Houston Trinity News

Friends,

Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Auld Ange Syne. All those end-of-year and beginning of the year greetings. It is the last Monday of 2025. This year has seemed to go by so quickly. I am not sure why. Maybe it was all that we had to do this year. Maybe we were dragged along by the fast pace of the world. Whatever the reason we have almost completed another year. The end of the year is a good time to reflect on what we have accomplished or maybe failed to accomplish. It is also a good time to look forward to what is to come.

As I reflect on Houston Trinity in 2025, I want to first thank every one of you for your faithfulness to the church, your stewardship, and your support as we moved through another year doing God's work in west Houston and the world. You have made my work easier by your willingness to participate. You have made the business of the church easier by your financial faithfulness. We have once again ended our year equal to, or above, our targeted financial goals. We have continued to rehabilitate our buildings and upgrade our building systems. We have created better financial stability with your gifts to long-term financial strategies. But more than that, we have reached new people for the glory of God. We have created new programs to meet the needs of our congregation and our community. We have had over 90 different visitors to our Worship services this year. Ten of those individuals have worshipped with us over 20 times. That says much about your hospitality. We have rekindled our youth program by having monthly youth nights and by inviting others to participate. We have strengthened our Bible study with an average of 18 participants on Wednesday night. We have started a new Young Adult Sunday School with an average attendance of ten. We participated in programs with other churches including our joint Easter Sunrise Service and assisting with VBS at Bear Creek UMC. We have continued to bless others around the world with our mission work in the Philippines and Ukraine. I am so grateful for each of you and what you bring and what you do.

 But 2025 is almost over; 2026 is just around the corner. Who are we going to be this year? As we said Sunday, the world seems to get messier every day. How will we respond as a congregation, as children of God. My prayer for Houston Trinity and everyone here is that we will hear the Holy Spirit clearer this year. That we will be able to put aside the noise of the world and hear God call to us. That we will pay closer attention to the words of our Savior, Jesus Christ. That we will continue to show the world what being a follower of Jesus looks like. I hope that we will be able to be a small part of reversing the downward trend of church attendance. That we will reach out to others in new and exciting ways. That we will continue to be an inviting, welcoming, caring, compassionate and loving congregation to all who walk through our doors. That we will take the love, grace and mercy of God into the world every time we step outside our doors.

 Houston Trinity, we have been called to be the face of God to all we meet. Now is the time for us to prepare. Now is the time for us to move into 2026 with all the hope, with all the promises, with our Savior by our side.

Paul's thanks to the Church in Phillipi is so representative of my thanks to you. "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now ... " (Philippians 1:3-5 (NIV)) 

 God bless you. See you Sunday

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Scripture Reading 

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men a from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”  

 Matthew 2:1-2 (NRSV) 

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 

 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 

 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 

  14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15(John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.  

 John 1:1-18 (NRSV)

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