February 1st, 2026
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastor Brad has a new email address: pastorbradtrinity@gmail.com
Annual Meeting is Sunday, February 1st at 10 am
Sunday School will be singing on Sunday, February 1st at 9 am
Super Bowl Pizza Orders are due on February 1st and can be picked up next Sunday, Feb 8.
The Crew is Wednesday, February 11th 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th graders. It will be snow day so bring your snow gear!
Winterfest, February 15th, 1 pm till 3 pm. Sledding, food, games. All are welcome!
Ash Wednesday Worship is on February 18th at Noon and 6:30 pm Baked Potato Bar served by the Confirmation Youth at 5:30 pm.
There is a new way to give at Trinity: Venmo! You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
On the way home from our little vacation to Walt Disney World, I had downloaded a very special program I wanted to watch. I had saved it for a few weeks for that specific day, Monday, January 26th. What was this very special program and why did I save it for this very special date? Well, the program was called “The Shuffle,” a documentary on HBO Max. And what was this documentary about? The making of the Super Bowl Shuffle by the 1985 Chicago Bears. And the date? It was the 40th anniversary of the Bears winning Super Bowl 20. It was fun to see the making of the song and the iconic video and relive all the glory of that season and to take myself back to my nine-year old self. I still have the VHS tape in a box and I had the cassette. The song was everywhere and I still remember every part of the video. When you are 9 years old, this kind of stuff leaves an impression.
But 2026 isn’t just the 40th anniversary of the Bears winning the Super Bowl. It is also the 10th anniversary of the Cubs winning the World Series. So it is the year of me remembering the two greatest sports events in my lifetime. And it is good to remember, to look back, to celebrate those kind of things. They can be a lot of fun. But, there is a danger there.
If we spend all of our time looking back, it means we can be stuck only in the past. It means we never look forward, to see the new things in front of us. Also, it means that miss the new directions that we can go and we can romanticize the past and see only the good things. We forget the difficult things, like in Super Bowl 20 how the Bears were losing early or in the World Series the Cubs were down 3-1 at one point.
The church is susceptible to that, to look back at the good ol’ days and resist change, thinking that the way we have always done it is the only way to do it. Tradition is important and the past is something to honor, but it is not something to be a slave too. For when we are only looking behind us, we miss what God is doing in front of us. There always needs to be a balance, of honoring the past but striving towards and being open to the future.
That is why it has been a fun sports year for me. As I celebrate the two greatest events in my sports lifetime, I have also enjoyed resurgent Bears and Cubs teams and the future looks like a lot of fun. I’ve tried to enjoy it more so I don’t take it for granted and to be open to the future. As someone who has been at the same place for a long time, I’m constantly asking myself if there is a new way to do something so that I don’t just do things the same way because it has always been done that way.
May we be true to who we are and our past while being open to the way the Spirit is leading us into the future. May God continue to bless you and be with you!