Trinity Lutheran Church

September 28, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crew this Wednesday, October 1st from 3:30-5, for all 3rd-6th graders!

Join us as we pack up Lutheran World Relief Kits this Wednesday, October 1^st,

at 9 am

Reminder to 9^th grade confirmands that your confirmation folders are due on Wednesday, October 1^st!

Fall Family Fest and WestCAP Fundraiser: Sunday, October 5, 4pm till 7pm.  Inflatables, Games, and fun for the whole family starting at 4 pm.  Spaghetti meal at 5 pm.  Men’s Band concert at 6 pm.  Free-will offering taken to benefit WestCAP food pantry here in Boyceville. 

Voices of Praise is back every Wednesday at 7pm, join us for singing and fellowship!

Mission Trip registration forms are due on Sunday, October 5^th!

Mission Madness 2025!  Runs from October 5^th till November 16^th.  You can give to a specific mission partner (like Luther Park or WestCAP) or just designate your gift towards Mission Madness.  Every time we hit a giving goal, PB will do the following:

$500  PB has to eat five red grapes

$1,000 PB has to eat a hard boiled egg

$1,500 PB has to wear a Packers or Brewers tie every day for one week

$2,000 PB has to eat cold tuna noodle pasta salad with peas (the meal he hated the most as a child)

$2,500 PB has to drink two ounces of black church coffee.  (PB does not drink hot beverages nor coffee of any kind). 

Thank you for your generosity and for supporting our Mission Partners!

There is a new way to give at Trinity: Venmo!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a confirmation number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Yesterday, we hosted our first Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair here at Trinity.  Neighbor to Neighbor, for those that don’t remember, is a ministry of our Synod that reaches out to the Latino population, and one of the things that they do is hold Health Fairs to bring needed resources to a population that often has a hard time accessing such resources.  We had all sort of providers and organizations here, such as Hearing and Vision Screening, Mayo Clinic, Dunn County Health Department, as well as places like Arbor Place, The Bridge to Hope, Stepping Stones, WestCap, and others, like Luther Park, Chippewa Valley Voters, and JONAH.  We had a Mexican Food Truck here to provide food truck, our local one from right here in Boyceville that you see at Pickle Fest, and one thing that we did that many don’t do is we did a personal care item distribution of things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoo, detergent, soap, and more.  We had a wonderful turnout on a beautiful day and I was really pleased with how it all turned out, even with a little more wind than we wanted and some pesky bees!

  But what I was really pleased with was our incredible group of volunteers that came to help.  We had people that came to help set-up, those that came to work the event, and those that came to tear down, which was really great for me, because I had to leave a half hour after the event to go to the Twin Cities to perform a wedding!  Even better, our volunteers ran the gambit, from some of our oldest members to confirmation and high school students.  Parents served with their children, which is a great example of modeling faith and service.  Helping at this kind of event can be very difficult and put us outside of our comfort zone as interact with people that we don’t know and can’t communicate easily with, especially a little short on interpreters.  But what came through was our volunteer’s joy and welcoming smiles.   This is what it means to be the church.  To open ourselves up in love to others and to try a make a difference in their lives.  To lift up others.  To really embody what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.

  I want to thank all of you that also dropped donations over the past couple of weeks as well that helped make our distribution a success.  Your generosity is appreciated.  My vision is for us to continue to be a church that reaches out in our community.  I love the fact that so many of you give of your time to our ministry partners, whether it be to WestCAP or Stepping Stones or many others.  This upcoming Sunday, October 5^th, we are going to be helping out WestCAP with our Fall Fest fundraiser for them and I hope that you will join us for the Spaghetti Meal at 5 pm and the Men’s Band Concert at 6 pm.  They need our help and they do so much.  Bring the kids at 4 pm to have fun with the inflatables, then stay for the meal and concert.  Be generous as Mission Madness starts because the funds we send to our partners in ministry makes a direct impact on the lives of other people. 

  We are church together and as the church, we look outward toward our neighbor, as Jesus has called us to.  A church not in action is a dead church.  A church only worried about itself is a dying church.  A church standing still is sinking slowly into irrelevance and complacency.  But a church focused on pushing outward, on serving, on meeting the needs of others, that is a vibrant church.  That is a growing church.  That is a church that is answering God’s call in Jesus Christ to love.  That is who I want us to be.  That is who I think we are.  May we continue to be that and more and never lose sight of it. 

  May God bless you this week and always! 

September 14, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Crew starts back up Wednesday, Sept 17th from 3:30-5, for all 3rd-6th graders!

Lagers with the Lord Monday, September 15^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s. 

Voices of Praise is back starting Wednesday, Sept 10th at 7pm, join us for singing and fellowship!

