Jane's Journal
- Kimberly Simpson
- Sep 1, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 5
Jane’s Journal
September 30, 2025
I can’t believe it’s almost October! Where did September go? But we have much to look forward to this month with our fun, full, Fall calendar!
Pet Blessing - this Saturday, Oct. 4, 10:00-12:00p, front yard of the church
This Saturday is one of my favorite Trinity traditions — our Annual Pet Blessing to commemorate the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi!! Bring your pet (or a picture of your furry friend) for a special pastoral blessing. We will have water bowls, dog treats, cat treats, and human treats. All animals welcome!
World Communion Sunday - this Sunday, Oct. 5, 11:00a
Come participate in a very special Holy Communion. On World Communion Sunday almost all churches throughout the world will celebrate the sacrament within one 24-hour period. Despite our differences all Christians can still honor our unity in Christ.
Sunday, October 19 we have two special happenings!
First of all, the students from the Denton Wesley Foundation at the University of North Texas will be here to lead us in worship and share with us their youthful enthusiasm for God. Then after worship we will share a potluck supper to honor the students and enjoy fellowship together.
It’s almost Charge Conference time! This year we will return to the cluster charge conference model, where multiple congregations will come together at one time and location for their respective charge conferences.
Trinity Duncanville will hold its Charge Conference on Sunday, Oct. 26, 3:00p, at The Village UMC in De Soto located at 1121 E. Wintergreen Rd., De Soto. Leadership Board members please make every effort to attend. All other members of Trinity are also welcome to come and represent our church and join the discussion.
Some of you will be receiving Charge Conference forms to fill out. We ask that you please return your completed form by Tuesday, Oct. 7. You can give it to me directly or email it to: tumcd_office@icloud.com
All Saints Sunday, Nov. 2, 11:00a
On All Saints Sunday, always the first Sunday in November, we honor the memory of every Trinity member or constituent who was passed away since the last All Saints Sunday. We also honor family and close friends of the Trinity family. If you have a loved one you wish to honor, please let me know as soon as you can.
We have a full calendar this month, but not so full that we don’t have time to thank God for all the blessings we have enjoyed here at Trinity UMC!
Peace, Jane
December 6, 2024
Happy Advent! Advent is the season where we joyfully anticipate the coming of the
Christ Child. But we also celebrate all the ways that Christ comes to us—the Word
proclaimed, worship and sacrament, in the Holy Spirit, and through participation in the
body of Christ, the Church.
We also prepare for and celebrate the time when Christ will come again in final victory,
history will come to an end, and creation will reach its final consummation.
This is the theme of our current sermon series “What Comes After…?”
We will be exploring:
12/01 1) What Happens When We Die?
12/08 2) What About the Second Coming?
12/15 3) How Does the World End?
12/22 4) God Opens at the Close
We will have several other special worship opportunities during the season:
12/15, Sun., 11:00a — Special Music Sunday
12/19, Thurs., 7:00p — Blue Embrace Service
A special service for those experiencing grief or loss
12/24, Tues., 7:00p — Christ, Candles, and Communion
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
On Sunday, November 24 our church held its annual Charge Conference. We were
able to report that since the last Charge Conference a year ago, our membership has
grown by over 5%. For an established church located within a stable population area,
5% is considered very good! It is the first year we have reported membership growth
since before Covid.
In other Charge Conference good news, our District Superintendent Rev. Edlen Cowley
has offered to extend our apportionment abeyance until we have leased out the
education wing and have started to receive an income stream. Not only will this be a
great help to us financially, but it also indicates that the conference has real faith in the
future of Trinity UMC!
Come be a part of the excitement at Trinity UMC this Advent and Christmas!!
September 10, 2024
Even though I haven’t been in school for years there is something about September that
still feels like it’s the beginning of a new year. The pace of life ramps up in September
after a summer lull and we all look forward to cooler temperatures (and some of us to
football season!). This is indeed the season of new beginnings.
Among the new beginnings here at Trinity UMC are changes in our Sunday morning
worship. First of all, we are thrilled that our Minister of Worship Rev. Dr. Garth Baker-
Fletcher is back with us after he and his wife Karen were in a truly frightful auto accident
back in June. We are so grateful they continue to heal and get stronger everyday!
In the meantime we have added Dr. Margo Dillard to the Trinity team! Margo will be
accompanying our hymns from the grand piano and occasionally the organ. (You can
read more about Margo in the article below.) Garth will now lead the congregation from
our new electronic keyboard. From this position he will be better able to lead worship,
particularly congregational singing. Garth will continue to lead our vocal and handbell
choirs. Additional improvements to our music program will be made in the months
ahead.
We have also slightly altered the order of worship. The Opening Prayer has been
renamed the Congregational Prayer and moved to become part of the Prayers of the
People after the sermon, which is now followed by the Passing of the Peace.
It is our prayer that these changes will enhance the worship experience for all
worshippers. Come see for yourself every Sunday morning at 11:00 here at Trinity
UMC!
July 16, 2024
I’m still on a high after the United Methodist General Conference last May! Getting rid of ALL of our denomination’s anti-LGBTQ policies was literally a dream come true for me and so many others!
