A Reconciling United Methodist Congregation
| Ministries | ||
Ecological and Social Justice We at Trinity feel it is a special calling of our faith to work for ecological and social justice. We need to act as responsible stewards of God's creation and for the equitable sharing of its resources. In this era of global warming and the widening gap between the rich and the poor, we individually and as a nation can no longer condone an unsustainable system and lifestyle that wastes precious resources for the benefit of a few. All humanity must work for a society based on the sustainable use of resources where everyone has an equitable access to those resources. Trinity has initiated task forces to spearhead our response to these callings. We will be engaging our congregation in the next few months to determine how to give concrete expression to this mission. San Francisco Dump Tour - Trinity members took a tour of the San Francisco dump on August 15, 2009. We got to see first hand what happens to all our garbage. We saw the Artist in Residence program and all the beautiful art work that was created from items thrown away in the trash. The trip highlighted the fact that we need to take steps now to preserve God's world for future generations.  Wadi Foquin Behive Project Responding to an invitation from Buena Vista UMC in Alameda, Trinity has become a partner congregation to provide beehives to the village of Wadi Foquin (foo-keen) in Palestine. Wadi Foquin, an agricultural community, is suffering greatly from expanding settlements that impede their access to agricultural land and contaminate their water supply. The Bee Hive Project will provide beehives, equipment and training in the village so that the cultivation and selling of honey may enable this village to survive. Each bee hive costs $250 and houses 20,000 bees. That's approximately a penny a bee! Trinity's goal is three bee hives by the end of the year. So save up those pennies! Donations are not limited to pennies, of course! The people of Wadi Foquin, who initiated this project, have been working on this for over a year with our mission liasion in Israel-Palestine, Janet Lahr Lewis. Janet cites this as an example of how one congregation can advocate for justice while helping to bring hope and encouragement to those who are living under occupation. ***Update! - As of January 1, 2010 we have collected enought pennies for five beehives and one set of beekeeping equipment! Keep those pennies coming in! Other Ministries Vigil for Peace - Join the Vigil for Peace in Iraq, held every Tuesday at 12:00 noon in front of the Oakland Federal Building, 13th and Clay. This vigil calls for an end to the U. S. occupation of Iraq. Quilters - The Trinity quilt group makes quilts for newlyweds and babies born into our church (we make twin bed sized baby quilts so they'll be surrounded by our love throughout their childhood and take it to college with them). We're delighted with the baby boom we're having - but it means lots more quilts, so please join us! The group meets every Monday from 9:30-11:00 in the Fireside Room (those of us who work fulltime can come on holiday Mondays). Sewing skill or quilting experience is not required, we'll teach you! Contact the church office or Yulan Tong for more information. |
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Sierra Service Project For nearly 15 years the youth of Trinity Church have been strengthening their spirits through participating in the Sierra Service Project repairing homes in Native American communities. Sierra Service Project (SSP) is a non-profit organization providing life-changing experiences through acts of service repairing homes in Native American and urban communities and building homes in Honduras. More information can be found at www.sierraserviceproject.org  This year between July 26 - August 1, 2009, fifteen youth and 3 adults went to the town of Loleta, CA to work with the Wiyot Tribe. We did a variety of general home repair work on houses on the reservation and also on some tribal residences in the off-reservation towns. Because of the high winds and wet winters, there was a big need for weatherization work on many homes, including window and door replacement, and for repairs of water-damaged walls and floors. We also did some painting and roof repairs. You can read about them at http://www.wiyot.com. Habitat for Humanity Trinity Church volunteers with East Bay Habitat for Humanity. As part of our service commitment, Trinity Church has a tradition of participating in Habitat for Humanity. On various workdays throughout the year, members of our congregation spend time building homes for low income families. This past year we built foundations, put up walls and installed siding in the East Oakland Edes Street project. Although participants are not required to have building or construction experience, several of our church members are architects and engineers and really help to move the project along. Several of our youth have construction experience gained from the Sierra Service Project and bring their skills to the Habitat jobsite. Participating in Habitat is a great way to share God's gifts through "hands on" service. More information can be found at www.habitateb.org  Winter Coat Drive - The Berkeley Food and Housing Project is conducting a Winter Coat Drive for no-longer-worn winter coats and/or jackets for men, women, and children. If you have any coats you would be moved to donate, please bring them to church on Sunday or drop them off at the church office. Food Bank Barrel - A Food Bank Barrel is located in the chapel's narthex, waiting for your donations. Hunger is a real and growing problem in the Bay area: 34,000 people live with the threat of hunger - 53% of them are children or seniors. Please remember those in our community who go to bed hungry each night. While food shopping, pick up tow: one to consume and one to give! |
| 2362 Bancroft at Dana |
| Berkeley, California |
| Phone: 510-548-4716 |
| Fax: 510-548-4717 |