Formation

Opportunities for formation happen in every area of our lives: worship, prayer, experiences in nature, Scripture, study, reflection, our relationships, and encounters with other people. We seek out these opportunities in our lives, but it is God within us doing the work of transformation

Although formation is an ongoing process, we use the word most often to refer to Christian Education.  As Christians, we work on deepening our understanding of Holy Scripture, theology, church history, ethics, liturgy (our forms of prayer and worship), and praxis (how we put our faith to work in ministry). On this page, you will find information on current, future, and ongoing opportunities for people of every age to grow in the knowledge and love of God together.

• Thursdays, 11:00 AM on Zoom

In this group we decide together what parts of Scripture we want to explore more deeply together. In the past we have discussed the lectionary (the appointed readings for each week) for the coming Sunday, or studied a particular book of the Bible, or used an accessible scholarly book on a particular topic in the Bible. Right now we are reading through the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Life has changed a lot for young families in the last 20 years. There was a time when we had over 500 children in Sunday School! Other Sunday morning activities for children and teens and the sheer business of life have made it much harder for parents to feel like they can manage to get children to church.

So, we are now working with the families who attend Trinity and with Trinity Episcopal Preschool families to figure out a new model for bringing children and families to worship God, serve one another, and grow in faith. We provide families with resources to use at home but know that there is no substitute for learning in community.

So just bring your kids to church when you can! We have “quiet toys” to keep their hands occupied, but we really don’t mind when they wiggle or squeal (or sigh and roll their eyes). We are not the whole Body of Christ without them.

• Sundays, 9:05 AM in Memorial Hall

In between the 8:00 AM and 10:15 AM services we gather to read a book on a topic we think is important, to learn about history or theology, to study spiritual poetry, and the like. We have read The Ungrateful Refugee by Dina Nayeri, explored the poetry of e. e. cummings, and discussed the genealogy of Jesus.

Advent: November – December, 2025
We try to slow down in Advent with a devotional series usually focused on poetry, art, or music. This allows us to have less didactive and more contemplative time together. The devotional is always accessible to anyone whether or not they join in the Sunday morning discussion, but it’s always easier to follow through on a spiritual practice in community.

September – November, 2025 we participated in the ecumenical Season of Creation and kept going with the theme. In alignment with our mission, we used the lenses of Worship, Service, and Growth in Faith to talk about Creation Theology, the realities of environmental degradation. and how we can be better stewards of the glorious world God gave into our care.

During the summer of 2025, we did a deep dive into the Book of Common Prayer to explore how our liturgies express and shape our faith in Jesus Christ. Many Episcopal parishes, including Trinity, tend not to use the prayer book in church because it can be hard to follow along, especially if you are new to the Episcopal Church.