Trinity Church Welcomes All through its "Big Red Doors" with Tibetan prayer flags flying in the wind. It would be hard to find a more diverse group of believers, used-to-be believers, and sort-of believers. Many of us were born into other religions and denominations, and have found ourselves to be part of the inclusiveness of God's love.

Ordinary Time

Most of the Seasons of the Christian Church Year are organized around the two major festivals that mark sacred time: Christmas and Easter. The rest of the year following Epiphany and Pentecost is known as Ordinary Time. Rather than meaning "common"or "mundane," this term comes from the word "ordinal," which simply means counted time (First Sunday after Pentecost, etc.), which is probably a better way to think of this time of the year. Counted time after Pentecost always begins with Trinity Sunday (the first Sunday after Pentecost) and ends with Christ the King Sunday or the Reign of Christ the King (last Sunday before the beginning of Advent). The sanctuary color for Ordinary Time is green, although other shades of green are commonly used. Green has traditionally been associated with new life and growth. Even in Hebrew in the Old Testament, the same word for the color "green" also means "young." In Christian tradition, green came to symbolize the life of the church following Pentecost, as well as symbolizing the hope of new life in the resurrection.

The Martyrs of Lyon-June 2

Lyons in Gaul (France) was the scene of one of the most terrible persecutions the early church had to endure. The Christians there were accused, as elsewhere, of atheism, blasphemy, treason, sexual perversion, and cannibalism. The governor, hoping to please the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, staged public trials which lasted for several days and in which the populace was stirred into a mad frenzy against the Christians. Many were imprisoned, tortured, and beaten to death. Their remains were thrown to the dogs.

Among those mentioned by name in the moving account written by Christian historian Eusebius was Alexander, a physician who was publicly roasted. He professed Christ and, when asked what God's name was, he replied, "God has no name as men have." As he died he pointed out to the pagans that they were the ones who consumed human flesh. There was Blandina, "a blessed woman who, "like a noble athlete," endured days of excruciating torture, abuse, and humiliation, saying only, "I am a Christian woman and nothing wicked happens among us." She was gored to death by a bull in the arena. Then there was the notable citizen Attalus, the elderly Bishop Pothinus, a deacon from Vienna named Sanctus, and a boy of fifteen, Ponticus. These and many others were subjected to brutal horrors and torments and were finally killed. Undaunted, they passed out of this world joyfully and victoriously, witnesses to the only living Lord.

June 4-John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli)

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was the fourth of fourteen children born to a family of sharecroppers who lived in a village in Lombardy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, including papal nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after 11 ballots. His selection was unexpected, and Roncalli himself had come to Rome with a return train ticket to Venice. He was the first pope to take the pontifical name of "John" upon election in more than 500 years, and his choice settled the complicated question of official numbering attached to this papal name due to the antipope of this name. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–65), the first session opening on 11 October 1962. His passionate views on equality were summed up in his famous statement, "We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly alike."

Eid al-Fitr-June 4-6

(Arabic: عيد الفطر‎) is a day of feasting and is celebrated by Muslims to congratulate themselves for fasting the month of Ramadan. It is celebrated on the first of Shawwal (10th month of the lunar Islamic calendar). This Eid is a reward to the Muslims who spent the month of Ramadan fasting and in worship. Like Eid al Adha, this Eid begins early in the morning with a prayer held in a large, open area. Before the Eid prayer, Muslims are obligated to pay Zakat-al-Fitr, a charity that goes to poorer families who cannot otherwise engage in the festivities.

Kopuria- June 6

a police officer from Maravovo, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands formed the Melanesian Brotherhood in 1925. He and the Bishop of Melanesia, the Right Reverend John Manwaring Steward, realised Ini's dream by forming a band of brothers (known in the Mota language as 'Ira Reta Tasiu') to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the non-Christian areas of Melanesia.

