On January 1, 1967, members of the Elders Ridge and Clarksburg United Presbyterian churches joined to form what is now called the Trinity Presbyterian Church. As of January 1, 2017, 50 years have passed, and many changes have occurred, yet Trinity remains committed to serving the Lord Jesus Christ, in this community and around the world. We are a community of faith grateful for God’s faithfulness in the past and excited about what God is calling us to do in the present and future.

We are a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Kiskiminetas Presbytery. Their website can be found

We believe that in Jesus Christ, God has offered a complete sacrifice, sharing with each of us His forgiveness, love, and grace.

Our purpose as the Body of Christ is to worship God, to invite everyone to personally share in God’s eternal family, and to love all people. We believe our mission in life is to learn how to experience the love of Christ and to share it with our community and a world looking for hope.

As we enter the week of Thanksgiving, I have much to be thankful for this season. I am thankful to all of you for your support and for calling me to be your next pastor. I am looking forward to building relationships with each of you, worshipping together and serving our community. I am thankful for my family, who has been so supportive as I have gone on this journey with God. And I am thankful to God for calling me into ministry, for the grace freely given to me, and for bringing us together this season. I am reminded that nearly all of Scripture is a series of “thank you notes” between God and humanity. God creates and humanity responds with worship. God offers grace and humanity responds with gratitude. And even when we are not quite thankful enough, God gently reminds us why we should be thankful. This week, in the lectionary, we read Psalm 46 and Colossians 1. Both are versions of thank you notes from humanity to God. Psalm 46 is a scripture of appreciation for who God is – our refuge and our strength. Colossians 1 expresses gratitude for what God has done, in bringing people together as the church and sending Christ. Both are an opportunity to offer gratitude to God through scripture study and prayer. Now, we turn toward anticipation. Advent is a season of anticipation where we wait for the coming of Christ. It’s a season of already, but not yet – as I said in my sermon for our joint service. We are already redeemed, and yet we wait for the full renewal that will come with Christ’s arrival. I am reminded that this anticipation is a quiet one, one where people weren’t shouting about Christ’s arrival, but came quietly and with humility to see the newborn King. As we enter this season, we’ll explore some of the songs that are heard often during Advent and Christmas and what they tell us about how we anticipate Christ’s coming. I look forward to getting to know each of you over the coming weeks. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need anything. If you, a family member, or even a friend needs a pastoral visit, please let me know. I’ll make sure my email and phone number are in this newsletter and the bulletin for the next several weeks.

With peace, grace, and thanksgiving,

Pastor Stephanie Backus

Stephanie.backus@gmail.com 573-418-2123