Synod of the Trinity Enews: Merry Christmas!

	December 22, 2025 The Synod of the Trinity Being More Together Synod of the Trinity Your Synod of the Trinity staff includes (from left) Forrest Claassen, Elizabeth Connelly, Frank Orzehoski, Skip Noftzger, Mike Givler and Gwenn Egresitz. Merry Christmas! The Synod of the Trinity staff wishes you the merriest of Christmases, and health and prosperity in the new year. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:13-14 Pittsburgh 2026 APCE Annual Event has distinct local flavor Next month, the Association of Partners in Christian Education's Annual Event will converge on Pittsburgh. For those from the Steel City area, they'll notice a distinct local flavor to this gathering, thanks to planning that was done by people with ties to the city. “We really worked hard for people to get a taste of what Pittsburgh is all about, maybe in ways that haven’t been done in the past,” said John Ryan, a pastor in North Carolina who grew up in nearby New Cumberland, WV, and graduated from Westminster College. “Our Biblical, grounding text is The Great Commission, the Matthew version of it," John added. "This year’s theme is ‘Bridging the Gap: Love God, Love Self, Love Neighbor.’ We played up the rivers, the bridges with all of our thematic work. Even with how we’re naming groups and some of the worship times are all playing into that.” For more on the APCE Annual Event and all that is planned, click here. Upper Ohio Valley Gene Toot, 96, was 'prominent member' of East Liverpool, OH Gene Toot was more than a pastor. He was a valuable member of the East Liverpool, OH, community who served on boards of service groups, was a teammate and friend on softball and bowling teams, and a renowned dahlia grower. Gene also helped form Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery more than 50 years ago and was involved with Beaver Creek Presbyterian Church Camp from its inception in 1953. “He was a friendly guy to be around. He had a lot of depth," described Ian Leyda, the current pastor at Long’s Run Trinity Church in East Liverpool where Gene was pastor emeritus. "He was a sports fan, a sports nut. He was truly a universal guy, meaning he was very well read in many subjects – politics, philosophy, theology and Ohio State football.” Steve Cramer, a former pastor at Trinity Church, added, "He was just seen widely as a prominent member of the community, not just the church." For more on Gene's life and impact in his community, click here. The Synod of the Trinity is thankful for Gene’s work and service to the region and sends condolences to his family and friends. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Luminosity Conference aims to help churches through change where faith and innovation meet, will be held  Luminosity is a conference for Presbyterian leaders who want fresh ideas and real tools for guiding the church through change. Attendees will hear from experienced leaders, learn practical strategies and walk away re-energized and equipped to make an impact right where you serve. To apply for a grant for the Luminosity Conference, Stewardship Kaleidoscope and/or the Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising, fill out an application by clicking here. The only requirement is that an applicant is a Minister of Word and Sacrament or Commissioned Ruling Elder. Remember, if any church members go to Stewardship Kaleidoscope with their pastoral leader, they are also eligible and should be included on the pastoral leader’s application. For more information and to register for the Luminosity Conference, click here.
Click image above to find events occurring around the Synod region! Christmas Joy Offering supports pastors Each year during the Advent and Christmas season, past, present and future leaders of the church are recognized. God has blessed the church with incredible leadership in every time and place, but those leaders often need to be supported by their communities as well. The Christmas Joy Offering provides support for Presbyterian church workers and their families in their time of need and leadership development and education for communities of color at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color. More information is available by clicking here. Welcome new pastors! Gleaned from presbytery newsletters in the Synod of the Trinity region, we recognize these pastoral celebrations: PRESBYTERY OF PHILADELPHIA *Adrienne Poissant was ordained at Wallingford Presbyterian Church on Nov. 16. PRESBYTERY OF CARLISLE *Drew McFayden will be installed at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church on Jan. 18. Pittsburgh collecting for medical debt Over the past few months, Presbyterian church members in Pittsburgh Presbytery have donated nearly $75,000 as part of a campaign with the national nonprofit group Undue Medical Debt – enough to eliminate more than $14 million in outstanding bills. The coalition has exceeded its initial goal to raise $65,000 and the campaign is still open through the end of the year for those who would like to erase burdensome medical debts for their community. Click here to learn more and donate. Carlisle scholarship program helping in Honduras Students in Honduras can attend elementary school without charge. However, unlike public education in the United States, tuition and fees are charged for secondary school. The Presbytery of Carlisle, which has a partnership with the Presbytery of Honduras, is supporting this scholarship program. Any amount of money may be given towards scholarships. A gift of $100 will cover a significant portion of a student’s annual tuition and change their life. For more information on this program, contact Carlisle's Honduras Mission Subcommittee through Kathy Wells (kathywells1207@gmail.com) or Tony Lorenz (alorenz.fpcarl@pa.net). Join Mission Mondays at NWMC On the second Monday of each month, the New Wilmington Mission Conference holds "Mission Mondays," a special online event featuring a mission coworker, scholar or partner sharing stories, insights, opportunities and updates about God‘s work around the world. Join the NWMC to be inspired, connect with others and deepen your understanding of global missions. Everyone is welcome — share this invitation and join the discussion. The next Mission Monday is Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Details to come. To get a Zoom link, register by emailing office@nwmcmission.org. PHS to help churches, mid councils write their histories The Presbyterian Historical Society is in the process of developing a resource and/or training to help churches research and write their own histories through an anti-racist lens. To inform our process, PHS staff would like to hear directly from churches and mid councils on what would be most useful for you as you engage in this work via this survey. As part of this effort, PHS is collecting and preserving products of self-study undertaken by PC(USA) congregations and mid councils and providing access to them via the PC(USA) Self-Studies on Racism digital collection. Use this webform to submit your church or mid council's self-study product to be preserved and added to the digital collection.
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Nudging and Advising