Pioneers of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil-June 7

is the 19th province of the Anglican Communion, covering the country of Brazil. It is composed of nine dioceses and one missionary district, each headed by a bishop, among whom one is elected as the Primate of Brazil. The current Primate is Francisco de Assis da Silva, from the South-West Diocese, elected in 2013. IEAB is the oldest non-Roman Catholic church in Brazil,[2] originating from the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed in 1810 between Portugal and the United Kingdom which allowed the Church of England to establish chapels in the former Portuguese colony. In 1890 American missionaries from the Episcopal Church established themselves in the country aiming to create a national church; unlike the English chapels, they celebrated services in Portuguese and converted Brazilians. The Anglican community of Brazil was a missionary district of the Episcopal Church until 1965, when it gained its ecclesiastical independence and became a separate province of the Anglican Communion. Twenty years later, IEAB began to ordain women. It preaches a social gospel, being known for its commitment to fight against problems that affect vast portions of the Brazilian society, such as social inequality, land concentration, domestic violence, racism, homophobia and xenophobia. Its stance as an Inclusive Church has caused both schisms and the arrival of former Roman Catholics and Evangelicals in search of acceptance.

Roland Allen- June 8

Allen was ordained a deacon in 1892 and priest the following year. Allen spent two periods in Northern China working for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The first from 1895 to 1900 ended due to the Boxer Rebellion, during which Allen was forced to flee to the British Legation in Beijing. He was chaplain to community throughout much of the siege. After a period back in England, he returned to North China in 1902, but was forced home due to illness. These ‘early experiences led him to a radical reassessment of his own vocation and the theology and missionary methods of the Western churches’. "Missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual beliefs, nor out of theological arguments, but out of love. If I do not love a person I am not moved to help him by proofs that he is in need; if I do love him, I wait for no proof of a special need to urge me to help him."

Columba of Iona- June 9

In the troubled and violent Dark Ages in Northern Europe, monasteries served as inns, orphanages, centers of learning, and even as fortresses. The light of civilization flickered dimly and might have gone out altogether had it not been for these convent-shelters.

Columba, a stern and strong monk from Ireland, founded three such establishments. He founded the monasteries of Derry and Durrow on his native island, and Iona on the coast of Scotland. Iona was the center of operations for the conversion of the Scots and Picts and became the most famous religious house in Scotland. There Columba baptized Brude, King of the Picts, and later a king of the Scots came to this abbot of the "Holy Isle" for baptism. The historian Bede tells us that Columba led many to Christianity by his "preaching and example."He was much admired for his physical as well as spiritual prowess. He was a vigorous ascetic and was still quite active when he died, nearly eighty years old. The memory of Columba lives on in Scotland. Iona, though desecrated during the Reformation, is today a protestant religious community.

Bertha von Suttner

June 9 is also the birthday of the novelist and peace activist Bertha von Suttner, born in Prague in 1843, the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Suttner became a major figure in the peace movement of the day, publishing a bestselling novel, Lay Down Your Arms. She and her husband, Arthur, were devout Christians, and established the League Against Anti-Semitism in response to the pogroms and growing antisemitism in Eastern Europe. True religion, she wrote, is “neighborly love, not neighborly hatred. Any kind of hatred, against other nations or against other creeds, detracts from the humaneness of humanity." For a short time she had served as administrative assistant to the industrialist Alfred Nobel, who made his fortune by inventing dynamite and developing weapons of war - and she maintained an extensive correspondence with him until his death. She is widely credited with influencing his decision to include a peace prize among those he established with his fortune, and in 1905, she became the first woman to be awarded it, and the second female Nobel laureate ever (the first being Marie Curie).

June 10 - Leo Tolstoy

June 10 is the day in 1881 that Leo Tolstoy began a fateful pilgrimage to a nearby monastery. His great novels - War and Peace and Anna Karenina - had made him rich and famous, but he felt a hollow emptiness in his life, and fell into a deep depression. Then one day, alone on a walk in the woods, he had an epiphany: “At the thought of God, happy waves of life welled up inside me. Everything came alive, took on meaning. The moment I thought I knew God, I lived. But the moment I forgot him, the moment I stopped believing, I also stopped living.” The monastery became for him a place of spiritual retreat, at which he worked out the implications of his conversion. He decided to renounce meat, sex, alcohol, tabacco, and expensive clothing. He wanted to give away all his money, too, but his wife, Sophia, reminded him that they needed at least some resources to raise their 10 children!

June 12, 14, 15 - Ember Days

Days four times a year, around the changes of the seasons, during Lent, at Pentecost, and close to St. Lucy’s Day (December) and Exaltation of the Cross (September). These days are the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the week and they are penitential in spirit and aim.