Mission Trip Informational Meeting Sunday, September 21^st, 10 am.  We will be heading to Denver June 13-20, 2026.  If you are a high school student but can’t attend the meeting, please see PB. 

Crew snacks needed! See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church. We are looking for snacks for 50 youth. No need to serve them, just to provide them! You can bring anything you want! Cookies, cheese, fruits, vegetables, anything you can dream up the kids will eat! Make it as big or as small as you want! Talk to PB if you have questions.

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!

Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair, September 27th, 10 am till 1 pm. This event is to provide resources and information specifically for the Hispanic population of our area and in conjunction with the Northwest Syn od of Wisconsin. We are collecting personal care items as well to hand out during this event. Items include soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Want to help? See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.  We need help setting up, taking down, manning the Trinity table, and passing out items for our personal care distribution. 

Do you know someone who speaks Spanish? We are looking for Spanish speakers to be interpreters for the Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair.  They  would go around with families during the fair to help translate for the participants and providers.  If you know of someone, ask them if they are willing to help and contact PB as well. 

Fall Family Fest and WestCAP Fundraiser: Sunday, October 5, 4pm till 7pm.  Inflatables, Games, and fun for the whole family starting at 4 pm.  Spaghetti meal at 5 pm.  Men’s Band concert at 6 pm.  Free-will offering taken to benefit WestCAP food pantry here in Boyceville. 

There is a new way to give at Trinity: Venmo!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a confirmation number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  As many of you know, I love food.  I love a good meal.  But sometimes, you just need something simple.  Something delicious.  And there is nothing more delicious, and more simple, than popcorn. I love popcorn.  This love of popcorn is inherited from my mother, who ate it I swear six out of seven days.  She basically survived on Diet Coke, coffee, and popcorn for the most part, and she could eat popcorn by the tonnage. 

  In recent years, there is trend to have all sorts of different flavors of popcorn.  Heck, in the store the other day I saw Pickle flavored popcorn.  That crap is not for me.  Give me popcorn as God intended: butter and salt.  That’s it.  All it needs.  Frankly, I do love my popcorn salty and I take my own salt shaker into the movie theater to make sure of it.  Movie theater popcorn is the best popcorn around and, in my humble opinion, Alamo Drafthouse (there is one in Woodbury) has the best popcorn out there.  Love it.  They use clarified butter and serve it in a big metal bowl, which makes eating it even better.  Heavenly.

  My friend Pastor Tim Schmidt is also a popcorn fiend.  When he would travel around to watch his kids play sports, he would rate each school’s popcorn.  When we go out for lunch to places there is nothing better than when there is free popcorn and we have to be careful to not ruin our lunch by eating the popcorn. One of the things that baffles me is that while he announces games for Cumberland, he eats popcorn.  He has to have it.  I can’t imagine eating while announcing (at the same time, he can’t believe that I don’t eat popcorn while I announce).  Popcorn is just that good.

  Why am I talking about popcorn?  Well, I guess for one I just love it.  But also it is a reminder to appreciate the simple things.  It is easy to forget about the simple joys of life.  I know I can forget about them at times.  The little things that we take for granted.  With the craziness of the world, we sometimes have to stop and remember and appreciate the small things that bring us joy.  Popcorn is one of those things for me.  It not only connects me with my Mom and my closest friend, it reminds me that you can have something delicious that is pretty simple.  It is comforting and makes me feel happy when I eat it, whether it is at the movie theater or at home with Amy while we watch a show.  It is the food I sometimes want after a long day that just makes me feel good.

  So take a moment today or this week to appreciate the small things, the simple things.  Think about something like that which brings you joy, makes you feel comfort, brings you a memory or connects you to the people you love.  For these small things are gifts from God. And have some popcorn.  With lots of butter and salt.  Nothing better. 

  May God bless you today and always! 

September 7, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunday School Rally Day is Sunday, September 7^th, at 9:45 am!

Voices of Praise is back starting Wednesday, Sept 10th at 7pm, join us for singing and fellowship!

Crew starts back up Wednesday, Sept 17th from 3:30-5, for all 3rd-6th graders!

Crew snacks needed! See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church. We are looking for snacks for 50 youth. No need to serve them, just to provide them! You can bring anything you want! Cookies, cheese, fruits, vegetables, anything you can dream up the kids will eat! Make it as big or as small as you want! Talk to PB if you have questions.

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!

Lagers with the Lord Monday, September 15^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s. 

Mission Trip Informational Meeting Sunday, September 21^st, 10 am.  We will be heading to Denver June 13-20, 2026.  If you are a high school student but can’t attend the meeting, please see PB. 

Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair, September 27th, 10 am till 1 pm. This event is to provide resources and information specifically for the Hispanic population of our area and in conjunction with the Northwest Syn od of Wisconsin. We are collecting personal care items as well to hand out during this event. Items include soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Want to help? See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.  We need help setting up, taking down, manning the Trinity table, and passing out items for our personal care distribution. 

Do you know someone who speaks Spanish? We are looking for Spanish speakers to be interpreters for the Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair.  They  would go around with families during the fair to help translate for the participants and providers.  If you know of someone, ask them if they are willing to help and contact PB as well. 

There is a new way to give at Trinity: Venmo!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a confirmation number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

   There was a man who fell in the ocean and he couldn’t swim. When a boat came by, the captain yelled, “Do you need help, sir?” The man calmly said “No, I’ve prayed and God will save me.” A little later, another boat came by and a fisherman asked, “Hey, do you need help?” The man replied again, “No, I’ve prayed and God will save me.” Eventually the man drowned & went to heaven. The man asked God, “God, I prayed for you to save me.  Why didn’t you save me?” God replied, “Fool, I sent you two boats!”

  I’ve always loved this little story, and other versions that are similar.  And I think there is an important lesson in this story.  God works through people.  God sends people into our lives to answer prayers.  Even more so, God sends you to people to answer their prayers. 

  I think this is important to remember.  Of course, God does act by God’s own hand.  But often, God works in and through others.  I know I have often spent countless times waiting for God to act, looking for the signs that God is doing something, when all along God had sent others to me to show me that God had heard my prayers and was answering them and maybe answering them in ways I wasn’t expecting and showing me that I had been heard.

  At the same time, as we have faith and trust in God, we also put that faith in action by going out into the world.  We don’t just lock ourselves away.  We use the gifts that God has given us, our voices, our talents, our treasurers, to do God’s work in the world.  We offer prayers but we also follow those prayers up with using our gifts to help others, encourage others, and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in whatever way we can.  I think of Jesus, who took time out for prayer but then went out and healed and taught and served and gave his life so that we would be saved and reminded us that he would be with us always till the end of the age.

  As you go out into the world, know that the God is working in and through others for you and that you are God’s vessel for others.  Continue to pray for the world and for others.  But don’t just pray.  Act as well.  Use your gifts for the sake of the world, as Jesus did, for in doing so you are someone’s answered prayer.

  May God bless you today and always.  

August 31,  2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Women of Trinity Fall Gathering, Saturday, September 6^th, 9 am.  Brunch meal, with speaker Rev. Jeanne Hartfield. 

Sunday School Rally Day is Sunday, September 7^th, at 9:45 am!

Voices of Praise is back starting Wednesday, Sept 10th at 7pm, join us for singing and fellowship!

Crew starts back up Wednesday, Sept 17th from 3:30-5, for all 3rd-6th graders!

Crew snacks needed! See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church. We are looking for snacks for 50 youth. No need to serve them, just to provide them! You can bring anything you want! Cookies, cheese, fruits, vegetables, anything you can dream up the kids will eat! Make it as big or as small as you want! Talk to PB if you have questions.

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!

Lagers with the Lord Monday, September 15^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s. 

Mission Trip Informational Meeting Sunday, September 21^st, 10 am.  We will be heading to Denver June 13-20, 2026.  If you are a high school student but can’t attend the meeting, please see PB. 

Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair, September 27th, 10 am till 1 pm. This event is to provide resources and information specifically for the Hispanic population of our area and in conjunction with the Northwest Syn od of Wisconsin. We are collecting personal care items as well to hand out during this event. Items include soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Want to help? See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.  We need help setting up, taking down, manning the Trinity table, and passing out items for our personal care distribution. 

Do you know someone who speaks Spanish? We are looking for Spanish speakers to be interpreters for the Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair.  They  would go around with families during the fair to help translate for the participants and providers.  If you know of someone, ask them if they are willing to help and contact PB as well. 

There is a new way to give at Trinity: Venmo!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a confirmation number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

   Ah, my friends, it is that great time of year.  Football season has arrived!  Not only that, but it is still golf season and baseball season and your friendly neighborhood pastor is in sports heaven.  Since the Cubs are still in a playoff hunt, I’m fully invested in watching baseball every night.  At the same time, the weather is perfect for golf and I can get out and play as much as my schedule will allow.  Plus, my favorite non-major event, the Ryder Cup, is coming up later in September and I follow that very closely, even though I fear the Americans are just going to get it handed to us on American soil.  And now football is going.

  Let me set the scene for you.  On Friday, I played golf (and actually played mostly well).  Friday night, at home, I had the Boyceville game on my computer watching the live stream of their win in Cameron while at the same time watching multiple college football games on my phone as Amy and I were finishing shows up on the main TV.  On Saturday night, since Amy wanted to read, I had the Cubs game up on the TV and college games going on my computer and my phone (yes, I have a sickness.  A disease.  Its ok.  I embrace it).  I was in sports heaven.

