pious sentimentalizing of disaster, as if one suddenly surrendered common sense by saying ‘Well it was the will of God. I’ve learned to accept that now. I’m a better person for it’—or some other simplification. Resurrection is this: that though she was sure she would die, she lives. And though she knew she’d never feel again she feels. Against all reason, against all evidence—a consequence that was impossible to any who entered the pit—she is alive, breathing, feeling, thinking, making decisions again, again!” He ends with the theme of gratitude. “And now she can’t help it: she will look at life with new eyes. No longer can she presume that life is maintained by her own strength—not since her crash into personal impotence. Life comes in spite of her frailty. It must, therefore, be given. And it must be received as a gift. Therefore, this too is resurrection: that she both lives and is grateful to be living. An essential characteristic of the resurrected life is gratitude.”

            My experience confirms what Wangerin writes. Grieving my losses has lead to resurrected life and gratitude. All of this makes me aware of the importance of telling our stories in an accepting trusting environment. The Church of the Holy Trinity is such an environment. May each of us dare to tell our story and connect it to the story of Jesus.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Mother Tina

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~ Pen Pals ~

Holy Trinity’s Sunday School class has two military pen pals, Tracy Fields and Boyd Smith.  A care package will be sent to each gentleman once a month until they return home.  Here is a list of items that have been requested:

Baby wipes   flea collars            Chapstick                   

Q-tips              cashews           cookies           

            dust masks   beef jerky    baking soda

Please contact Kathy Milbourn if you have any questions.

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~ Scripture Cake ~

Scripture Cake is a puzzle as well as a Bible lesson. It was a recipe popular in the American Colonies, according to John F. Mariani in The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, but was a traditional confection among the Baptists.

There are apparently several versions. Below is one from a Pennsylvania woman that first appeared in a 1908 cookbook called Famous Old Receipts.  It is short on directions, common in old recipes used by women who were raised with a lot of basic cooking knowledge and did not require the detailed step-by-step instructions modern cooks need.

1½ cups Judges 5:25
3 cups Jeremiah 6:20
6 Jeremiah 17:11
3½ cups Exodus 29:2
2 teaspoons Amos 4:5
2 Chronicles 9:9 to taste
A pinch of Mark 9:50
1 cup Genesis 24:17
1 tablespoon 1 Samuel 14:25
2 cups 1 Samuel 30:12
2 cups chopped dried Song of Solomon 2:13
2 cups slivered or chopped Numbers 17:8

Follow Solomon’s advice for making good boys, Proverbs 23:14

[Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cream together butter and sugar, beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Sift together flour, baking power, salt and spices. Add alternately with water to creamed mixture.  Stir in honey, fold in raisins, figs and almonds. Mix well. Turn into two well greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans. Bake about 60 minutes, making sure not to overbake, until loaves test done by the toothpick test. Let cool for 30 minutes in pans before turning out onto rack.]

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~ Michiana Singing ~

Well, here goes….

            A perfect midsummer day in Northern Indiana greets four travelers from Georgia on the Saturday before the third Sunday in July. A mist on the fields, the scent of drying hay and the sun starting its climb into a sky lightly tenanted by cotton-ball clouds are pleasant sights as we make our way to Goshen. And the picturesque countryside is a visual delight of well-groomed homesteads, fat cows, sleek horses and the occasional Amish buggy. A couple of miles west of Goshen, just over the river, is our destination.  The New Testament Baptist Church has been sitting on its little knoll a long time. Its small congregation allows the community to use it from time to time and this is its most special day of the year. Four of us rode twelve hours yesterday to be a part of the 15th annual Michiana Sacred Harp Convention and it's about to get under way. The crowd mills about the churchyard, greeting old friends from Alabama, Chicago, Kalamazoo and various other parts of the country.

            I fill out a registration card and climb the steps to view the room and find a good seat. It's a beautiful room, not quite square, with large windows, plaster walls, a rather high ceiling and a superb wooden floor. It's going to sound great. The pale pink curtains at the windows are a bit out of the ordinary, but are neat and pulled back letting in the lovely light and the zephyr that comes and goes. The day is beginning to warm up and we'll need that breeze as there is no air conditioning here, except the hand fan kind. There is no running water either.  Finally, most of the singers settle into places around the hollow square and the chairman, Matthew Lind, welcomes the class, leads a song and calls for an opening prayer. Then the music begins in earnest. The room is very live and it's easy to hear all the parts. The floor resounds to the tapping of feet. Those corn-fed Midwest altos are awesome and the basses are splendid; the tenors keep us right on the beat and the trebles around me are soaring.

             Recess already?! What do you mean? We’ve been singing an hour! No way!  But, it's true and we head to get a drink and stretch our legs as well. Friends guide me to a regional specialty, a lemon mint concoction that is not lemonade, but a real treat to the vocal apparatus. We refill our water bottles and stream back into the church.

            A moving memorial lesson occupies a portion of the next session. The memorial lesson is unique to the tradition called Sacred Harp or shape note singing. The names of friends and family members deceased in the past year are read, they are eulogized and we sing in their memory. We call the names of those too ill, aged or enfeebled to be with us and sing in their honor. With prayer we commend them and ourselves to God for we are all his children and in his hand. It constantly reminds us of our roots, our teachers and the transitory nature of life itself.

             Afterwards, we move back to singing, but with our eyes refocused on realms above. Very soon it's time for lunch. I've been told about the food up here in the North. "It's different." But, I don't find it strange. Tomatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, and fried chicken are staples in all parts of the country. What isn’t ordinary is the sensational salad of nasturtiums and tiny flowers with homemade vinaigrette dressing, or the rich homemade breads or wonderful sausages. And the pies!  Egg custard just like my Grandma used to make it, and rhubarb and Concord grape. A veritable treasure trove of sweet delights. During lunch comes a chance to talk to old friends, meet newcomers and make the acquaintance of long time singers unable to travel far. I met university students, Mennonite housewives, a lady who trains dogs for the blind and her dog-in-training.

            After the lunch hour, we regroup to sing again. This is the best hour of the day. In spite of all the talking, our voices are rested and our spirits are refreshed with all those desserts. The music is very strong now, full and rich and the singers are pulled along by the power flowing through this sacred space.

About recess time, it's really getting hot in the room and people are falling out for a song or two and coming back feeling better for the short respite. I feel right at home: sticky, a little hoarse and very happy.

            After the benediction, I try to decide what makes the Michiana Singing so special. The opportunity to meet 'the plain people,' the excellent acoustic space, the way each song flowed out of the last one in a river of praise, joy and prayer, the sight of a child sleeping in his father's arms as Dad reaches for that last big note are all in the equation.

            The answer is greater than the sum of the parts. It's because the Lord is here in this place, in these people and in this music we love to sing. It's to His honor and glory we gather, and He visits these, his people, in a special way.

            This singing draws its singers from many walks of life, denominations, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. But when we sing, we are equal and we are open to the Holy Spirit in a unique way. And He moved among us that day. Such an encounter is worth the trip.

In Christ's Love,

Judy Mincey

and a nationally-known Sacred Harp Singer.

click here to see pictures from this year's singing

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Please send questions or comments to our webmaster.  Last updated December 15, 2004 .