TRINITY CONNECTIONS The origins of Valentine's Day are many and obscure. It's been said that Valentine before his death sent a love note to a beautiful, young woman he loved and signed it, "From your Valentine." Still there is little reason to believe that any of the historical saints named Valentine did any of the actions associated with romantic love. February 14th in school was a big deal because that was the day you exchanged valentines with your classmates. After school I would hurry home to dump my valentines on the kitchen table to see if any of them included special notes or candy from the girls in my class and to see if any of them put Love by their name; especially Rhonda Wilson. However, that is a story for another time. I often think Valentine's Day traditions seem completely disconnected from the words of Jesus in Luke 6:32. The more I reflect on this subject the more I realize that Valentine's Day in school did express Christ-like love. You gave valentine cards not just to your friends, but to everyone in the class, including the teacher! Yes, you gave to everyone those you liked, those you thought were weird, and even those you considered "bullies" on the playground! More than that, you gave valentines to kids who might not give you one back. If Valentine's Day encourages spouses and children to say I love you to each other and for friends to say thank you to someone for being your friend, that's great! Goodness knows we could use more love expressed in our world toward all people even if they don't respond back. Our calling as followers of Jesus Christ is to share love and do good to others, not so they respond in kind, but so we might live each day as beloved, faithful followers of our heavenly father. A well-known pastor is quoted often as saying, "REMEMBER GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I: I SAY, "DITTO!" See YOU in church and invite someone to come with you! Pastor Ralph NEW DESIGN LAYOUT! CHECK IT OUT AND LET SARAH KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! "Jesus said, "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that; even sinners love those who love them." ~ Luke 6:32 FEBRUARY 2017
Transcript
TRINITY CONNECTIONS
The origins of Valentine's Day are many and obscure. It's been said that Valentine before his death sent a love note to a beautiful, young woman he loved and signed it, "From your Valentine." Still there is little reason to believe that any of the historical saints named Valentine did any of the actions associated with romantic love. February 14th in school was a big deal because that was the day you exchanged valentines with your classmates. After school I would hurry home to dump my valentines on the kitchen table to see if any of them included special notes or candy from the girls in my class and to see if any of them put Love by their name; especially Rhonda Wilson. However, that is a story for another time.
I often think Valentine's Day traditions seem completely disconnected from the words of Jesus in Luke 6:32. The more I reflect on this subject the more I realize that Valentine's Day in school did express Christ-like love. You gave valentine cards not just to your friends, but to everyone in the class, including the teacher! Yes, you gave to everyone those you liked, those you thought
were weird, and even those you considered "bullies" on the playground! More than that, you gave valentines to kids who might not give you one back.
If Valentine's Day encourages spouses and children to say I love you to each other and for friends to say thank you to someone for being your friend, that's great! Goodness knows we could use more love expressed in our world toward all people even if they don't respond back. Our calling as followers of Jesus Christ is to share love and do good to others, not so they respond in kind, but so we might live each day as beloved, faithful followers of our heavenly father. A well-known pastor is quoted often as saying, "REMEMBER GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I: I SAY, "DITTO!" See YOU in church and invite someone to come with you! Pastor Ralph
NEW DESIGN LAYOUT!
CHECK IT OUT AND LET SARAH KNOW
WHAT YOU THINK!
"Jesus said, "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that; even sinners love those who love them." ~ Luke 6:32
FEBRUARY
2017
Hello Sunday School Families –
The Sunday School is continuing to learn
about stories from the Old Testament. We
will be beginning a short Easter skit in the
upcoming weeks, we will be sharing more
information about this soon.