Enmegahbowh, Priest and Missionary-June 12

The first Native American priest of the Episcopal Church, Enmegahbowh was born in Canada, a member of the Ottawa tribe. He was baptized by the Methodists and he came to the United States in 1832 in the service of that church. Working among the Ojibway, he became discouraged and boarded a ship back to Canada. Enroute the vessel encountered a terrible storm on Lake Superior and had to turn back. It was in this situation that he had a vision of Jonah who said, "Ah, my friend Enmegahbowh, I know you. You are a fugitive. You have sinned and disobeyed God. Instead of going to Ninevah, where God sent you, you have turned aside..."This vision convinced Enmegahbowh that it was God's will for him to remain among the Ojibway.

He solicited the help of James Lloyd Breck , the indefatigable Episcopal missionary to the old Northwest. Together they established St. Columba's mission in Gull Lake, Minnesota, in 1852. Enmegahbowh was ordained to the diaconate in 1859 and in 1867 to the priesthood. His remarkable evangelical and pastoral ministry made a permanent impression on the Ojibway people, and his heroic leadership during the Sioux uprising of 1862 saved many lives on both sides. He oversaw the translation of biblical and liturgical texts into Ojibway and was a pivotal person in the development of Episcopal ministries among Native Americans in the western United States.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton-June 13

better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox". Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out." Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown, and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognised the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.

June 13- Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family and by the age of fifteen asked to be sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, the then capital of Portugal. During his time in the Abbey, he learned theology and Latin. Following his ordination to the priesthood, he was named guestmaster and was responsible for the abbey's hospitality. When Franciscan friars settled a small hermitage outside Coimbra dedicated to Saint Anthony of Egypt, Fernando felt a longing to join them. Fernando eventually received permission to leave the Abbey so he could join the new Franciscan Order. When he was admitted, he changed his name to Anthony. Anthony then traveled to Morocco to spread God's truth, but became extremely sick and was returned to Portugal to recover. The return voyage was blown off-course and the party arrived in Sicily, from which they traveled to Tuscany. Athony was assigned to the hermitage of San Paolo after local friars considered his health. As he recovered, Anthony spent his time praying and studying.

An undetermined amount of time later, Dominican friars came to visit the Franciscans and there was confusion over who would present the homily. The Dominicans were known for their preaching, thus the Franciscans assumed it was they who would provide a homilist, but the Dominicans assumed the Franciscans would provide one. It was then the head of the Franciscan hermitage asked Anthony to speak on whatever the Holy Spirit told him to speak of. Though he tried to object, Anthony delivered an eloquent and moving homily that impressed both groups. Soon, news of his eloquence reached Francis of Assisi, who held a strong distrust of the brotherhood's commitment to a life of poverty. However, in Anthony, he found a friend.

In 1224, Francis entrusted his friars' pursuits of studies to Anthony. Anthony had a book of psalms that contained notes and comments to help when teaching students and, in a time when a printing press was not yet invented, he greatly valued it. When a novice decided to leave the hermitage, he stole Anthony's valuable book. When Anthony discovered it was missing, he prayed it would be found or returned to him. The thief did return the book and in an extra step returned to the Order as well. The book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna today.

Anthony occasionally taught at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse in southern France, but he performed best in the role of a preacher. So simple and resounding was his teaching of the Catholic Faith, most unlettered and the innocent could understand his messages. Once, when St. Anthony of Padua attempted to preach the Gospel of the Catholic Church to heretics who would not listen to him, he went out and preached his message to the fish. This was not, as liberals and naturalists have tried to say, for the instruction of the fish, but rather for the glory of God, the delight of the angels, and the easing of his own heart. When critics saw the fish begin to gather, they realized they should also listen to what Anthony had to say.

He was only 36-years-old when he died and was canonized less than one year afterward by Pope Gregory IX. Upon exhumation some 336 years after his death, his body was found to be corrupted, yet his tongue was totally incorrupt, so perfect were the teachings that had been formed upon it. He is typically depicted with a book and the Infant Child Jesus and is commonly referred to today as the "finder of lost articles."

