CHURCH MINISTRIES
COMMUNITY OF HOPE
Community of Hope trains pastoral care chaplains to work in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers—places where people have special needs. Community of Hope is distinct in its balanced focus on growth through Benedictine spirituality and
empowerment of laity for pastoral care ministry. It is intended to complement and augment, not compete with, any similar lay ministry training, and it is open to all Christian groups and is not exclusive to the Episcopal Church. Our goal at Holy Trinity is to walk with them in their needs, to be with them in their difficult times.
NEIGHBORHOOD CARE GROUPS
Care groups are a vital pastoral-care ministry in our church. The Village population is very spread out, so six care groups were formed, each responsible
for a geographical zone. They function as both social groups, meeting periodically, and as crisis-response teams, providing assistance in various ways.
HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE
The Hospitality Committee hosts receptions for the Bishop's annual visit and our many wonderful musical concerts. They also provide lunch for our Care Cap volunteers and refreshments for Celebration Sunday.
KITCHEN COMMITTEE
The Kitchen Committee prepares and serves food for various Parish functions, such as: the Annual Meeting, Octoberfest, Mardi Gras and other special occasions throughout the years.
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GROUNDS CARE TEAM
This team of hard workers inspects and monitors the health and condition of all church outdoor plants. They work with service providers in the care of the lawn, shrubs and off-lawn plants.
Workdays, which include the Team and other volunteers, are held throughout the year to provide general clean-up and upkeep of the church grounds.
Members of the St. Francis Chapter, The Order of the Daughters of the King, are pledged to a program of prayer, service and evangelism. Members pray daily for the church, parishioners, family and others. Two members are assigned each
month to deliver emergency food boxes on an as-needed basis from Holy Trinity’s food pantry. Most years, the chapter hosts a Blessing of the Animals to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. Daughters service projects include assembling the Welcome packets for the church New Member Committee, maintaining church informational brochures and prayer cards in church pew racks, and providing "goodie bags" for the children of the families provided Easter food baskets. The Order of the Daughters of the King is an international lay order for women communicants of the Episcopal, Anglican, Lutheran (ELCA) and Roman Catholic churches. St. Francis Chapter meets the first Friday of every month in the church library at 9:30 a.m. Visitors are welcomed.
HOLY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN (ECW)
The mission of the Episcopal Church Women is to bring together all the women of the Diocese of Arkansas by strengthening their spiritual lives,
providing learning opportunities, and supporting their Christ -centered service and ministry. We invite you to join us for ministries, projects, meetings, and social events. The meetings are the fourth Tuesday of each month at 9:30 a.m., September through May. We have fund raiser events such as card parties and silent auctions.
FLOWER GUILD
The guild’s duty is working with the flowers, greenery, and decorations used for the church throughout the year. The guild also delivers the altar flowers (if the donors
themselves do not want them) to ill or homebound parishioners.The guild is funded solely through contributions to the Flower Fund, your contribution for the Sunday flowers, and donations for seasonal decorating. The Flower Guild welcomes anyone. No experience is necessary, just the joy of adding beauty to enhance the church services and seasons.
Holy Trinity Book & Gift Store
The Book and Gift Store was established in the mid-’90s as a 4-square-foot greeting card display and an assemblage of small gifts. In 2003, the bookstore was relocated to Sifford Hall and became a source for religious and
family-friendly reading materials and gifts. The monies earned in the bookstore are contributed to Holy Trinity approved outreach programs. During the past 10 years, primary recipients of Bookstore donations have been Camp Mitchell, the Dick Johnston Camp at Camp Mitchell, the Village Shoe Fund, Project Hope Food Bank, Jackson House, and Holy Trinity Grounds Care. In the Fall of 2012, a book cart was stationed outside the Bookstore and is stocked with “gently used” books. Books are donated by parishioners and are sold for $1.00 for hardbacks and 50 cents for paperbacks.
OUTREACH MINISTRIES
LOCAL HUNGER MINISTRIES
Jackson House
Located in the center of Hot Springs, Jackson House is an interfaith community crisis center which provides short-term emergency assistance for basic needs – food, clothing,
shelter – and medicine, without regard to race, creed, gender or nationality. The first Wednesday of each month a group of men from Holy Trinity prepares and serves lunch for the individuals who have no other place to go. A budgeted contribution is made by Holy Trinity each year to support this effort to serve those in need in the community of Hot Springs.
Project HOPE Food Bank
Holy Trinity supports the mission of Project HOPE Food Bank with large donations annually from the Outreach budget and volunteer labor since the food bank started
in 2009. About 17 Holy Trinity parishioners work at the food bank at least one day a week. The food bank exists to provide affordable and healthy food to food pantries and feeding programs in West Central Arkansas. Currently, Project Hope provides food in case-lot quantities to 4 food pantries and 15 feeding programs. In addition, emergency food boxes, senior emergency food boxes, and food for backpack programs are provided to 45 social service agencies. As one of the social service agencies, Holy Trinity disperses emergency food boxes and gift boxes.
Emergency Food Delivery
The St. Francis Chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King at Holy Trinity delivers food to families in need on a one-time basis. Food items include the emergency food boxes prepared and furnished by Project Hope Food Bank. These items are supplemented by perishable items such as bread, meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables purchased from a local grocery store.
