New Church Launches on Boston’s North Shore
On Trinity Sunday, the ADNE celebrated the launch of our newest church: Trinity North Shore.
This community, led by the Rev. Cn. Tim Clayton, is eager to be on the North Shore for the North Shore. Canon Tim explains, “we want to be a church that meets the world embodying the incarnation of Jesus, choosing to walk into the pain and the valid questions of the world… [knowing] the answer to the world’s questions is found in the person and work of Jesus.”
He is aware of changing spiritual landscape of this region, citing the recent Gallop poll’s finding that for the first time ever, American church membership has fallen below 50%. He sees a younger generation that is spiritually empty, without even a collective memory of an implicit faith-based cultural framework. The place to meet them, he says, is in the mission – to show them: this is what we’re building; this is how in Jesus we rediscover what it means to be human. He was quick to point out that Trinity is not just for young people, but anyone with an “openness to adventure.”
It’s an exciting vision, but the size of this call is clearly unattainable without the Holy Spirit. Cn. Tim explained, “there are no easy or neutral spaces in our culture today; both sides are saying ‘are you carrying our flag?’… What we need most is humility and courage and imagination to be both true to who we are and present in self-giving love to those around us.”
That missional zeal to meet the world’s pain and questions came through when we reached out to some of their leaders like Senior Warden Josh Vanada:
One of the things that excites me about joining the call to join Trinity North Shore is its mission is to engage the world by sharing the radical and transformative love of Jesus Christ with our head, heart, and hands. It does not shy away from the pressing issues of our day, but seeks to engage genuinely, holding together the reality of our individual and corporate brokenness with the wholeness made possible through the creating, redeeming, and sanctifying work of our Triune God.
To establish the culture of Trinity as a place where Christian formation and the justice of the Kingdom meets the deep questions of the world, the church gathers for discussion each Sunday immediately following the Eucharist for “Community Conversations.” To set the stage for deeper conversations about the justice of the Kingdom, they began by discussing Rich Villodas’ book, “The Deeply Formed Life.”
Jennifer Mahnke, another leader at Trinity North Shore, said these discussions are what she likes most about the culture they are establishing:
… As we seek to grow as a church we’re doing so in an intentional way around the areas of contemplative rhythms, racial reconciliation, interior examination, [wholeness of body, soul, and spirit], and missional presence. We’re being challenged to grow individually and as a community in order to become a fuller expression of God’s presence in the world and better ready to be used by him for his glory on the North Shore of Boston.
The Rev. Wendy Dixon, assisting priest at Trinity North Shore echoed this sentiment:
There’s a sense of freedom and expectation at Trinity not only as we worship together but also when we come together in Community Conversations afterwards. We want to bring Jesus, his heart and his ways, to people on the North Shore of Boston. As we listen and respond to the rhythms and calls of the Holy Spirit, we’re now preparing ourselves to “go and do the work the Lord has given us to do.
The community that’s gathered so far is a veritable powerhouse of mission ready to tackle this work. Cn. Tim testified, “I feel crazy blessed by having these folks.” Minister of Music Michael Pritzl agreed, “it's amazing to me the number of incredible, gifted, talented, compassionate, and loving people that have been brought together at this moment and season of our lives to serve here in New England.”
Michael has served alongside Cn. Tim for 8 years and one of his greatest strengths is understanding that liturgy takes us all to deep places; as a result, his music touches people from all backgrounds deeply and brings glory to God. He describes Cn. Tim as a kind, humble, and peaceful pastor and an excellent teacher. As a professional musician, he added, “He has always made me feel like part of the conversation, and I like that Tim enjoys The Clash and U2 as much as Beethoven and Bach.”
In addition to Rev. Wendy’s “spirit of adventure,” she also is gifted in prayer with “a deep heart for the healing of body, spirit, and soul,” and is naturally able to meet people from diverse backgrounds with a kind, nurturing presence.
Canon Ross Kimball is another key part of the team, and several people shared how honored they were for him to come along with his gifts of experience, wisdom, passion for the kingdom, and patience “like a steady ship on a stormy sea.”
For a little over a month, they have gathered in a pre-launch phase for Sunday worship, Eucharist, and community conversation on the lawn of Gordon-Conwell Seminary where last fall’s Synod took place. Surrounded by lawn chairs and a few favorite canines, their worship is laying a solid groundwork. Michael put it this way, “I am grateful that we have a chance at Trinity to form a foundation of sung worship built on soul and spirit, honesty and brokenness, beauty and truth… it’s not about performance, instead, it's about open hearts and open lives.”
With rainy weather on Trinity Sunday, they moved the service into the seminary’s chapel, where Bishop Andrew preached on the believer’s invitation to fellowship with our Triune God. Surrounded by new vestments and an altar frontal custom-made by Amber Pritzl, the core leaders of this new church were blessed and commissioned for this new work. (See the gallery below for more photos.)
Please be in prayer for this new church as they step into new mission and ministry on the North Shore.
Photos by Ian Drummond, drummondphoto.com