June 14 - Harriet Beecher Stow

June 14 is the birthday of Harriet Beecher Stowe, born in Connecticut in 1811. The daughter of Lyman Beecher, a well known Congregationalist minister, Harriet’s ministry would take a literary form: in 1852, her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, became a national sensation. One of the bestselling novels of all time, the novel was for many an eye-opening, unsparing, tragic depiction of the evils of slavery, and a vision that helped galvanize the abolitionist movement.

Basil the Great- June 14

More than any other single man, Basil, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (modern central Turkey), was responsible for the shaping of the Eastern Church. He was handsome, brilliant, wealthy, and educated in the finest schools of his day. He did not turn from poverty of body or intellect to Christianity. He was a close friend of Gregory Nazianzus (see May 9) and his brother was Gregory of Nyssa (see March 9). Basil was an eloquent preacher and a most persuasive statesman. He was one of the key figures in the triumph of Christian orthodoxy over Arianism. He was a major contributor to the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Church which bears his name. Early in his career he founded a monastery on the island of Pontus, and he put forward the monastic rule that still prevails in the Eastern Church.

Basil would accept no interpretation of the gospel that called for anything less than radical social action. He founded hospitals and organized a massive program for the relief of the poor, both of which were successful then and for many generations after his death. He called the rich Christians of his city "thieves," saying, "What other name does he deserve who, being able to clothe the naked, yet refuses?"The clothes you store away belong to the naked; the shoes that molder in your closet belong to those who have none."

Flag Day- June 14

National Flag Day is when Americans celebrate the meaning of their nation's flag, honor the traditions associated with its care, and educate those around them to its significance. The Flag of the United States is to be honored and carries with it both history and tradition. On June 14, 1777 the Flag Resolution was signed, making the current stars and stripes the National Flag of the United States of America. On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson called for the nation-wide observance of Flag Day. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed congress' decree, making June 14th of each year National Flag Day.

June 15 - the Maagna Carta

June 15 is the day the Magna Carta (or “Great Charter”) was sealed in 1215 in the English meadow of Runnymede. Members of both the nobility and the church had grievances with King John, and so they pressed him to address them, and at the same time to guarantee certain rights to his subjects. The document itself, written by Stephen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, included several ideas that would go on to influence later legal charters, including the U.S. Bill of Rights: that the church should be free of governmental interference; that the monarch should be subject to the law and not above it; and that no one shall be seized, imprisoned, or exiled without due process of law.

June 15 - Kobayashi Issa

June 15 is the birthday of Japanese poet Kobayashi Issa, born in Japan in 1763. He became one of the masters of haiku, a poetic form using 17 Japanese characters grouped in three distinct units. His subjects were often common, everyday details, the small wonders of daily life - and the success of his work is largely responsible for the popularity of haiku today. He often explored spiritual subjects from down-to-earth, relatable vantage points, with both insight and a twinkle in his eye. Here’s one of his classics:

Evelyn Underhill- June 15

A leading Christian mystical theologian of the twentieth century, Evelyn Underhill was a married lay person, the daughter of a prominent English barrister. She was a keen scholar and her two best known books, Mysticism and Worship, are still widely read and regarded as authoritative in the field of Christian mystical teaching and practice. However, she not only wrote about the great Christian mystical tradition, she practiced it and became one of the foremost spiritual directors of her time. She was a close friend of Baron Friedrich von Hügel and she had a significant influence on Charles Williams, T. S. Eliot, and Dorothy Sayers.

Evelyn Underhill successfully reminded us that adoration is the soul at prayer, both common and private. She helped liberate Anglicans from the sterile rationalism, pedagogy, and exhortation that often went under the name of worship. She revived the church's appreciation of the way of the mystics, reminding us that the true Christian mystic's life is not "withdrawn from common duties into some rapturous dreamland"The hard and devoted life of the great mystics of the church at once contradicts this view. It is a life inspired by a vivid and definite aim; the life of a dedicated will moving steadily in one direction, towards a perfect and unbroken union with God."

Bernard Mizeki, Catechist and Martyr in Mashonaland- June 18

As a teenager Bernard Mizeki fled from the oppression of his native Portuguese East Africa, escaping to Cape Town, South Africa. There he was educated, converted, and baptized by Anglican missionaries. At age thirty he volunteered to serve as a teacher at a small pioneer mission in Mashonaland, Southern Rhodesia. There, in isolated and primitive Nhowe, he worked for five years, gaining many converts. These were very troubled times in Rhodesia and missionaries were often regarded as the stooges of European imperialists. So it was with Bernard Mizeki. When a native uprising occurred in 1896 he was warned to flee, but not regarding himself as an enemy of the natives, and not wishing to leave his recent converts, he remained. He was brutally stabbed to death. His body, mysteriously, was never found.