Last week all the UMC churches in the United States met for Jurisdictional Conferences. Trinity UMC is part of the Metro District, of the North Texas Conference (NTC), of the South Central Jurisdiction (SCJ). Our South Central Jurisdictional Conference was July 10-12 in Rogers, Arkansas. There the SCJ unanimously approved the creation of the new Horizon Texas Conference (HTC). The HTC will consist of all the churches in the NTC (Dallas, Denton, Collin counties and points north), Central Texas Conference (Tarrant County and points south), and the Northwest Texas Conference (including the Midland/Odessa, Abilene, Lubbock, and Amarillo areas).
The new Horizon Texas Conference will be under the leadership of our current bishop Dr. Ruben Saenz Jr. On September 28, the three conferences will come together in Abilene for a Unity Conference to set the details of the merger will take effect January 1, 2025.
So many exciting things are happening in The United Methodist Church and right here at Trinity UMC! I am so excited about our future. I know the Holy Spirit is going to be doing some great things as we come together in ministry! See you Sunday!!
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Jane
June 20, 2024
There are loads of interesting things going on at Trinity UMC or online!
Join us for these special events!
An Evening with Garth: Celebrating Liberation - Friday, June 21, 7:00p
Minister of Worship: Rev. Dr. Garth Baker-Fletcher will share songs and stories commemorating Juneteenth.
Life Line Screening
Tuesday, July 16, all day
to schedule your screening:
lifelinescreening.com
Chair Yoga with Claire Howard, LMFT
A Shalom Series Event
Saturday, July 27, 10:00-11:00a
Fellowship Hall
Check out these online resources!
If you have not done so already, please visit our YouTube page and subscribe: @trinityumcd
Pride events of Trinity UMC and the other Reconciling Congregations were recently
highlighted in the North Texas Conference newsletter:
Trinity is a proud member of the Reconciling Ministries Network, but individuals are
invited to become a Reconciling United Methodist! Sign up here:
Subscribe to the United Methodist Now newsletter and twice a month receive
inspirational stories, examples of Christian living, and ideas for spiritual growth and faith
formation:
May 18, 2024
I am still reeling from all the phenomenal things that happened at General Conference!
(In case you’ve been under a rock lately, The United Methodist Church recently voted to remove all anti-LGBTQ language from our denomination’s rulebook The Discipline, including the infamous “incompatibility clause.”) Looking forward Trinity UMC has a bright future with so many things coming up!
First of all, this Sunday is Pentecost Sunday celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit with power to establish the church. To honor the day please wear red on Sunday.
But before that our church will again be present at Duncan Switch, the street market sponsored by the city of Duncanville. Duncan Switch will be this Saturday, May 18, 9:00-3:00p, right off Main Street in downtown Duncanville. Here we will meet our neighbors and help spread the word about our wonderful church.
Coming up Saturday, June 1, Trinity UMC will once again have a booth at the Pride Fest at Fair Park in Dallas. This is a family friendly event where community organizations (including more and more churches) will have information, treats, and gifts for all the fair goers. It’s a great opportunity to really get out and connect with the community. And it’s a lot of fun too!
The next day June 2 we will celebrate Pride Sunday in worship with a new sermon series “Good News for Gay Folks: How the Bible Affirms LGBTQ People.”
Then coming up on Friday, June 21, 7:00p, we will host a very special event “An Evening with Garth: Celebrating Liberation.” Our Minister of Worship Garth Baker-Fletcher will share songs and stories to commemorate Juneteenth and together “we’ll tell the story of how we’ve overcome.”
See you Sunday!!
Peace in Christ,Pastor Jane
From General Conference to Pride Month
May 15, 2024
I am still reeling from all the phenomenal things that happened at General Conference!
(In case you’ve been under a rock lately, The United Methodist Church recently voted to
remove all anti-LGBTQ language from our denomination’s rulebook The Discipline,
including the infamous “incompatibility clause.”)
Looking forward Trinity UMC has a bright future with so many things coming up!
First of all, this Sunday is Pentecost Sunday celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit
with power to establish the church. To honor the day please wear red on Sunday.
But before that our church will again be present at Duncan Switch, the street market
sponsored by the city of Duncanville. Duncan Switch will be this Saturday, May 18,
9:00-3:00p, right off Main Street in downtown Duncanville. Here we will meet our
neighbors and help spread the word about our wonderful church.
Coming up Saturday, June 1, Trinity UMC will once again have a booth at the Pride
Fest at Fair Park in Dallas. This is a family friendly event where community
organizations (including more and more churches) will have information, treats, and gifts for all the fair goers. It’s a great opportunity to really get out and connect with the
community. And it’s a lot of fun too!
The next day June 2 we will celebrate Pride Sunday in worship with a new sermon
series “Good News for Gay Folks: How the Bible Affirms LGBTQ People.”
Then coming up on Friday, June 21, 7:00p, we will host a very special event “An
Evening with Garth: Celebrating Liberation.” Our Minister of Worship Garth Baker-
Fletcher will share songs and stories to commemorate Juneteenth and together “we’ll
tell the story of how we’ve overcome.”
See you Sunday!!
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Jane
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