Trinity Lutheran Church

December 17, 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Men’s Band Christmas Concert. Sunday, December 17^th, 6 pm at Trinity.

Spaghetti Meal, Sunday, December 17^th, 5 pm.  served by our Youth Gathering Youth.

Crew December 20^TH  for all 3^rd-6^th graders from 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm.

Christmas Eve Worship Services, Sunday, December 24^th, 9 am, 2 pm, 4:30 pm, & 9:00 pm.  Please note that the 9 am service will not have a Candlelight portion.  All services have Holy Communion. 

No Wednesday Worship on Wednesday, December 27^th.

Office closed December 25-29. 

Office closed on January 1^st. 

High School Lock-In, Saturday, January 6^th, 6 pm till Sunday, January 7^th, 7 am.  Friends welcome!  Sign up in the Narthex.  I need parent drivers for the Scavenger Hunt at 6:30 pm. 

Please consider bringing your Deer Hides to Trinity!  They can be placed in the shack in front of the church.  Please hides only, no heads or feet. 

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.

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  On Thursday, I stood in front of my pastoral colleagues (and our Synod bishop), and led worship in a Elf costume.  Yep, an elf costume, the last thing I had to do as part of our Mission Madness.  I got lots of laughs from my colleagues and a few people who said they were not surprised in the least! 

  But as I thought about preaching in that outfit, it gave me some inspiration.  An elf is a servant.  The elves in the North Pole make the toys, make sure the North Pole runs, takes care of everything.  They work for Santa, they are not Santa, but they are servants.  Santa needs them.  Without them, nothing happens.

  We are elves for Jesus, servants who serve for the sake of the mission of Jesus in the world.  We share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed to others, shining the light of Christ on the world.  We don’t save people, Jesus does.  But we show people the love of God in Jesus Christ.  We tell them of what Jesus has done for them. How Jesus carries their burdens, forgives them their sin, strengthens them in weakness, and is with them always.  We serve the Lord in word and deed, no matter where we are.  We are elves for Jesus.  You are elves for Jesus.

  I hope that as you get ready to celebrate Christmas that you would give thanks for the babe born in Bethlehem who has come to save us.  And I hope that you might remember that you are an elf for Jesus, serving the Lord in whatever way that you can.  May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Me in my elf costume with my pastoral colleagues

December 12, 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Crew December 13^th & December 20^TH  for all 3^rd-6^th graders from 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm.

Men’s Band Christmas Concert. Sunday, December 17^th, 6 pm at Trinity. 

Spaghetti Meal, Sunday, December 17^th, 5 pm. 

Sunday School Christmas program, Sunday, December 17^th, 9 am.

Christmas Eve Worship Services, Sunday, December 24^th, 9 am, 2 pm, 4:30 pm, & 9:00 pm.  Please note that the 9 am service will not have a Candlelight portion.  All services have Holy Communion. 

Please consider bringing your Deer Hides to Trinity!  They can be placed in the shack in front of the church.  Please hides only, no heads or feet. 

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.

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  The other night, Amy and I watched “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” which is my favorite of the adaptations of the Charles Dickens book.  (They are, in order, “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” “Scrooged,” “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” and the George C. Scott one).  Anyways, I assume you all know the tale and the thing that always strikes me when I watch any of the adaptations is that it is, to me, about Ebenezer Scrooge becoming generous.  Generous to his employees, his family, and the poor.  To be generous with what he has for the sake of others and the generosity of spirit, of having care and compassion for your fellow humans. 

  When I think of this past week at Trinity, that word generosity really comes to mind.  Generosity of spirit, generosity of time, generosity of resources, all the support and lift up the mission of the church.  We had so many volunteers on Wednesday during lefse making that I left to go replace my failing phone!  There was so many moments of laughter, of connection, of a generosity of spirit as we toiled over the lefse.  So many people gave the generosity of their time to make it all happen, and then of course all of you who made items for the bake sale and brought them.  Though it is a lot of work, one of the reasons I love lefse week is that generosity of spirit, of time, of being together in a shared purpose and mission.

