When Trinity receives new members, we invite them to offer a testimonial. The following are testimonials from recently received new members...
Baptism Speech for Victoria Cunningham, by Craig and BJ Cunningham
Vincent Van Gogh is quoted as saying: “If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.”
Every morning, when
As
So, as
Shortly after Mya was born, we discussed when and where to have her Baptized. While in the process of searching for a church we felt comfortable with, we came across Trinity United. After our initial conversation with Desmond, we knew Trinity was where we would like to start Mya’s journey and as well renew our own outlook on faith.
By baptizing Mya, we feel we are providing her with the primary tools to help guide her in her spiritual future. We anticipate that she will have the potential to become a more enlightened person. We feel that by baptizing Mya she will gain a better ability to appreciate her community, its diversity and a wider, more open perception of the world surrounding her.
As it is important for us to share this milestone with our families, they have travelled from Eastern Canada and Northern Ontario to be here with us today. We are so grateful that they are here and we believe they will support Mya through her lifes trials.
We are looking forward to experiencing her growth in the church alongside her. Thank you to everyone at Trinity for making this such a memorable event.
Erin and Laura Labour
June 28 2009
From Marion and Eric Johnston:
When Marion and I moved to Kitchener I wasn’t sure that I wanted to join a church - we would only be here for less than half a year. Marion didn’t feel she was a good solitary Christian but needed a church family for her faith to grow, so we went to a few churches to see what was offered. After the first visit to Trinity, my mind and heart changed about joining a church.
It was a pleasant five minute walk from where we lived; the music here was and is exceptional; sitting in the sanctuary made me aware of a hundred years of worship that had come before, yet the service and outreach programs were relevant to this present decade; and the members of the congregation were very welcoming. People here were quick to let us know what events and activities are going on and were very inviting about participating.
The committment to the Out of the Cold program was a drawing card for Marion and she hopes in the short timespan we are here each year to be able to become involved in it.
Everything about Trinity felt right for us. We decided to transfer our membership from First United in Dryden after that first Sunday and we are excited about being active members of this congregation.
From Joan Oille:
I've had a long association with Trinity and this church holds many fond memories for me. In 1939, my father Edgar Seymour, a United church minister, was invited to succeed Rev. Clarke Logan here at Trinity. Dad loved his ministry here, however stresses brought on by the war years, conducting two services each Sunday and generally serving the spiritual needs of a congregation of 1400 as the only minister, resulted in his ill health and subsequent resignation from the United Church ministry in 1948.
Dr. Orville Hosie replaced Dad and served this congregation for many years. Dave and I were married at Trinity 45 years ago and in 1989, Dr. Kirker performed the marriage ceremony for our daughter Cathy and Ron Baer. Our granddaughters, Caroline and Angela were baptized here and we are proud of the contribution the Baer family is making to the life of this church.
Dave and I lived for many years in Kitchener and attended Forest Hill United, our neighbourhood church. Occasionally, we would attend Trinity to hear Frank Morgan or Al Kirker. This church has had a long history of fine preachers. Two years ago, we moved to Waterloo and debated whether to transfer to First United. However, with our family so well established at Trinity we both decided to join them as members of this congregation. To me, it's like coming home. Dave and I hope to take part in church activities as we are able and look forward to what appears to be an exciting future for Trinity.
From Chuck Howitt:
My name is Chuck Howitt. I have worked at the Waterloo Region Record for many years, most recently has a business reporter. I was raised in the Anglican Church in Guelph, Ontario. As a young adult, I did not go to church regularly, but began attending St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Kitchener about 16 years ago. A few years after that, I met my wife Janet.
Janet was not a huge fan of the Anglican Church with its kneeling benches and formal services, so we began attending St. James Rosemount United Church in our neighbourhood in Kitchener. After a number of years there, we moved to a new neighbourhood near Rockway Golf Course. We took a break from regular church attendance at this time, until we decided to start coming to Trinity. since coming to Trinity, I have enjoyed the people, the church's beautiful, old-world charm and the sincere and dedicated ministers here. To me, church membership at Trinity combines two important elements, faith and community-building. I look forward to many years of attendance at Trinity in the future.
From Janet Howitt:
Hello, my name is Janet Howitt. I am a life long Kitchener resident, a wife, a mother of two wonderful adult children – one who will be married in September, and a fulltime Masters student at Wilfrid Laurier University and Waterloo Lutheran Seminary where I am studying Social Work and Functional Theology. When I was a child, my family infrequently attended St. James Rosemount United Church where I went to Sunday school, Messengers and Explorers. In my adolescence, after my mother’s sudden death, I started searching and began attending a local Baptist church where I was baptized, then a Lutheran church with my first husband and where my children were baptized and later a neighbourhood Missionary Alliance congregation that had an awesome youth program.
Each church and congregation was special and met my needs and those of my family, allowing us to share our gifts and benefit from worshipping with the community. In each I was embraced in the loving arms of God through her people. When Chuck and I married at St John the Evangelist, my Missionary Alliance Pastor co-officiated. As a new family we returned to St James Rosemount at a time when it was important for me to reconnect with memories of both of my parents. It seems that over the years I have been looking for a church home and for God.
Now we find ourselves here at Trinity, invited by Barbara Bitzer and Desmond, who I met at a Kairos gathering in Ancaster. I have found Trinity to be a warm and welcoming community, blessed with strong leadership, inclusive, faithful and reflective worship, joyous music, a commitment to the core area of Kitchener and a vibrant social justice mandate – all things that are important to me. There is such a sweet spirit of warmth, hope and acceptance here. I just returned from a two-week study trip to Israel-Palestine where we literally ran where Jesus walked and although it was spiritually moving to see ‘where’ Jesus walked, I feel a stronger call to walk ‘as’ Jesus walked no matter where you find yourself. This is the inspiration and company that I find at Trinity – thank you for your warm welcome and I look forward to journeying and worshipping with this community, our new church home. eHe