  Throw in the start of the NFL season on Thursday?  Let’s go.  Prime time joy time for ol’ PB.  Of course, it is slightly dampened by the fact that all of the Packer fans I live with are sky high right now after the Micah Parsons trade, as you should be.  I’m assuming you have all booked your hotel rooms for the San Francisco area for this year’s Super Bowl in preparation for your eventual championship and already have the parade planned.  I’m cautiously optimistic about my Chicago Bears who, despite being last in the NFC North last year somehow are tied for second hardest schedule in the NFL this year.  I’ll complain all the same and as long as we win one against the heavily favored Packers, like last year, it will make for a good year.  😊

  No matter what, it will be sports joy for me.  Heck, this week alone I will see football every single day for the most part, as I work three games this week in the booth for Boyceville, watch games as much as I can, and take a moment to appreciate the joy of the sport I love.  Because in the end, it is all about appreciation.  For when you enjoy something, you need to take a moment to appreciate it. 

  It is something I’ve been trying to do more of.  I can get a little negative about the sports teams I love and even the sports I play (at this moment, my friends and Amy are saying, a little?  That’s an understatement).  I tend to take a fatalistic approach, which is opposite of how I take most of life.  But these are meant to be escapes and I do love them.  And so I’m trying to appreciate them more.  Be thankful more, even when the Cubs get swept in SF or if the Bears offense looks awful or when I chunk an approach shot from 90 yards in the middle of the fairway.  Sports are a gift, not a burden, and I’m hoping being a little more appreciative, and little more thankful, will be better for my mental health and a reminder again of the gift it all is. 

  I hope that you take a moment to be thankful for the things, hobbies, pursuits and passions in your life that you enjoy.  They are gifts.  And no matter who you cheer for, on the football field or anywhere, that you enjoy watching them play and give thanks for that gift.  May God bless you today and always!

August 24, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

No Bible Study on Monday

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, August 27^th, 7pm for all 7^th & 8^th grade confirmation students & parents.

Women of Trinity Fall Gathering, Saturday, September 6^th, 9 am.  Brunch meal, with speaker Rev. Jeanne Hartfield. 

Sunday School Rally Day is Sunday, September 7^th, at 9:45 am!

Voices of Praise is back starting Wednesday, Sept 10th at 7pm, join us for singing and fellowship!

Crew starts back up Wednesday, Sept 17th from 3:30-5, for all 3rd-6th graders!

Crew snacks needed! See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church. We are looking for snacks for 50 youth. No need to serve them, just to provide them! You can bring anything you want! Cookies, cheese, fruits, vegetables, anything you can dream up the kids will eat! Make it as big or as small as you want! Talk to PB if you have questions.

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!

Neighbor to Neighbor Health Fair, September 27th, 10 am till 1 pm. This event is to provide resources and information specifically for the Hispanic population of our area and in conjunction with the Northwest Syn od of Wisconsin. We are collecting personal care items as well to hand out during this event. Items include soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Want to help? See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex

You can now give to Trinity through Venmo!  You can find us @TrinityLutheranBoyceville.  If they ask you for a confirmation code, please put in 1349. 

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

Some quick hits:

• I had a lot of fun announcing the Cucumber Festival Parade this past Sunday, August 17^th.  I have to admit, I was incredibly nervous.  One, I was following a living legend in Joe Pieters.  Two, I had no idea what I was doing and when I have no idea what I’m doing, I’m always a little nervous.  Three, since it was in front of the whole town, I really didn’t want to suck.  I’m not sure about the last part, but I think it went ok and I had fun doing it.
• I had to give a shout out to my partner in crime, Beth Heifner, who did a great job being my assistant, taking care of the little things, and having Pickle jokes ready when I needed them.  Thanks for being a great teammate!  You still don’t get to touch the microphone though!
• Another big shout out goes to Tillie, who just does so much work for Pickle Fest and the parade.  She did a great job making sure I didn’t sound like too much of an idiot.  Thank you Tillie for everything you do!
• My favorite part was getting some free food during the parade.  I asked for it as a joke and I actually got it!  Thanks to the awesome businesses that brought it to us and I look forward to trying it out on others next year! 
• My voice afterward sounded like a cross between Oscar the Grouch and the way a garbage disposal sounds when you stick bolts in it. 
• It was weird not being on the Trinity float for the first time in forever (Frozen line!).  I think they had more fun without me.  Thanks to everyone who made the float possible and all who rode on it!
• Important service announcement: preseason football does not matter.  Stop worrying about it.  Thank you.
• Another important service announcement: saying to me, “How about the Cubs?” does not actually bother me.  I get mad when the Cubs lose a game in April. I’m already bothered and your comment does not move me one inch. I’m well aware of their collapse.  A reminder that YOU think of the Cubs as a rival.  The Brewers are number 9 on my list of teams I care about.  I get more upset when the Pirates beat the Cubs than when the Brewers do. Heck, I even cheered for you against the Reds before you played the Cubs because it helped the Cubs.  All I care about is that the Cubs make the playoffs for the first time in three years.  How has winning the division done for you the past few years Brewers fans?  😊
• Sorry about that last line.  That was petty.  But the Cubs did win the season series.  When the Brewers win the World Series this year, I’ll raise a glass in your honor and be truly happy for you.  I will. I want good things for you.  Mostly. 
• I watched college football today.  That makes me happy. 
• This is my favorite time of year for sports.  Golf is still on.  Football is starting.  Baseball pennant races.  Glory.
• I believe there are two kinds of parents.  The kind who cry buckets when their kids go back to school, and the kind who throw a party when their kids go back to school. There is no in between. 
• Everyone complains that Christmas stuff comes out to early.  But the fact that Halloween stuff is going out and Disney Parks are having Halloween parties in August is worse. 
• Speaking of that, I’m out of the office Monday and Tuesday at our “Fall Ministry” retreat.  Again, this also seems wrong but it is true. 

