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Aug 11, 2011 | Chris Gaynor

Trinity "Flat Clergy" Globe-trot with Parishioners

Flat Clergy

The clergy of Trinity, The Woodlands, found the best travel deals available this summer-free! If you’ve ever wished you could hop in someone’s suitcase and join them on a grand adventure, you will appreciate these ‘armchair traveler’ summer adventures. 

 

Church members printed pictures of Trinity’s rector, the Rev. Gerald Sevick, assistant clergy Genevieve Razim and Eric Hungerford, and Deacon Robert Horner, to take their “Flat Clergy” on vacation. They then took pictures of their paper companions at their destinations, and emailed the photographs to Parish Life Minister Molly Carr to share with the congregation. 

 

A new challenge posed to members this summer was to highlight the Flat Clergy at churches attended during vacation. The Flat Clergy were reminders to families of their church family back home, and how we are called to take the Gospel (Good News) of Christ wherever we go.

 

Families took the Flat Clergy to China, Australia, Jamaica, Alabama, Georgia and Massachusetts. Take a look at the peripatetic clergy at http://flatclergy.com.

 

The idea comes from “Flat Stanley,” a 1964 children’s book by Jeff Brown, illustrated by Tomi Ungerer. Stanley Lambchop is flattened during the night by a large bulletin board that falls from the wall behind his bed. He survives and makes the best of his altered state only to discover the benefits of entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, flying as a kite while playing with his brother, and posing as a painting on the wall to capture art museum thieves. One special advantage is that Flat Stanley can visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Eventually, his brother, Arthur, tires of all of the attention Stanley is receiving, and restores Stanley to his natural shape with an football air pump.

 

Based on the concept of the Flat Stanley Project (http://flatterworld.com), Trinity clergy created the Flat Clergy to help their faith community take their faith on the road with them in the summer.

 

Trinity welcomes all newcomers, and encourages area residents to take a trip to see, hear and meet the real-life clergy any Sunday. Trinity Episcopal Church was established in 1976 in The Woodlands. A church home to approximately 500 families, Trinity has a range of Outreach Ministries, assisting seniors, families and the homeless in the area. In addition, Trinity houses a preschool for children aged 2 through 5 years. For more information, call 281.367.8113 or visit our Web site at www.trinitywoodlands.org.