Holy Trinity Catholic Church

1 Washington, DC November 11, 2018 holy Trinity Catholic Church Main Church 36th Street, between N and O Streets, NW Washington, DC 20007 Parish Center 3513 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 (202) 337-2840 /HolyTrinity CatholicChurch @HolyTrinityDC Cultivating and Caring for Your Blue Spruce By Rock Schuler One spring a few years back, I noticed strange little pine needle cones hanging from the stately blue spruce in my yard. Oddly, these cones now and then wiggled, as if they were alive. Turns out they were! Each contained a small worm, which took pine needles from the tree to create a cocoon great for the worm but lethal to the tree! The arborists I consulted told me spraying the tree would be highly toxic and likely not effective. Two arborists, looking the tree over from the ground, advised that I cut it down. But one hauled out a huge ladder so he could get up into the tree, looking all through its branches.

2 There s a lot of life in that tree, he told me, a few birds nests, including a pair of Cardinals, some squirrels and a lot of really beneficial spiders. Spraying that tree will kill everything in it. I think we can save it but it s going to take picking each of those cones off by hand, one at a time. I looked at him in disbelief there were hundreds if not more, scattered from top to bottom! Tell you what, he said, I ll get them all above arm height and you can do all those you can reach. And that s what we did for days, we picked cones off that tree. Years later, those worms have not been back, the spruce is thriving, and the cardinals with all the other life that tree hosts still have their home. I m almost 55 years old and spending the money and taking the time to save that tree is one of the most satisfying things I ve done. It s also the reason I m in the work I m in.

3 Taking care of that tree was all about stewardship. But the true steward in this story is the tree herself. Stewardship is about caring for and appropriately using the gifts and blessings the Creator has so generously given. That blue spruce was given life and rain and sunshine and nutrients to grow tall and full and strong. And she used those gifts in turn to give, from a home for cardinals and spiders, to a playground for squirrels, to a resting spot for migrating songbirds. Our parish is like that tree our sacred home, a place of play and formation, a haven of spiritual respite for the weary and broken. And, even as that spruce taught me so much about what it is to exist for others, so too at holy Trinity we learn through our social justice and advocacy ministries to live for the well-being and abundant life of others. As you can imagine, it took a good deal of money to save that blue spruce.

4 And it takes a good deal of money for holy Trinity to be the haven of blessing and peace we expect, that foundation upon which we work together to make the world like the vision of the One who created and saved us. In these anxious, tumultuous times, your parish tree of life needs your help to offer you and your family the blessings of our common life, for us as Jesuit-formed Catholics to be light and life to the world. Prayerfully consider pledging if you haven t done so before; if you have, please prayerfully consider increasing it. You may call or email me at (202) 903-2843 and or visit You may also return the card in Fr. Gillespie s stewardship letter. Thank you. Solidarity with Migrant Families Join parishioners from holy Trinity and St. Ignatius (Baltimore) in a prayer vigil outside the Baltimore ICE Field Office (31 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD, 21201) November 16 from 11:30am-1pm to show solidarity with those checking in at the facility and the families who accompany them.

5 For details and to RSVP please contact holy Trinity Catholic Church , Washington, DC | November 11, 2018 | page 2 Living Our Mission: Celebrate God s Love Written by David Pennington, Pastoral Associate for Worship My Facebook and Instagram algorhythms might be a little different from others, because in the last few weeks, I ve noted how many churches, both Roman Catholic and others, have held All Souls remembrances. It s fitting that we do so. November has long been a time to remember the faithful departed and hold them in prayer. In these autumn days, nature urges us to consider the last things animals are hibernating, plants are shedding leaves, and the nights are growing longer. The liturgical cycle, too, invites us to look at death. The Sunday readings speak of apocalyptic times. In the Gospels, Jesus is preaching about the end times.

6 The images and videos that dotted my social media feeds showed churches reviving full, liturgical performance of beautiful musical settings of Requiem Masses by Faur , Verdi, Mozart, Durufl . These musical liturgies were even accompanied by black vestments. But personally, I m glad those days are behind us. While not discarding the musical merit of Mozart and Faure, the Church s Funeral Rites after the Second Vatican Council were enhanced by the recognition that all of death and dying has been redeemed by the new life won by Christ s Resurrection and our participation in it. Indeed, after the Council, some of the Requiem Mass s texts (like the Dies Irae and Libera Me, Domine) which emphasize a negative spirituality, harsh judgement and despair were given up in favor of hope and trust in the mercy of God and the eternal life entered into at Baptism. The current Funeral Rites of the Church encompass a much broader notion about Christian death.

