For those that missed our open house but would liked to have heard what was said...this was the Introduction and mission of Trinity. **Welcome to Trinity.** After I introduce myself and share with you our mission, I will ask Pastor Wayne Marshall to open our event with a word of prayer. Pastor Marshall Ministers at Tabernacle Baptist Church on Driftwood St in Roanoke Rapids and has for many years. I am a member there. I came to know God there. I have been baptized, counseled and taught there. I am very thankful that God put me in his fold to Shepard. He is quick to say, “Read it for yourself. Don’t take my word for it.” “Pray over it.” “It’s not our will but God’s.” “I don’t have all the answers but I know the One that does.” He teaches what many have yet to learn about a walk with God. It’s personal. I am very thankful for the spiritual guidance of my Pastor and the prayers of my little brick church in frog level. My name is Shannon Green. I am one of the Women of Trinity. The ‘Women of Trinity’ is a Christian action group. Under our title, there are two subgroups. Mothers of Trinity and YaYa’s of Trinity. The term ‘YaYa’ is ancient greek for “Woman.” The Mother’s are women who have experienced the loss of a child and the YaYa’s are a team of volunteers. Since May 2014…Combined, the Women of Trinity total over 90 members. There are women involved in this organization from Hopewell, Virginia to Nashville, North Carolina. The Women of Trinity are unaffiliated with any one church or business. We are self-supporting. We are women who have come together for one goal…helping others. Our mission statement is simple. It is a verse from the Bible. “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 Webster’s dictionary states “bear” is a verb and defines the term as “support.” I think it is safe to assume that God was telling the reader of that verse, to support one another thru hard times. Christian Support is what the Women of Trinity have been called to do. When God laid this burden on our heart our focus was on women who have had the unbelievable, indescribable experience of losing their child to death. For many years, like you, I was oblivious to this subculture of women who occupied bodies and went thru the motions of life without actually being truly present. When the veil was lifted, God revealed that these women are actually treated as modern day lepers and nearly forced into isolation. After the loss of a loved one, the world is overwhelmingly supportive in most instances. Everybody becomes the lost person’s best friend. People come out of the wood work to sign the book at the wake and attend the funeral…but after the flowers have wilted, life for everyone else goes on as it was before. The world is more gracious to Mother’s who have lost children. They allow what they deem is ample time for the Mother to get past her grief….However, the world’s timetable is skewed and the reality is they never get past their grief. You see, the world does not like sadness. If a Mother is sad for too long, they find themselves banished, exiled, scoffed at and separated from everyone. They find themselves avoided at the grocery store and uninvited to festive occasions. They find themselves never being asked, “how are you doing” and their child’s name never being mentioned. In many instances, the world has moved on and left this Mother behind. After a spell of being avoided, most Mother’s find a way to survive the world. They use a mask. A happy face. A mask that finds itself very heavy to wear many days. On those particular days, most times Mothers stay in bed, in isolation because nobody wants to get any of their grief on them. Our burden is to bring these women out of isolation. To put them in the room with other women who know EXACTLY how they feel without words ever being expressed. Our burden was to provide a comfortable, Spirit filled, safe place for them to unmask and expose themselves to one another. To find solace in each other while being held in a space that God himself called to be…for them. They are looked in the eye, hugged tightly, celebrated and asked about their child. They share their grief with one another and in doing so learn to cope and find…HOPE. Our burden is to educate the public that grief is real and there is no timetable for how long it is experienced. It is our duty to tell the world that these Mother’s biggest fear is that their child will be forgotten and our not asking about their children for fear they will get upset, feeds into that. The world views what we are doing as a mission. The church calls it a ministry. We define it as a movement. The church has left the building. As a Christian, God called me to love my neighbor. If you are a Christian, He called you to do the same. The church house is a building, just like Trinity is. Although we are church members, we hold fast to the belief that WE ARE the church and the mission field is our community. Beginning in 2015, Lord willing, the Women of Trinity will host other support groups. We have applied for charters to start local chapters of nationally recognized support organizations such as Compassionate Friends, Al-Anon, Overeaters Anonymous and Christ Centered Recovery. Our theory is that most social problems are actually spiritual in nature. The only true healing comes from God and when you bring your infirmities to Him, He will make you well. Wherever we go from here and whatever we do is to glorify God. Since the beginning of our season and until the end, all of our work is dedicated out of honor and respect to the Mother’s of Trinity.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 23:32:20 +0000