I WANTED TO SHARE WHERE OUR
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOXES
WENT, OUR BOXES WENT TO KENYA AND
MADAGASCAR THIS YEAR. ABOVE IS A
PICTURE OF A BOY IN MADAGASCAR
RECEIVING HIS SHOEBOX. OUR SHOEBOXES
ARE JUST THE FIRST STEP TO
TRANSFORMING A YOUNG LIFE FOR
ETERNITY. EVERY SHOEBOX GIFT DELIVERED
BY OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD IS A
TANGIBLE EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE. IT
ALSO PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY IN MORE
THAN 100 COUNTRIES FOR OUR CHURCH
PARTNERS TO INVITE CHILDREN INTO A
DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST
THROUGH OUR FOLLOW-UP DISCIPLESHIP
PROGRAM. TAYLOR AND I HAVE
COMMITTED TO PURCHASING GIFTS YEAR-
ROUND FOR OUR SHOEBOXES THIS YEAR
WITH A GOAL OF 100 SHOEBOXES PACKED
AT TRINITY. THE JOY I RECEIVE AS A PARENT
FROM HER WHEN WE ARE SHOPPING FOR
GIFTS AND WHEN SHE TALKS ABOUT THE
SMILE THE KIDS WILL HAVE WHEN THEY
RECEIVE THEM IS JUST PRICELESS AND I
KNOW GOD IS WORKING THROUGH HER.
There will be no Sunday School on February
19th.
God’s Blessings to all!
Education-Kelly Browning, Chair
QUILTER’S
CORNER
Blankets of Love
We will not be tying
blankets of love
during the month of
February in the
quilting room.
We will be piecing
quilt tops for the
graduating senior’s
blankets of love
during February.
In March and April,
we will be tying the
senior’s quilts.
Thank you for the
donations that are
left in the quilting
room.
FOOD PANTRY
UPDATE
34 pounds of food
was delivered to the
Food Pantry on
December 28, 2016
from Trinity.
THE NEXT
DELIVERY OF
FOOD TO THE
FOOD PANTRY
WILL BE
JANUARY 25, 2017.
The Transfiguration of our Lord is celebrated on the last Sunday after the Epiphany as a climax to the season and a prelude to Lent.
This year Transfiguration Sunday is on February 26. The Transfiguration of Jesus is found in the Gospels. In these accounts, Jesus and three of his apostles go to a mountain Jesus begins to shine with bright rays of light. Then the prophets Moses and Elijah appear next to him and he speaks with them. Jesus is then called "Son" by a voice in the sky, assumed to be God the Father, as in the Baptism of Jesus.
Worship & Music Wanda Johnson, Chair
Fellowship Deb Henry, Chair
Potluck on Sunday, February 26 after church! Please bring a dish to pass and enjoy great conversation with your fellow church family members!
Card Making will be February 26th also, so bring your creativity!
Ash Wednesday is observed on the first day of Lent. This year Ash Wednesday is on March 1. The name is taken from the ancient tradition of placing ashes on the forehead of penitents. The ashes represent God’s condemnation of sin; human dependence on God for life; and humiliation and repentance. Ashes are also reminder of death, for it is said as we are buried: “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” The color of Ash Wednesday is black the same as the color of ashes, humiliation and mourning. The cross is sometimes draped in black.
THANK YOU!
A special word of thanks to the prayer shawl ministry team for the gift of a shawl delivered to my home by Betty Johnson while I was recuperating at home. It arrived on day 13 of my 14 day in bed recovery. It came at the right time as I was beginning to get a bit "stir crazy." The gift said, "we care about you, miss you and look forward to your return."
Thank you for the cards, emails and phone calls; each was a reminder of what a privilege I have serving the good people of Trinity. God' blessing to all and see you soon. Pastor Ralph
Save the Date: Feed My Starving Children
February 17 & 18, 2017 Hudson YMCA
Trinity has 25 spots available for the 11:00am-1:00pm shift on Saturday, Feb. 18th.
Upcoming events:
Sunday, Feb. 12th: Passing the bucket at church and Cake Raffle on Feb. 12th Friday, Feb. 24th: Meat Raffle at Parkside
Please see Deb Henry or Sarah Pommerening for more details. Sign-up sheet is available
on the Fellowship Counter to sign-up to volunteer at the mobilepack!
The season of Lent is 40 days of preparation
for Easter. The themes of Lent are baptism
and penitence. Lent is the color purple for
repentance. It is a time to focus on our
relationship with Jesus. A time to focus on
our discipleship. During Lent, we have
services on Wednesday evenings. In the
past Trinity has Holden Evening Prayer
with skits/puppets as part of worship. We
place strips of cloths-our sin on the cross.
NOTICE:
Bi-Monthly envelopes mailed to your house will be discontinued.
There will be envelopes available at church to use for your offering. If
you have any questions, please call the church
office.