Have a good week and remember that God loves you in Jesus every day!

August 10, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, August 11, 6 pm at Buckshot’s!

Annual Lunch & Pie Social, Sunday, August 17^th, 10 am to 4 pm!  We are in need of workers on Saturday, August 16^th from 9 am till 11 am to prep and set up and then Sunday from 9 am till clean up after 4 pm.  There are sign-ups on the table in the Narthex or you can call the church office at 715-643-3821 to help us with this important Trinity tradition that the community looks forward to every year!

Float riders needed for the Trinity Parade float on Sunday, August 17^th!  All ages are welcome!  Youth get their own candy bag.  Please come to the church at Noon and meet by the shed.  Let PB know if you are willing to ride as we “Let our Light Shine!” 

No Wednesday Worship on August 20^th.  Join the Trinity Men’s Band at First Lutheran Church, Cumberland, at 6 pm.  There is a Corn Feed that starts at 4 pm.  Please note that the service will be outside. 

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, August 27^th, 7pm for all 7^th & 8^th grade confirmation students & parents.

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  This past Thursday, it was one of my favorite events of the year, the Luther Park Golf Outing.  I get to play golf with my friends, I get to honor a dearly departed friend, and I get to help out one of my favorite places, Luther Park Bible Camp.  I have been privileged to help to run this event the past few years and though it is a lot of work, I enjoy doing it and I’m proud that the church is a sponsor and so many of you come and play in it, which makes it even more fun.  It is really a great day and things went really well this year.

  But, every year, there is one big hiccup.  I normally play really crappy golf.  I mean, really bad golf.  It is such a tradition for me to play badly that I expect it.  I just expect to play bad.  I could be playing great all the way up to the outing and when it comes, it will seem like I don’t know how to play golf.  I will spray drives, chunk chips, shank irons, and miss three-foot putts.  It is bad.  I know that some of this is because I’m helping to run the event, I’m in a different head space.  I’m in “got to organize and run this thing” mode, not “let’s play some golf” mode.  Also, because I WANT to play so well, I put pressure on myself and that makes me play even worse.  I’ve played so badly that I just assume it is going to happen and I’m basically ok with it.  The point of the even is to raise some money, have some fun, and make sure everything else goes ok.

  But something weird happened this year.  I played really well.  Drove the ball mostly well.  Hit my irons really well.  Coming into Thursday I was hitting my irons as well as my dog Baxter was.  Hitting out and out shanks.  But Thursday?  Darts.  I hit some good putts and good chips.  It was strange.  I think I was so sure I was going to play badly that I put no pressure on myself and I just played, and so I played well.  You just never know what might happen and what you can expect.

  Now, I’m not sure there is a great lesson here.  I could go out and play this week and just play incredibly crappy again and when this event happens next year, I could play terribly again.  But sometimes you get surprised.  Sometimes, things don’t happen the way you think and things turn out better than you expect.  So, believe in yourself. You never know.  Maybe this one thing I should try to remember for myself as well.

  I hope I get a chance to see all of you at Pickle Fest this weekend, especially at the Lunch and Pie Social on Sunday at Trinity from 10 am till 4 pm.  May God bless you today and always! 

July 28, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Results of the Congregational Meeting from Sunday, July 27^th, to authorize the Church Council to sell the existing parsonage and to borrow up to $100,000 to build a new parsonage on church property next to Trinity Lutheran Church.  Vote passed 76-2.

Adopt-A-Highway, Sunday, August 3^rd, 1 pm.