Love Lunches
Holy Trinity, along with other churches in the Village, helps the United Methodist Church feed the “hungry” with lunch every Sunday during the year. We are tasked with putting together sack lunches, along with a drink, for approximately 200 individuals on each of our assigned Sundays. This is a wonderful ministry wherein we serve with other churches.
Meals on Wheels
During May of each year, volunteers from Holy Trinity deliver Meals on Wheels to Village shut-ins. Volunteers give one morning each week during
May. Meals are prepared by and picked up at St. Vincent’s McAuley Center.
OTHER LOCAL MINISTRIES
Village Churches Mission
Village Churches Mission (VCM) is a cooperative effort of the churches in Hot Springs Village. This ministry was organized
nearly 40 years ago when it became apparent that many of the working poor families in the community had emergency needs surpassing their income. Funds are raised to assist families, on a one-time basis, who are experiencing short-duration distress. Holy Trinity makes an annual contribution from the Outreach budget to VCM. The holiday food boxes that are delivered at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are also a part of the VCM. In addition, the non-budgeted shoe fund provides monies to the VCM-sponsored ministry that supplies shoes to children in need in the Jessieville, Fountain Lake, and Mountain Pine school districts.
Habitat for Humanity
Holy Trinity supports the Apostles Build program of the Garland County Habitat for Humanity with funds from the Outreach budget and with
volunteer workers. Habitat has a vision of “a world where everyone has a decent place to live.” The mission is “Seeking to put God’s love into action. Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope."
Charitable Christian Medical Clinic (CCMC)
CCMC is a nonprofit Christian ministry that strives to improve the quality of life for medically uninsured people in the Hot Springs community. The CCMC provides affordable general medical care, preventive medicine and health education, and makes available spiritual counseling for those who seek it. Holy Trinity’s Outreach budget makes an annual donation to CCMC.
Dick Johnston Children's Camp
This camp is for 8-12 year old children who have a parent who has been incarcerated. Serving the community for over 15 years, it is a week long,
non-denominational camp that is held each summer at Camp Michell on Petit Jean Mountain. The camp is totally funded by donations and is free to campers.
Statewide and Worldwide Ministries
Care Caps
The story of Care Caps Connection is the story of two sisters: one diagnosed with terminal cancer who was bald from the harsh, but life-extending, chemotherapy; and the other one who could sew. Mary Phillips began to make caps for her sister as wigs and other things did not work. Today, more than 1,500 women, men, and young people in Arkansas come together under Mary’s leadership to fabricate and deliver (free-of-charge) “Care Caps.” Since starting in 2006, over 70,000 caps have been made for chemotherapy patients. Approximately 20 ladies meet at Holy Trinity every other month. The Holy Trinity “guys” come early to unload and set-up the machines and other equipment; they return in the afternoon to take it all down and reload Mary’s special trailer. The Hospitality Committee provides lunch for this ministry. Everyone is united in the task of giving a wonderful gift to someone they will never meet.
Kairos
The mission of the Kairos prison ministry is to bring Christ’s love and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals, their families and those who work with them, and to assist in the transition of becoming productive citizens. Kairos is active in six Arkansas prisons (four prisons for men and one each for women and youth). Volunteers from Holy Trinity serve at the Tucker prison, which is located near England, AR.
Camp Mitchell
Camp Mitchell is a nonprofit camp and conference center owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas. Each year, Camp Mitchell hosts a vital summer youth camp program which includes nine weeks of camp with two weeks open to handicapped and disadvantaged youth and adults (Robert L. Brown Camp) and one week open to children with parents in prison (Dick Johnston Children’s Camp). Camp Mitchell operates year-round with lodging and facilities available for retreats meetings, banquets, weddings, reunions or peaceful family getaways.
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good news of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoe boxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoe box is the first gift they have ever received. Holy Trinity has been a part of this ministry since 2010, collecting filled shoe boxes in November of each year.
Liturgical Ministries
CHOIR
The choir at Holy Trinity is made up of dedicated volunteers who sing for the 10:30 a.m. Sunday service from September through Trinity Sunday, as well as for memorial services and special church services during Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. The choir is open to all without audition. Contact the music director, Dr. Joshua Brown, if you are interested in joining.
ALTAR GUILD
The ministry of the Altar Guild is to prepare the sanctuary for every service this is held in the church during the year. This includes all regularly scheduled weekly services plus Christmas Eve, Holy Week and additional services for funerals and weddings. Holy Trinity’s Altar Guild is open to anyone either male or female who would like to experience a most rewarding ministry.
LECTORS
A lay person trained in reading scripture who is appointed by clergy to read lessons or lead the prayers of the people. The term is from the Latin, "to read." There is no license required for this lay ministry.
LAY EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
Lay Eucharistic Ministers are approved by the Bishop and assist the priests during all Eucharistic services in the administration of the chalice.
USHERS AND GREETERS
These individuals greet parishioners and visitors, distribute service bulletins, facilitate Holy Communion and orient visitors to the church.
LAY EUCHARISTIC VISITORS
Lay Eucharistic Visitors are licensed by the Bishop and serve when requested by the clergy to immediately following the principle Holy Eucharist take the host and the wine to members of the congregation who, by reason of illness or infirmity, were unable to be present at the church service.