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL MINUTES
JANUARY 9, 2017
Present: Kirk Hodnefield, Rachel McHenry, Deb Henry, Betty Johnson, Darla Feyereisen, Mark Iverson, Bob Bodelson, Sarah Pommerening & Kathy Jensen.
Absent: Scott Post, Marti Peterson, Kelly Browning, Lois Worbes, Wanda Johnson & Interim Pastor Ralph Olsen.
Kirk called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
Betty led devotions. Also, a handout called “The top 10 reasons people don’t tithe” was handed out Council members. Secretary’s Report: The December 6, 2016 Council Minutes were reviewed. Action: Motion by Darla to approve; Betty second. Carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Sound System. Rachel to talk to her contact and put together a bid for new wireless microphone and Speakers for the Sanctuary. Council & Committee Structure. Remove for now until we get new Administration. Christmas Eve & Day Services-We had 154 at the 4:30 Christmas Eve Service and 39 at the 9:30 am Christmas Day Service. 2016 Staff Reviews. Are all completed. 4K. Partnering with 4K to make sure things are not blocking door entryways and other Trinity space is accessible.
NEW BUSINESS
Building Requests Received. Reviewed. (See Att. A)- Girl Scouts are requesting to use Trinity on Friday, Feb. 10 at 5 PM -Saturday, Feb. 11 until 9 AM. Motion by Kirk to approve the Girl Scouts to use Trinity for their overnight. Rachel second. Carried. 2017 Budget (Final Phase). Rachel reported she has a couple last minute changes to the 2017 budget. Pastor Ralph requested $500 be available for the church to do analysis of its congregation. Also, the secretary budget will remain in the budget. 2017 Stewardship Drive: Tabled 2016 Annual Reports are due: Thank you for being prompt on getting your reports to me! I only need the audit committee and some of the treasurer reports are still needed. Working with Rachel to secure the rest of the reports. Nomination Committee Update. Kirk said there are currently two people thinking about the President position. Annual Meeting Plans: Audit Committee: Lance Olson has agreed to chair the Audit Committee. He is looking having the audit done the week before the Annual meeting. Other Business: Debit/Credit Card to use for Office purchases-with prior approval before purchase: Kirk motions office staff have a Credit card with low limit to be paid off every month. Deb second. Carried. Rachel will look into and contact Associated to see what our options are. Tellering: 2 people at all times! This is very important. Looking at options to have another time, if two people are unavailable to teller after church on Sunday.
Pastor’s Report: Pastor Ralph reported via email. 300 door hangers distributed. 12 potential new member families who came at Christmas and have been worshiping with us! My first experience with confirmation tells me we have great kids looking to do great things for God as they grow in their faith. I want to thank everyone for their warm welcome and willingness to help. I am praying my surgery goes well so that I will be with you on Jan. 29th. Preaching on Sun, Jan. 15th: Pastor John Sutherland, Assistant to the Bishop of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. Sun, Jan. 22nd: Pastor Bill Klavetter- a good friend of Pastor Ralph. President’s Report: Kirk reported Thank you to everyone for serving on Council and Rachel for taking the Treasurer position.
COMMITTEES:
Youth: Darla reported youth overnight was cancelled due to low turnout. January 15 will be having an information meeting for youth interested in going to Houston in 2018. Church Properties: Mark reported they will be installing covers on the thermostats and working with the heating system. Mission & Human Needs: Marti reported via email that Trinity supported three families with our Secret Santa program. Two were from the school and one was from the church. Families received gifts, quilts, household items, pork products. SCC was overwhelmed by the generosity. Next year we are planning to do all three families through the school. Fellowship: Deb reported her team served cake for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Fellowship teams are redone and have been sent out with a new schedule for 2017. Blood drive on January 10th and Card making on January 15th! Evangelism: Betty reported her team hung 300 door hangers for Christmas and will be hanging more door hangers for Easter. Her team also met with Pastor Ralph and talked about ideas and went over job description for the Evangelism Team. Stewardship: No Report. WELCA: Lois reported via phone message that her team will be setting up a meeting time dependent on the weather to discuss WELCA Vice President/Co-President and planning the event schedule for the year. Also, they will be revamping the funeral team lists. Worship & Music: Wanda reported via email Christmas Eve Candlelight service was 4:30pm on Saturday, Dec. 24th. Christmas Day Service was 9:30 am on Sunday, Dec. 25th. On Sunday, New Year’s Day Pastor Ralph did a blessing of the families. January 6th was Epiphany of our Lord and we are now in the season of after the Epiphany. This year Ash Wednesday is on March 1st. Thank you to all who helped with decorating and helped with the Services. Education: Kelly reported via email: The Sunday School Christmas Program was Dec. 11th and it turned out great, we received many compliments on the program. We are currently looking to do a mini Easter skit/program, so I am currently looking into finding something that will work for our group. Our OCC Boxes made it to Kenya and Madagascar. I will be sharing this in the February Newsletter. I have also been keeping the bulletin board outside the office up to date with pictures, so please take a look when you have a moment. The Sunday School continues to learn stories in the First Book of the Bible, Genesis.