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 7^th, 9 am.  $50 per person, includes cart.  At Sioux Creek Golf Course in Chetek.  9 holes.  Prizes, Raffle, and fun to help Luther Park Bible Camp!  To register, email at info@lutherpark.org or talk to Pastor Brad. 

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, August 11, 6 pm at Buckshot’s!

Annual Lunch & Pie Social, Sunday, August 17^th, 10 am to 4 pm!  We are in need of workers on Saturday, August 16^th from 9 am till 11 am to prep and set up and then Sunday from 9 am till clean up after 4 pm.  There are sign-ups on the table in the Narthex or you can call the church office at 715-643-3821 to help us with this important Trinity tradition that the community looks forward to every year!

Float riders needed for the Trinity Parade float on Sunday, August 17^th!  All ages are welcome!  Youth get their own candy bag.  Please come to the church at Noon and meet by the shed.  Let PB know if you are willing to ride as we “Let our Light Shine!” 

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, August 27^th, 7pm for all 7^th & 8^th grade confirmation students & parents.

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  I’m sitting here in my office, a little tired, as we have come off a couple of crazy weeks, centered around our youth, having done Vacation Bible School and the Mission Trip in back-to-back weeks.  As I was looking at the week ahead, I noticed that the calendar was going to turn to August on Friday, which for me really means the end of summer.  Time to start planning for confirmation, Crew, and all of our fall events.  But August also means an anniversary for me as August 1^st was my start date at Trinity back in 2002. 

   But as I thought back to these past two weeks, I thought of those who helped to make VBS and the Mission Trip happen, and all those who make our ministry happen on a daily and regular basis.  As many of you may have heard, nothing annoys me more than when I hear Trinity referred to as “Pastor Brad’s” church.  Sure, I have been here now 23 years, but it is first and foremost Jesus’s church, and then it is your church.  We are partners together and this ministry doesn’t happen without you, without your faith, your dedication, your generosity, and your support.

  And so as I sit here, I’m incredibly grateful.  I’m grateful for our incredible staff, for Andrea, Trudie, Becky, Ginny, and Lee, who give so much to keep this place going every single day.  I’m grateful for our Church Council, their leadership, vision, and dedication to the mission of this church and keeping what is important at the center of everything we do, which is to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified and risen and serve our community.  I’m thankful for all those who gave so much to make VBS happen, like Chaele, Liz, Karen, Renae, Joan, Barb, Sawyer, Walter, Trudie, Christina, and all our snack providers.  The amazing Mission Trip we just had in St. Louis, in which our kids did amazing work for the people of St. Louis and were just absolute rock stars, doesn’t happen without your generosity but doesn’t happen at all without our incredible chaperones Tessa, Melissa, Beth, and Rich.  I think about all the little things that happen all the time, like Lionel taking the trash to the dump, Lonna, Peggy, and Trudie taking care of garden, Dan and Amy and Bill and others mowing the lawn; Perry making sure our services get out over live stream, Teana & Marik handling Wednesday nights when I am gone; Craig taking this past Sunday for me, and all those who usher, read, do Altar Guild, and so many others that I don’t have the time and space to name.  Thank you, every single one of you, who takes the time, the effort, and uses your gifts to lift up Trinity and make it go.  I am incredibly grateful and thankful. 

  Trinity is not one person.  It is not about the person in the big white dress waving his hands in the front.  It is a group of disciples, working together to proclaim the love of Jesus and serve in Jesus’ name near and far.  This congregation isn’t even all here in Boyceville or even all in Wisconsin as we reach people all over.  What connects us is shared faith and shared mission.  We are Trinity, together, and this is our church.  All of us, together.  I continue to be grateful and thankful to be your pastor for the past 23 years and hope for some years to come.  May the Lord continue to bless us and be with us and bless Trinity in its mission and ministry.

  May God bless you today and always!

July 14, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, July 14^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s!

Congregational Meeting, Sunday, July 27^th, 10 am to authorize the Church Council to sell the existing parsonage and to borrow up to $100,000 to build a new parsonage on church property next to Trinity Lutheran Church. 

Summer Fellowship Servers needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office if you are willing to serve fellowship on any Sunday June through August.

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 7^th, 9 am.  $50 per person, includes cart.  At Sioux Creek Golf Course in Chetek.  9 holes.  Prizes, Raffle, and fun to help Luther Park Bible Camp!  To register, email at info@lutherpark.org or talk to Pastor Brad. 

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12

  Tonight we have Lagers with the Lord, one of my favorite things every month, and not just because I get to drink an expertly made Old Fashioned by Ding.  It’s because I get to dive into God’s Word with other people and we get to explore scripture.  I love the insights people give, the questions they ask, and the conversation afterwards.  I also love the opportunity to share some of the insights I have or I have read and give people a chance to learn a little more about scripture, or at least think about it in a new way.