  Of course, there was also the generosity of resources throughout the whole weekend.  The Youth had a record-breaking Silent Auction and Soup Lunch, raising over $9,000 total between the two and cash donations given in advance.  To be honest, we were pretty worried and many of our kids were concerned about the auction.  They got turned away a lot more at businesses this year and many of those businesses weren’t the nicest about it.  There was frustration.  But we were so thankful for the donations we did get, for the generosity of church members who brought items in, and of course the incredible response from the community.  Your generosity means that we can be confident that we have the resources to send our kids to New Orleans for the incredible faith experience of a National Youth Gathering. 

  Christmas is about joy, about hope, about giving thanks that our God loves us so much to become flesh in the form of Jesus Christ and save us from our sins.  And it is about generosity, of being generous in spirit, hope, love, and resources for the sake of the other.  Of responding to the amazing miracle of the birth of Christ and our salvation that comes with it.  And so I give thanks for your generosity, for the ways in which you show the love of God in the ways you are generous in the world.  May you see this day and every day the generosity of your loving God and may you be filled with Christmas spirit, joy, hope, and faith.  God bless us everyone! 

December 3, 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Lefse Making: Wednesday, December 6^th at 7 am, Thursday, December 7^th 7 am.  Come at anytime during both days to help with this Trinity tradition!  No matter who you are, you can contribute!  There is a pot luck every day at 11:30 am! Sign-up in the Narthex or let PB or the office know and we will get your signed up!

Lefse & Bake Sale, Saturday, December 9^th, 9 am till 2 pm.

Silent Auction, Saturday, December 9^th, 9 am till 3 pm, benefitting our Youth Gathering Youth.  Last bid taken at 3 pm.

Homemade Soup Lunch, 11 am till 2 pm.  A variety of homemade soups served by the Trinity youth!  Free-will offering taken.

Items needed for the Silent Auction! The Youth Gathering Youth are holding the Spirit of Christmas Silent Auction on December 9^th from 9 am till 3 pm.  We are looking for NEW items, craft items, gift certificates, and more.  Please bring in items by Wednesday, December 6^th.

Crew December 13^th & December 20^TH  for all 3^rd-6^th graders from 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm.

Men’s Band Christmas Concerts:  Sunday, December 3^rd, 6 pm at First Lutheran Church in Cumberland.  Chili Feed at 5 pm. Sunday, December 17^th, 6 pm at Trinity.  Spaghetti Feed at 5 pm.

Lagers with the Lord Monday, December 11th at 6 pm at Buckshot’s.  All are welcome!

Christmas Carol by Request Worship, Sunday, December 10^th, 9 am.

Sunday School Christmas program, Sunday, December 17^th, 9 am.

Christmas Eve Worship Services, Sunday, December 24^th, 9 am, 2 pm, 4:30 pm, & 9:00 pm.  Please note that the 9 am service will not have a Candlelight portion.  All services have Holy Communion. 

Please consider bringing your Deer Hides to Trinity!  They can be placed in the shack in front of the church.  Please hides only, no heads or feet. 

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.

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Hello everyone and welcome to Lefse week!  This week can be one of the busiest of the year for me, but it is also one that I look forward to all year.  I look forward to it not just because of the delicious lefse (and the amazing potluck that occurs on Wednesday and Thursday), but for the fellowship and the fun that occurs when we are making lefse.  From Paul Danovsky asking me every hour when the song “Snoopy’s Christmas” will come on, from tossing dough balls at Wendell Andrews, to all the conversations and laughter that come as we work, it is a wonderful sign of what the church does well.  We come together in faith and fun to serve the Lord. 

  At the same time, I know that lefse making can seem intimidating.  But anyone can learn and the seasoned masters that have been doing it for years love to teach it.  Even better, we have jobs for every kind of person of every age and ability.  And so, if you have thought about coming or you can now come to help us out, I encourage you to do so.  If for nothing else the constant abuse that comes my way from everyone!  It really is just a phenomenal time. 

  Even more so, if you can’t come to help make it, I hope that you come on Saturday to buy some, along with all the other amazing items in the bake sale.  I hope you’ll be generous with your bidding on our Silent Auction items, helping our youth get to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans this summer.  A Youth Gathering is a much more expensive trip than a Mission Trip so every dollar is very important and makes a huge difference. 

  The church is really just a bunch of people who come together to hear the word of the Lord and serve the Lord and the neighbor.  There is no greater example of that then Lefse week.  So I hope to see you this week, making lefse, bringing in baked goods, or bidding on Silent Auction items and having a cup of soup.  The schedule of everything is in the announcements.  Have a good week and may God bless you today and always!