COMMUNION HELPERS
January 15: Deb Henry, Kirk Hodnefield February 5: Rachel McHenry
TELLER VOLUNTEERS
January 15: February 5: January 22: February 12: January 29: Treasurer’s Report: Rachel reported the December 30 ending balance is $10,007.08. Action: Motion by Deb to approve. Mark Second. Carried. Motion to adjourn by Deb, Darla second. Carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:36 pm. The gathering closed with the Lord’s Prayer. Next Meeting is Monday, February 13, 2017 at 7:00 pm at Trinity
Recorded by: Sarah Pommerening, Church Secretary Approved by: Kirk Hodnefield, President
Subject to approval by full Council on February 13, 2017
February 5 February 12 February 19 February 26
Greeters Nancy & Scott Post Bev Medes Dan & Nancy
Newman Jim & Karen Riley
Adult Ushers (2) Daryl & Susan Frank
Daryl & Susan Frank Clyde Jacobson
Kerry & Marti Peterson Alan Owens
Youth Ushers
Reader Scott Post Marti Peterson Linda Lindquist Rose Kuebker
Acolyte Bryn Afdahl Kiara Afdahl Zach Wittmer
Power Point Janessa Olson
Communion Helpers
Rachel McHenry + + + +
Communion Set Up Worship Team + + Worship Team + +
Bread Baker Rose Kuebker + + + +
Offering Counter 1 Offering Counter 2
Marti Peterson Marti Peterson
Bulletin Sponsors
To Sponsor a Bulletin, please see Betty Johnson Sunday School Sponsors
Fellowship Servers Team K- Jo & Bruce
Moll Team L- Ron & Glenda Pratt
Team A-Jill Foster Team B- Todd & Deb
Henry
Exterior Property Team
Team #11-Mike & Micki Larson
Team #12- Dennis & Sara Wasley
Team #12- Dennis & Sara Wasley
Team #13-Eric & Missy Davis Family
Please join us for Walking Together on
Saturday, March 18!
This event is for everyone! Attendees will have the opportunity to choose from
over 70 ministry workshops, led by pastors and lay leaders from across the
synod. These workshops help us to share new ideas, unique ministry
experiences and experiments, creative leadership ideas, and more!
Topics include:
worship/music/preaching, faith formation, social justice &
environmental care, local and global mission, and congregational renewal and
See Betty Johnson to sponsor a bulletin! Just $8.00
Save the Date!
Sunday, March 12 from 8:30am to 12:30pm
Dad’s Belgium waffles
St. Croix Central High School
Cost: $9.00 a person (under 5 eat free)
Proceeds to go suicide awareness!
Save the Date!
March 11, 2017
Christ Jam: Middle
School Youth
Gathering
Theme: GLOW
God Leads Our Way
Watch for more
details!
February Bulletin Sponsors
Feb. 5th BULLETIN: Roger and June Lindquist missing our Trinity family. Happy Birthday Claire and Carl Moll from Mom and Dad, Lauren and Livvie. Feb. 12th BULLETIN: In honor of Heart and Health awareness month. Feb. 19th. BULLETIN and Flowers: Dan and Nancy Newman in memory of parents Verlee and Luella wedding anniversary. Feb. 26th. BULLETIN SUNDAY SCHOOL AND FLOWERS: Scott and Nancy Post in memory of Nancy’s dad Don Schanno.
All you
can eat!!
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH 1250 BROADWAY STREET PO BOX 68 HAMMOND WI 54015