  See, the thing about God’s Word is that it is a living and active thing, as it says in Hebrews.  And with this living and active thing is that we are constantly learning and growing as we explore it.  It is why I am constantly surprised by it.  Just this past week, as I prepared for my Sunday sermon, my eyes were opened to a fresh way to view a very familiar passage of scripture that gave it a new and powerful meaning.  I will never forget being a camp counselor and hearing the same parable of Jesus over and over again in the Christ Walk play, having no clue what it meant, until suddenly I got it.  Because that is the thing about the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.  It is always active and always working.

  For as we grow and change in the world, as we have experiences in the world, we hear scripture and the Holy Spirit works on us and sometimes those scriptures have deeper meanings.  Words we have heard time and time again now come at us with fresh expressions.  Sometimes the insight of someone else changes how we might see it.  And that is the joy of scripture.  That is the joy of hearing it, reading it, studying it with people of all ages.  For what a child gets out of it compared to an 80 year old can be completely different but also completely valid and amazing. 

  I encourage you to take some time with God’s Word, whether it is attending something like Lagers with the Lord (tonight at 6 pm.  We are going to be looking at the story of Mary & Martha) or Bible Study on Monday mornings at 10 am or maybe it is watching our devotions on Facebook or doing your own five minute reading of scripture every day.  For God’s Word is living and active and it moves us, creates us faith, inspires us, challenges us, and makes us think.  And these are things we need in life, every day.  May God bless you and be with you always! 

July 6, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Vacation Bible School, July 14-18, 9 am till 2 pm for all 4 year olds through 6^th grade youth.  Led by Luther Park Bible Camp.  No Cost.  Games, Crafts, Music, Food, and more!  Friends welcome!  We appreciate your registering in advance!  See the attached form.  STARTS IN ONE WEEK! 

VBS Snacks, Snack helpers needed!  See the sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you would like to help!

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, July 14^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s!

Congregational Meeting, Sunday, July 27^th, 10 am to authorize the Church Council to sell the existing parsonage and to borrow up to $100,000 to build a new parsonage on church property next to Trinity Lutheran Church. 

Summer Fellowship Servers needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office if you are willing to serve fellowship on any Sunday June through August.

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 7^th, 9 am.  $50 per person, includes cart.  At Sioux Creek Golf Course in Chetek.  9 holes.  Prizes, Raffle, and fun to help Luther Park Bible Camp!  To register, email at info@lutherpark.org or talk to Pastor Brad. 

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

Come and see what God has done: Psalm 66:1a

  When you read the verse above, what do you think of? Do you think of creation, of the beauty of the world around you?  I bet that is the first thing we think of. Maybe you spent the July 4^th weekend at a lake or your cabin, enjoying time on the water and you think of the beauty of a sunrise or sunset on that lake.  Maybe you thought of fireworks in the sky or the beauty of a campfire.  Maybe you were traveling and you thought of the vista’s you encountered or something incredible you saw.  I was recently back at Walt Disney World for the first time in three years and it was great to see the majestic Cinderella’s castle towering in the sky.  When we think of God’s works, we so often think of those kinds of things.

  But have you thought of the fact that, and your fellow human beings, are also God’s works?  There is great beauty there.  Think of the smile of a child, or the laugh of a loved one, or the twinkle in the eyes of our wisdom elderly.  These are the works of this same God who created the mountains, the lakes, the rivers, the oceans.  We are also the created works of the Lord.  And there is beauty there, in our diversity of pigments, of heights and weights, talents and gifts, languages and accents. It is one of the things I love about travel. Not only seeing the diversity of landscapes and vistas, but the diversity of humanity.  God paints with a glorious brush and there is beauty in all of it.

  Take being in Walt Disney World for example.  It was not uncommon as we walked from one thing to another to hear four or five different languages, see everything from Bachelorette parties to families celebrating graduations to anniversaries or weddings to school groups to everything in between, all in one place. 

  This verse in Psalm 66 is an invitation to see all of God’s splendor, to see the richness of God’s creation in all of its forms.  For God is at work in this world, in the trees and mountains and lakes and deserts and in every form of living thing.  And as it says in Genesis 1:31, “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”  This God loves this creation so much God sent Jesus, God’s only Son, to save and redeem it and promises to be with it always.  You are a part of this creation, as is every other living thing.  May we look at each other, and all of creation as God does: as something precious.  May we take God’s invitation to come and see what God has done, to see God’s loving work and hand in all that is around us, to appreciate it, treasure it, savor it, and value it.  And may we always remember that God loves this creation, and loves us so much that God sent Jesus to it, and us, to redeem and save it. 

