Tidings Newsletter - August 2026

Trinity Presbyterian
2 days ago
11 min read

Pastor's Corner

A Repeating Story in the Bible: Human Oppression Followed by Divine Liberation

The defining story in Judaism is the Exodus story, God’s liberation through Moses of the Israelites from their slavery to the Egyptian Empire.

The defining story in Christianity is God sending Jesus the Messiah to be born in a Jewish outpost in the midst of the oppressive Roman Empire, and his good news proclamation of a new life-giving alternative to Rome and all other empires, which was a religious/political kingdom he called both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven.

From beginning to end, the story of the Bible is the story of the repeated human journey from oppression to liberation.

These stories always begin with a small group of people with overwhelming military, economic and political power oppressing a majority of poor and powerless people until God intervenes through awake and willing human servants and liberates the people from their oppression. Both Judaism and Christianity are religious liberation stories.

But neither Jews nor Christians have been immune themselves from being oppressors.

It was not long after the Israelites got into the Promised Land that a small powerful rich group of Israelites began to oppress the majority of powerless and poor Israelites. The Bible story tells us that God’s judgment on that oppression was spoken to those in power by the Hebrew prophets and ultimately administered by the Babylonian army, which crushed Jerusalem and the Temple and drove the Israelites into exile. Even after all that, Jews began to oppress Christians not long after the death of Jesus, and one of the lead Jewish oppressors was Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul.

Christian oppression of others began shortly after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official State religion of the Roman Empire. Christians, now flush with new power, almost immediately started oppressing so-called “heretical’ Christians and non-Christians in the empire. During the middle ages Christian crusaders oppressed Muslims in the middle east until Muslims successfully fought back. James Carroll, in his book Constantine’s Sword, details the 2,000 year history of Christian oppression of Jews, culminating in the Third Reich’s attempted extermination of Jews in the Nazi death camps.

It’s incredible to me that both Jews and Christians, people who both should have known better from their own experience of oppression, became oppressors themselves, and some of them continue their oppression to this very day. Some Jews in power continue to oppress Palestinians, and some Christians in power continue to oppress all kinds of people today, including people who are non-Christian, non-white, non-male, non-heterosexual, immigrants, poor, and sick. How in the world did Judaism and Christianity go from being religions intended for the liberation of people to religions of oppression?

The gospel of Jesus Christ and Jesus’ Kingdom of God are intended to bring about the liberation of all people. May we as a local church and national denomination always be all about the liberation of all people, opposing those who oppress anyone or any group and supportive of efforts designed to liberate people

—David Garnett

Associate Pastor's Note

We may still be in the dog days of summer, but there’s a lot going on at Trinity this month, especially on Sunday mornings. (See the “Learning Hour at a Glance” chart in this issue of Tidings to get a bird’s-eye view.)

In this note I want to draw your attention to a detail concerning the “Guatemala Bazar” that will take place after worship on August 23 in the Fellowship Hall.

If you’re connected at all with Trinity Presbyterian Church, it’s hard to have not heard something about the Guatemala Partnership and our partner congregation, Iglesia Fuente de Vida. At the August 23 event, you’ll have the chance to learn more about the Partnership, scholarships for students, and the Microloan Program.

Another organization that will be featured — one that you may not have heard of — is Senderos Guatemala (https://senderosguatemala.org/), which supports arts, education, and mentoring programs in Guatemala. Established in 2004 by David and Deanna LaMotte, Senderos supports:

the El Tejar Music Program, which provides afterschool instruction to more than 80 students for various instruments in a 3-year progression;
Brillaguate, which provides scholarships, a supportive environment, ongoing mentoring, and tutoring to support young men and women in completing their studies and finding meaningful work; and
Escuela Comunitaria David LaMotte (often referred to as the escuelita, the “little school), a preschool and elementary school just outside of Santiago Atítlan.

During the recent Presbytery Youth Delegation’s trip to Guatemala, our group spent an inspiring morning at the escuelita, playing with children, learning about the school’s history and challenges, and enjoying a delicious lunch. At the Guatemala Bazar on August 23, we’ll share a bit more about the school and the work of Senderos, and you’ll have the opportunity to support the escuelita by purchasing crafts made in the Atítlan community and contributing school supplies.

We hope you’ll plan to join us for worship on August 23 at 10:00, and then come on over to the Fellowship Hall for the Guatemala Bazar!

Peace,

—Dwight Christenbury

Worship Ministry

Domingo de Guatemala: ¡Juntos en Cristo!

Guatemala Sunday: Together in Christ!

Sunday, August 23, 2026

¡Qué bueno y agradable es cuando el pueblo de Dios vive unido!

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

Join us for worship and a Guatemala Bazar following the service as we reflect on our partnership with our Guatemalan siblings and what it means to be Together in Christ.

10:00 a.m.: Worship — Our service will feature reflections by participants from the recent Presbytery Youth Delegation to Guatemala and by Trinity members with deep connections to our ministry partnerships.

11:15 a.m.: Guatemala Bazar — Join us in the Fellowship Hall to enjoy Guatemalan refreshments, a slideshow of pictures from the Youth Delegation’s trip, and opportunities to learn about Guatemalan history and culture. You’ll also discover ways you can support the people and faith communities of Guatemala through our partnership with Iglesia Fuente de Vida, the Microloan Program, and Senderos Guatemala.

How you can help:

Bring school supplies to donate (a list of specific needs is coming soon)
Bring money to purchase fair-trade, hand-made crafts
Be ready to learn about other ways you can connect with our Guatemala Partnership

Christian Nurture Ministry

Youth News

DONUTS!

Summer Youth Learning Hour

Sunday mornings 9:00—9:45

Youth Lounge (Room 106)

Trinity Youth (middle school and up) are invited to join us for an informal summertime gathering called DONUTS! We’ll meet in the Youth Lounge (downstairs, room 106), and each gathering will include:

DONUTS! (because it would be a crime to call an event “DONUTS!” and then not have DONUTS!)
Comfortable, overstuffed leather furniture in a casual, welcoming atmosphere
A semi-random conversation topic so that we don’t just sit there in awkward silence as we munch our Dunkin Munchkins
ThoughtProvoker, a free, limited-edition collectible trading card containing one or more questions or ideas related to the worship service that will follow each of our gatherings (10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary).

UPDATE: DONUTS! will take place on the following Sunday mornings:

August 2
August 16 (new meeting date, replacing Aug. 23)
September 6

Hope to see you there!

Summer Learning Hour

AT A GLANCE

Here’s a quick look at the Learning Hour calendar for the rest of Trinity’s summer worship season (worship service at 10:00 a.m.):

Aug. 2 9:00 Hashing It Out (Lounge)

DONUTS! (Youth Room 106)