Gandalf must stay. He must continue working within the constraints of mortality, nudging and advising, forever denied the efficiency of simply imposing solutions. And this is the tragedy: the wise must always work slowly while the corrupt can move with terrible speed. (Genny Harrison) [1]

 

A Christmas reflection on Tolkien probably dates me as much as one from C.S. Lewis would have dated a pastor from an older generation. But something about Ms. Harrison’s words rang true.

 

Gandalf and the Problem of Power

 

As a young reader, I often wondered why Gandalf wielded his enormous power only on two occasions — and on both, only in a defensive posture. [2] Why did one of the Maiar, primordial and mighty among the servants of the Creator, [3] not wipe out tens of thousands of Orcs by merely raising his staff?

 

Harrison argues (and her point appears in the quote here) that the Ring of Power tempts its would-be wearers with expediency. It offers the chance to use power against power, to fight the Evil One [4] with his own greatest weapon. It suggests that the user might avoid a risky, uncertain and painful path with the application of direct, efficient force. [5]

 

Such a choice, says Harrison, would make the new wearer an equal opponent to the Evil One. But it would also make the wearer a new Evil One. “The Ring offers [Gandalf] the power to accomplish everything he has struggled toward across centuries of patient work. He could save Middle-earth in a matter of years rather than ages. All it would cost is everyone’s freedom… This is the cruelest trap: that goodness itself becomes the mechanism of corruption.”

 

If Harrison has read Tolkien right, then this solves my childhood puzzle. Gandalf rarely wields his power because doing so would threaten his core existence — that of a servant. He comes to Middle-earth to guide and advise its peoples, not to rule them. Not to create a utopia by force of will.

 

You may suspect, given that it is almost Christmas, where this is going.

 

The Way of God in the World

 

Harrison’s essay helped resolve for me the classic problem of theodicy: If God is all good and all powerful, how can there be evil in the world? Couldn’t — shouldn’t — God just eliminate evil by divine fiat?

 

But perhaps God, in God’s all-potentiality, chooses not to be all-powerful, at least when it comes to dealing with the world. And perhaps God does not choose this path arbitrarily, as though flipping a coin (“Heads I’m an omnipotent overlord, tails I’m a suffering servant”), but bakes it into the nature of creation and even of the Divine Being.

 

And perhaps God does so because any other way would not be the way of Love.

 

If that is so, then God would be no more likely to fix the world’s problems in one fell swoop than Gandalf is to rescue Middle-earth by assuming the Ring’s power. [6] What if God’s solution to the terrible dissonance clanging around us is not to “move with terrible speed,” but to “work slowly,” bringing about a resolution that we cannot yet hear but will one day recognize as music of astonishing beauty? [7]

 

And what if this is the sign of Christmas: that the supreme ruler of the universe became God-With-Us, helpless and mortal, patient with human frailty, coming not to be served but to serve and by so doing rescuing the world from itself? [8]

 

God’s Way as Our Way

 

And perhaps this is to be my way too in response to the world’s woes. [9]

 

For just as I thought Gandalf should swing his stick and crush the forces of Sauron, so I imagine great power overwhelming all kinds of evil. If none could stand against me, I would end wars, trample oppressors, punish exploitation, avenge greed, go all-Batman on the bad guys — all by immediate force. And I would probably leave the world worse than I found it.

 

But the God of mercy has chosen not to give me such power. And over time, with enough reminders, I’ve seen that Christ’s way is for me too — to work patiently and slowly but also tirelessly and doggedly, not forcing but nudging and advising, in hopes that peoples’ hearts will respond to the Holy Spirit working through me and that a better world will emerge.

 

Pray that I do not lose hope and take matters into my own hands.

 

And in honor of the One who gave up more power than we can fathom to do something that could only be done without power — Merry Christmas to you all.

 

Somewhere along the Way —

 

Forrest

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[1] If the link isn’t broken, you can find the whole article here. You can probably also find it on Substack if you subscribe.

[2] First, before the Balrog at the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm; second, before the Witch-King at the gates to Minas Tirith. (Perhaps you remember more.)

[3] Eru Ilúvatar, for those of you who are keeping track.

[4] Sauron.

[5] Sounds a lot like Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness, doesn’t it? Keep reading…

[6] Gandalf is not the Deity in the Tolkien universe, no. But the choice for self-limitation may be similar.

[7] The great Advent verse II Peter 3:9 comes to mind. So does the Gospel line, “He may not come when you want him, but He’ll be there right on time…He’s an on-time God, yes He is…”

[8] Mark 10:45 should sound familiar here.

[9] By now you’re probably thinking that I don’t really mean it when I say “perhaps.” Perhaps you’re right.

[10] Photo used under the terms of the Creative Commons License, NonCommercial 4.0 International. Click here for link to photo.