Juneteenth- June 19

also called Freedom Day and Emancipation Day, celebrates the abolition of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Texas to deliver news that President Lincoln has issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the enslaved. Although Lincoln's Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, it took nearly two and half years for word to travel from Washington to Texas. By then, Texas had amassed more than 250,000 slaves.

Since 1865, Juneteenth has been informally celebrated throughout the country however in 1980, Texas became the first state to recognize it as an official holiday. Shortly thereafter, other states also proclaimed the holiday. Today, Juneteenth is a celebration of African-American freedom, heritage and culture observed through songs, communal cookouts and parades.

According to the International Labor Organization, almost 21 million people are victims of forced labor today, 11+ million women and girls and 9+ million men and boys.

Jun 20 - Jun 21, Feast of the Great Spirit

Native American feast day honoring the Deity as Orenda (Iroquois), Asgaya Galun Lati (Cherokee), Wakan Tanka (Lakota), and Awonawilona (Zuni). May we all turn our hearts in praise and thanksgiving to the highest power we know.

Summer Solstice- June 21

The Summer Solstice marks the beginning of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere. On this day, the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun at the highest degree of angle. Places in the Northern Hemisphere experience the longest hours of sunlight throughout the year on this day. The history of the Summer Solstice is rooted in both ancient mysticism and nature. This day takes place somewhere around June 20th or 21st each year.

The Nativity of John Baptist- June 24

The prophet and forerunner of Jesus was his cousin, John, the only child of Elizabeth and Zechariah. He is sometimes called the last and the greatest of the prophets. John lived very plainly, wearing "camel's hair and a leather girdle" and eating "locusts and wild honey." He preached repentance and called upon people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He baptized his followers to signify their repentance and new life. Hence he was called John the Baptist. Jesus himself was baptized by John in the River Jordan. John had many followers, at least some of whom became Christians. He preached strongly against the notorious sins of King Herod and was finally beheaded by the king at the request of his daughter Salome.

June 25 - James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 – June 26, 1938)

was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he started working in 1917, being chosen as the first black executive secretary of the organization, effectively the operating officer.[1] He served in that position from 1920 to 1930. He was first known for his writing, which includes poems, novels, and anthologies collecting both poems and spirituals of black culture. He was the first African-American professor at New York University.

June 26-Isabel Florence Hapgood

a lifelong and faithful Episcopalian, was a force behind ecumenical relations between Episcopalians and Russian Orthodoxy in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century.

June 27- Cornelius Hill ( born 1834)

was the first great Oneida chief to be born in Wisconsin, after the United States government had forced the Oneida peoples west from New York State. As a young man, Hill spent several years at Nashotah House, where the Episcopal priests educated him and formed him in the faith, worship, and tradition of the Church. Hill was greatly respected among his people for his intelligence, courage, and ability to lead, and by his teenage years, he had already been made an Oneida chief, named Onan-gwat-go, or “Big Medicine. When land allotment became a legal reality under the Dawes General Act of 1893, Hill turned to the Church, and in 1895 he was ordained an Episcopal deacon. In 1903 he became the ?rst Oneida to be ordained a priest. At the ordination, he repeated his vows in the Oneida language.

Hill saw Christian faith as a way to help his people grapple with the profound and rapid changes which faced them, and the authority of his ordination enhanced his ability to be a bridge between Oneida and white culture.

June 29- Feast of St. Peter and Paul

— day remembering the the two Apostles who were martyred in Rome.


The Liturgical Seasons

Read more

** This prayer is offer for Victims of Violence throughout of the world. Victims of verbal, physical, emotional, of hunger and thirst,economic abuse,warfare (especially Ukraine, Venezuela, parts of Africa, South America Asia and the Middle East, terrorist action, the death penalty, suicide, shootings (in our cities and neighborhoods), and other guise of violence. May their souls rest in peace and their families experience the Comfort of God. The Church bells will toll on Wednesdays @ 6:10pm.

Web Design and Build by NetView Studio.com