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Community Dinners

2023 Dates: 

  September 25, November 27

Trinity partners with Hands On Hartford to prepare and serve 80-100 community meals for the needy 5-6 times each year.  For more information on donating food items or serving at the dinners contact Warren or Lynda Blessing at ctvalleywc@yahoo.com

HOH recently released a short video explaining the Community Meals program, their Gather 55 initiative, and their focus on providing a place for all at the table. Here's the video.

Mac 'N Cheese Month 2023

On Tuesday June 27, 2023, 535 boxes of mac and cheese were delivered to Hands on Hartford.  When Ginger opened up the back of her wagon the girl looked inside and then looked at her in astonishment and asked if that was all for them. Ginger said certainly.  It turns out that they had no pasta left and were giving out mac and cheese like crazy and were beyond appreciative for this delivery. 

Upcoming dates: October 7, December 2

This ministry features an outdoor church service in Bushnell Park followed by food distribution on Saturdays.  A team from Trinity provides bagged lunches five or six Saturdays per year.

Schedule: 

Noon: sandwich-making in parish hall. 

2 pm: Holy Eucharist service in Bushnell Park

Followed by: lunch distribution

Scheduling NOTE: On Oct 7, Bishop Jeffrey Mello will be joining us and leading the service.

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Backpack Donation - July 2023

A donation of $500 for backpacks was approved by the Vestry and delivered to Wethersfield Social Services.  This donation enabled them to purchase requested backpack items for mid-August distribution.

Lenten Collection 2023

 Thank you to all who generously donated to Trinity’s Lenten Collection to benefit the Wethersfield Department of Social Services. Monday’s drop-off brought our grand total to 267 packages (some with multiple items) – 137 SNAP food packages / 130 Non-SNAP packages and $135 in gift cards.

 Refugee Resettlement 

Trinity has formed a coalition with three local churches and IRIS to sponsor a Syrian family

 Please welcome Omar, Khadija, and their 3 teenage sons - Rafi, Rayan and Rayd.

 Nine years ago, they escaped war-torn Syria and moved to Turkey. While there, they registered as refugees and waited seven years before being allowed to enter the United States.

 In September of 1992, COTW volunteers met them at the airport and helped them settle in to their new life in Connecticut.

August 2023 update

Omar works full-time at Amazon and volunteers for overtime whenever it is available. He’s also checking into the requirements for a Commercial Driver’s License.

Khadija has a few more weeks left in her training to become a Personal Care Assistant. She’s an excellent student and she’s made great progress in speaking and understanding English.

During the summer the two youngest sons, Rayan and Rayd, spent 1/2 days in school at Hartford High and 1/2 days working with the Hartford Youth Employment Program. In September, they will attend Wethersfield High School. 

Rafi, the oldest son, will remain at Hartford High School where he hopes to graduate next June. This summer, he plans to attend school and work part time.

The car has been invaluable to the family. It’s reinforced and enhanced their sense of independence and self-sufficiency. Omar drives 20 minutes to work instead of commuting by bus over an hour each way. 

Omar and Khadija are keenly aware of the help we have given them in terms of time, talent and treasure. And they are deeply grateful. Khadija asks that you share the following with your congregations.

“Starting over is not easy but when people appear on your way to stand by your side, people whose hearts are filled with humanity and love for others even without personal knowledge of them, this is something that proves their nobility and generosity and moral character. Thank you for being there in our first steps to build our new life. Thank you for your support. For me and my family, I will not forget what you have done for us and I wish, in my name and in the name of every member of my family, that you will always be a source of happiness and inspiration for everyone. With my sincere respect and appreciation to everyone, I am Khadija Suliman.”
The family is a blessing: smart, resourceful, hardworking and are anxious to become self-sufficient. Please keep them in your prayers.

Sean's Closet partners with Wethersfield Social Services to collect clothing and household goods for those in need.

Contact Connie Harasymiw at connie1411@aol.com,

Our parish purse ministry allows us to fill purses/bags with toiletries and other items that we distribute to people who are experiencing homelessness or transitioning from a shelter to living on their own.  

Contact Sue Rafala for more information

 skraf622@gmail.com 

Trinity has worked with South Park Inn to collect and deliver needed items to this shelter whose mission is to provide services and support for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Trinity partners with St. Monica's to provide

• gifts for the annual Christmas party for urban children and families. 
• monetary support for their six-week summer education program for urban youth.

For more information contact Connie Harasymiw at connie1411@aol.com,

SOUP TO GO

Ginger Smith raises funds by making and selling soups, jams, relishes and more to benefit the Copprome Orphanage and travels to Honduras twice a year to provide food, friendship and gifts for the children. For Soup-To-Go and more to benefit the Copprome Orphanage in Honduras, contact Ginger at

ginger43@cox.net,
• Soups (meat, seafood and vegetarian)  
• Small breads
• Cookies
• Jams (fruit, combinations, mango chutney, hot pepper jelly)
• Relishes (sweet, hot, spicy, zucchini, corn)
• Pickles (bread and butter, dill) . 

Your support for these children is greatly appreciated   

The mission of St. Vincent's is to provide special education opportunities and life skills training to children with disabilities in Haiti.  Located in Port-Au-Prince, the school serves deaf, blind and physically challenged students.

Trinity has been a long-time supporter of St. Vincent's. In 2021, Trinity partnered with the Diocese of Connecticut to provide a $10,750 grant to install a solar energy system and upgrade medical records. This will help the school to serve students more efficiently in the midst of crises in Haiti.

Read the newsletter highlighting the electronic medical record grant and solar grant received from Trinity and ECCT. 

 Trinity supports camps and programs for children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and various batays in the Dominican Republic through donations of money and supplies.

Camp Hispaniola is a summer camps for more than 450 children in Haiti and the Dominican Republic where campers are given a "goodie bag" each year. 

2021: Trinity We helped out with donations of personal care items, underwear and a camp t-shirt. 

2022: We collected deodorant and toothpaste for the campers’ goodie bags.