September 3, 2023
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
OFFICE CLOSED ON SEPTEMBER 4TH FOR LABOR DAY
Confirmation starts back up Wednesday, September 6th at 5:30pm for 7th graders. 8th graders will start the following week.
Women of Trinity Fall Gathering, Thursday, September 7th at 6 pm. Bring a dish to pass.
Sunday School starts back up Sunday, September 10th at 9:45 am.
Youth Mission Trip Presentation will be Sunday, September 10th at 9:45 am. Come see the amazing work our youth did in Colorado.
2024 ELCA Youth Gathering Informational Meeting: Sunday, September 10th, 10:15 am. The Youth Gathering is in New Orleans July 15-21, 2024. All current high school students can attend.
It’s back to school time!! The WOT will be collecting items for our local schools and for kits to go to Lutheran World Relief. There are two different boxes set out for collection so make sure you put yours in the box you want your items to go to. The bags you take off the pews are the ones that go to Lutheran World Relief and each bag has a printed copy of all items needed to fill that bag. There are copies of items needed for our local schools on the display table by the kitchen. Thank you for helping us help others!
Sign up to bring snacks for Crew and/or Sunday School. Any and all are very much appreciated. Sign ups are on the table in the Narthex.
The Crew begins on Wednesday, September 20th, for all 3rd-6th graders from 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm.
Sunday, September 17th is Blessing of the Animals and Parking Lot worship. Bring a chair and your beloved pets.
We invite all teachers, school personnel, and day care workers to join us for worship on Sunday, September 24th, as we bless and honor their work.
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
“Some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, but I had a good life all the way.” Jimmy Buffett from the song, “He Went to Paris.”
As we got ready for the day on Saturday morning, Amy came into the living room with shocking news: Jimmy Buffett died. One of our very favorite singers of all time, I had come to love his music through Amy after we met. We went to incredible concerts over the years in places like the Twin Cities, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati, with a full set-up to tailgate all day. We have visited Margaritaville’s all over the place and putting his music on when driving places was a weekly occurrence. We even got to appreciate the members of his Coral Reefer band, especially Peter Mayer who has in years past led the band at the ELCA Youth Gathering. It hit us hard.
About an hour later I was heading up to play golf, listening to Margaritaville Radio, when the song, “He Went to Paris,” was played. When it got to the lyric that I have at the top of this musings, I started to cry. Look, I’m not a crier by nature, but I couldn’t help it. It just hit me right in the soul. As I reflected on the lyric, I thought about how Jimmy’s music is so positive, filled with gratitude for just the gift of life. At his concerts, he always thanked the crowd not only for that day but for his entire career and I always believed him. It wasn’t an act. I think he was truly grateful for all his success and for all life had brought him.
I have thought more and more that it is can be very hard to be positive in life. I’ve been called a positive person, but I can find in myself an incredible cynicism and how easy it is to just see all the crap in life. To make that the focus. A great example is the fact that the Cubs have lost the past two games in the 9th inning and I was declaring to friends that the season is over and we won’t make the playoffs and woe is me. It is easy to look at the world and see all the tragedy. Death. Cancer. Natural disasters. Racism and discrimination run amok. The tragedy stares us right in the face all the time.
But there is also magic. So much magic. The laugh of someone you love. The smile of a child. A beautiful sunset. A good song. Weddings. Anniversaries. Birthdays. The snuggle of a dog. A great tasting meal. There is so much magic in the world and it is a gift. A gift from our loving Savior. And the greatest gift we get from Jesus is that we have the promise of eternal life and that because of that gift, we can see the magic of life. The joy of life.
Jimmy Buffett’s music reminds me to look and see the magic of life and the joys of the simple things. A good cheeseburger. A cold margarita. The beauty of creation. The joy of sitting back and relaxing. The magic of life itself. To see the gifts of God right in front of my nose. He is truly going to be missed but will live on in the songs that he gave us. I hope that when I get to the end of my life, whenever that may be, that I might look back upon it and give thanks to God for it. And that I might say those words Jimmy gave us, “some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, but I had a good life all the way.”
May God bless you today and always.