7 The new rites are more Paschal, that is, they invite participation into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. That said, the rites do not encourage mere Pollyanna or Celebrations of Life far from it. They recognize that a human person, made a sharer in the life of Christ by baptism, now shares in Christ s death with the hope of participation in his resurrection. The rites recognize that death prompts in us loss, sadness, and anguish and place these square in the context of hope in the midst of sadness. The Funeral Rites help us put this paradox in right balance and leave behind the fear of harsh judgement and despair for Verdi and Durufl . I invite you to a Funeral Planning Workshop Sunday, November 18 at 3:30pm in McKenna Hall. Together, we ll take a look at how the Church views death and dying, understand how that might provide a framework for how we think about Christian death, and take a deep-dive into Catholic Funeral Rites.

8 We ll discuss options for funerals and consider questions that might be thought about before death occurs. Christian death has no room for the day of wrath unless one also considers the day of glory. So, perhaps Faur and Mozart might be best left to the Kennedy Center, because in this Church , we look forward with hope to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Pastor Kevin Gillespie, (202) 903-2800 kgillespie@ Associate Pastor Paul Campbell, (202) 903-2832 pcampbell@ Associate Pastor Ben Hawley, (202) 903-2814 bhawley@ Associate Pastor William Kelley, (202) 903-2833 wkelley@ Associate Pastor Tim O Brien, tobrien@ Communications Karelia Pallan (202) 903-2837 kpallan@ Facilities Dino Campagnari (202) 903-2813 dcampagnari@ Faith Formation/ Religious Ed. Judith Brusseau (202) 903-2807 jbrusseau@ Finance Chris Kehoe (202) 903-2811 ckehoe@ holy Trinity School Kevin McShane (202) 337-2339 principal@ Human Resources Angela Grady (202) 903-2803 agrady@ Ignatian Spirituality Martina O Shea (202) 903-2810 moshea@ Parish Life/ Pastor s Office Lisa Dittmeier (202) 903-2801 ldittmeier@ Music Ministry Kathleen DeJardin (202) 903-2805 kdejardin@ Social Justice Kate Tromble (202) 903-2809 ktromble@ Stewardship Rock Schuler (202) 903-2843 rschuler@ Worship & Liturgy David Pennington (202) 903-2804 dpennington@ Young Adult Community Catherine Heinhold (202) 903-2819 cheinhold@ Youth Ministry Lynne Udalov (202) 903-2814 ludalov@ PARISH CENTER Phone: (202) 337-2840 Fax: (202) 337-9048 Hours: Mon-Thur: 8:30am-7:30pm; Emergencies Only: (202) 903-2817 JESUIT STAFF & PARISH DEPTS.

9 We are a Jesuit Catholic parish that welcomes all to: Accompany one another in Christ Celebrate God's love Transform lives MISSION STATEMENT PARISH DEPARTMENTS To add a name to these prayer lists, contact Lisa Dittmeier at You must be an immediate relative of the one to be remembered, or have express permission in order to add a name to these lists. The names on this prayer list will be mentioned aloud at Sunday Mass during the General Intercessions and will be published in the parish eLetter and bulletin. PRAYER REQUESTS Daily Mass Intentions Pray for those who are sick: For those we hold in our hearts Pray for those who are dead: For those we hold in our hearts holy Trinity Catholic Church , Washington, DC | November 11, 2018 | page 3 The parish community prays for all of the dead every day at Mass. However, we encourage parishioners to mention specific persons by name during the General Intercessions when invited to do so by the presider.

10 Parishioners may also request that a specific person be remembered by name at a particular weekday Mass by calling or visiting the receptionist s desk in the Parish Center during normal office hours. Names must be submitted one week in advance. Persons to be so remembered at weekday Masses this week are: Monday 7:00am Christian Maimone+ 5:30pm Delores & Kenneth Bellis+ Tuesday 7:00am Linda Janis+ 5:30pm Howard O Brien+ Wednesday 8:00am Linda Wheeler+ 5:30pm Osvalda Muzzatti+ Thursday 8:00am Nancy Renner Touchette+ 5:30pm Timothy Hinton+ Friday 8:00am Garbielle Klimkowski+ 5:30pm Donald Gibbons+ Saturday 8:00am Patricia & Matt Kraemer+ Week of November 12, 2018 PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL (PPC) NEW PARISHIONER REGISTRATION SACRAMENTS RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process of conversion and faith formation for individuals who are interested in living the Christian life in the Catholic tradition.