  May God be with you today and always. 

June 11, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Summer Fellowship Servers needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office if you are willing to serve fellowship on any Sunday June through August.

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, June 16^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s!

Vacation Bible School, July 14-18, 9 am till 2 pm for all 4 year olds through 6^th grade youth.  Led by Luther Park Bible Camp.  No Cost.  Games, Crafts, Music, Food, and more!  Friends welcome!  We appreciate your registering in advance!  See the attached form. 

VBS Snacks, Snack helpers needed!  See the sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you would like to help!

Baby Care Kits:  The Women of Trinity are collecting items for Baby Care Kits through June.  We are looking for, in sizes 6-24 months, sleepers or gowns, cotton t-shirts, light jackets, sweaters or hooded sweatshirts.  Receive blankets, dark colored hand towels, and baby socks.  We can also use onesies.  Items can be placed in the bins underneath the altar in the Narthex. 

Congregational Meeting, Sunday, July 27^th, 10 am to vote on the building of a new parsonage.

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 7^th, 9 am.  $50 per person, includes cart.  At Sioux Creek Golf Course in Chetek.  9 holes.  Prizes, Raffle, and fun to help Luther Park Bible Camp!  To register, email at info@lutherpark.org or talk to Pastor Brad. 

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  For the 22^nd time, I am sleeping in the same room in the Shalom Center at Luther Park Bible Camp as I spend this past week up there with some of our kids who are attending camp this summer (we have kids going other weeks as well this summer, though I can’t be there all week for them).  Actually, I’ve been in this room more than twenty-two times, but of my twenty-three years of ministry, I have stayed in the same room twenty-two of them.  The only year I did not stay in “my” room was last year when I was on sabbatical and did not come up to camp with our youth.  It was sad.  My room missed me.

  I’ve probably been in this room close to forty times between recharges, multiple stays at camp during the summer, and I even stayed in the room for other retreats.  The room is the room right next to the Men’s bathroom.  It is one of the smallest rooms in the Shalom Center and some say it is the warmest.  I picked it my very first visit to Luther Park in June of 2002, about five weeks before I became a pastor when I went up for three days with a group of kids in my first act as pastor of Trinity, even though I wasn’t yet a pastor.  I picked the room because it was so small, figuring that way no other person would try to room with me and I could have it by myself.  And the rest is history. 

  The room has changed over these twenty-three years.  It used to have two beds and now has one.  Those beds were twin beds and now it has a queen-sized bed (yeah me!).  Fun fact: this room is used as a bride’s room, and a few years ago I stayed in this room for a week of camp, moved out, and a bride moved in and I did that wedding that weekend!  It has many different end tables over the years, but the towel rack on the back of the door is the same.  Both windows used to open but now only one does.  It used to have brown colored paneling but now it is painted white and there are new pictures on the wall.  And every year I walk into this room, I swear the bed is in a different place in the room.

  Despite the changes, it is still my room.  It still has the same magic.  Camp has of course changed in the twenty-three years since I started going with our kids, and yet there is still the same magic.  The same Spirit permeates through everything.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still being proclaimed through holy play: in songs, skits, games, crafts, and more.  I see that faith being proclaimed through the counselors, year-round staff, and youth of all ages. And the kids that come are the same.  They still sing and dance (mostly).  They still are always hungry and love the food and complain about the food at the same time.  They engage with their counselors and meet new people and deal with people snoring in their cabins and the inconvenience of rain and get challenged in their faith. The programs change, new buildings are built, new stuff is there, but yet, the magic and joy of camp still endures.  Seeds of faith are planted in all who experience what camp has to offer.

  I was talking to a counselor earlier today who said they remembered me from a few years ago.  She remembered me playing my uke in worship and interacting with the kids and then coming into her high school Bible Study to do a Q&A with them.  She said it was a powerful experience and she remembered the tears that many shed has they shared their questions and heard me answer them and the faith conversations they had with me and then their counselor afterwards.  She said it was that experience that convinced her she would come back to camp as much as she could and here she was, serving on staff for the first time.  And I shared with her that being on staff was what was the catalyst for me becoming a pastor and even now renews me in faith, which is why I keep coming back.  Because camp plants seeds of faith in all of us. 

  You know, things change.  They don’t stay the same.  But the things that have true power, true meaning, keep that power and meaning despite the changes.  You can feel it.  I see it at Luther Park, I see it here at Trinity, and I bet you see it too at places in your life.  Places where love and faith are proclaimed, nurtured, valued, and cherished.  Take a moment to give thanks for those places in your life and to see God at work in them.  And take a moment to give thanks for places like Luther Park and Trinity, where we plant seeds of faith and where we nurture and support each other in faith even as we grow and change. 

  May God bless you today and always!