Trinity Lutheran Church

July 5^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Vacation Bible School July 13^th-17^th, 9 am till Noon, for all youth 4 years old through 6^th grade. Completely free!  Run by Luther Park Bible Camp.  See the attached registration form. Fill out and return to church so we know how many youth to expect.  Looking for snacks and snack helpers. See sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office to sign-up.

TACO’S FOR KIDS! Starting on July 7th, every Tuesday until August 18th, we are going to be doing Taco’s for Kids! We will be making 25 beef & cheese tacos and 25 beans and rice tacos every Tuesday for the youth of our community, along with some apple slices and cheese sticks, to hand out, as a way to provide some sustenance during summer when many of our youth don’t often have a reliable source of food. These are simple taco’s that provide a delicious snack to help our vulnerable youth. So what can you do? You can sign-up to come help put the taco’s together at 11 am on those Tuesday’s. If you want, you can even provide the Taco meat at home and bring it here for us to use it in the taco’s. Then, come help us hand it out from Noon to 2 pm over on Main Street by the library. Questions? See Pastor Brad or Heidi Kothrade and more importantly sign up in the Narthex or call the church office to sign-up.

Fellowship Servers needed for the summer!  Please sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you are willing to serve!

Lagers with the Lord, July 13^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

The Women of Trinity is currently updating the Service Groups.  Please share with the office any updated phone numbers.  Also, we are looking for volunteers to help call people to help serve for funerals.  Please contact Heidi Kothrade, Sandy Wheeler, or Deb Holmlund if you are willing to be a caller.   

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  As we celebrated the 250^th birthday of our nation yesterday, I couldn’t help but think throughout the day, in between naps (we had come back from Disneyland on a red eye flight that morning) of one of my favorite Presidential quotes of all time, spoken by President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”  It is a call to arms, to service, to pull together for the sake of the common good of our nation.  I remember first encountering this quote as a boy when I came across a book about Kennedy my parents owned in our basement library.  This quote has always stuck with me and some of that has to do with my parents, who emphasized to my sisters and I that it wasn’t enough to just do your job and then go home.  You had to use your gifts out in the community, to give back in whatever way you could, whether that be through the church or other organizations.  It was something that was expected, and despite their busy schedules, it was something they both did, modeling it for their children.  You were to be engaged in the world around you and if you could do something, you did. You didn’t worry about what you get out of it, your call was to serve in the way you could. 

  It is the reason I do the things I do in our community because I care about the community but also to answer that call and expectation.  And that call comes not only from how I was raised but from our God, to be involved in the world around us.  We are called to use our gifts in whatever ways we can and to try to make a positive difference.  Some of those ways are very visible and some aren’t.  A great example of the subtle ways people make differences is the member who stopped in recently to drop off some hamburger for our “Taco for Kids” program that starts this week.  They just came to make a donation to help out in a way that they could.  No fanfare, no nothing, this was just the way that they could help.  Same with the person who made a monetary donation for the program.  We have others who will be here on Tuesday for the first one, giving of their time, helping in their own way.   

   We often live in a world that wants to know what they are going to get out of something before they commit to it or they want to know the end result before they will give of their time.  But true service is being willing to say yes to the call to serve for the sake of others no matter what you may receive or even what the outcome might be.  It is answering the call to try to lift up the whole, to see a need and try and meet it.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but the reward isn’t in the outcome.  The reward is in serving something greater than yourself, in having a purpose that is bigger than you and knowing that you may have touched and helped the life of at least one person. 

  How can you touch or help the life of one person today?  Where is God calling you to use your gifts to serve to the best of your ability?  As it says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, ⁵ and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” I pray that you will discern how to use your gifts to not only serve this country, but your community, your church, and the wider world.  For in doing so, you might change someone’s life, even for one day.  And that is a blessing.  Speaking of blessing, may God bless you today and always!

June 21^st, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lagers with the Lord, June 22^nd, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Fellowship Servers needed for the summer!  Please sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you are willing to serve!

TACO’S FOR KIDS! Starting on July 7th, every Tuesday until August 17th, we are going to be doing Taco’s for Kids! We will be making 25 beef & cheese tacos and 25 beans and rice tacos every Tuesday for the youth of our community, along with some apple slices and cheese sticks, to hand out, as a way to provide some sustenance during summer when many of our youth don’t often have a reliable source of food. These are simple taco’s that provide a delicious snack to help our vulnerable youth. So what can you do? You can sign-up to come help put the taco’s together at 11 am on those Tuesday’s. If you want, you can even provide the Taco meat at home and bring it here for us to use it in the taco’s. Then, come help us hand it out from Noon to 2 pm over on Main Street by the library. Questions? See Pastor Brad or Heidi Kothrade and more importantly sign up in the Narthex or call the church office to sign-up.

The Women of Trinity is currently updating the Service Groups.  Please share with the office any updated phone numbers.  Also, we are looking for volunteers to help call people to help serve for funerals.  Please contact Heidi Kothrade, Sandy Wheeler, or Deb Holmlund if you are willing to be a caller.   

No Wednesday worship on July 1^st!

Women of Trinity will be highlighting baby care kits for the months of May and June. If you are going to garage sales this summer these are some of the items we need: size 6-24 months – sleepers or gowns, cotton t-shirts, light jackets, sweaters or hooded sweatshirts, receiving blankets, dark colored hand towels and baby socks. We can also use Onsies, we cut them off to make t-shirts. You can pick up a list of what is needed in the Narthex. Thank you for helping us help others!

Vacation Bible School July 13^th-17^th, 9 am till Noon, for all youth 4 years old through 6^th grade. Completely free!  Run by Luther Park Bible Camp.  See the attached registration form. Fill out and return to church so we know how many youth to expect.  Looking for snacks and snack helpers. See sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office to sign-up.

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  I’ve been thinking about my Dad a lot lately.  Maybe it is because I’m turning 50 or because today is Father’s Day, but he has been popping into my head a lot in recent weeks.  But not just things about him, but one of his favorite quotes, his “philosophy of life” if you will.  I’m going to share that a bit later, but it came back a major way as we drove through the middle on the night from Denver having left our Mission Trip early.

  We left early due to sickness.  Illness had hit our Mission Trip site hard, and we made difficult decision to leave early for the safety of the group.  There were no good choices, and we made the best decision we could. But as we drove through the night, I couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of grief.  Profound grief.  Grief over those youth and adults who were suffering from illness.  Grief over those in other groups were suffering.  Grief over the mission partners with Youthworks who would no longer get to have us, and the other church groups who had already left, come to do service for them and serve the people of Denver.  And huge grief for our kids who were missing out on the opportunity and experience of serving.  Grief at what could have been. 

  See, they had been SO GREAT.  It was shaping up to be one of the best Mission Trips in our history in terms of kids just getting it.  They had jumped in early, immediately bonding with the youth from other churches.  They had understand the assignment if you would and on the first full day all of the adults had reported that they had been amazing out serving.  In their sharing that night you could tell they were locked in.  My Crew, Mile High, which literally walked the streets of Denver on that first day engaging with the homeless, were stepping up in a huge way on Monday and on Tuesday they were super awesome as they played games with residents in a long-term care facility and were pumped to lead them in a party for Thursday.  Even those that had some harder conditions on Tuesday reported great morale and a sense of purpose.  They were looking forward to service, not dreading it.  It is what I, as a trip leader on these things, dream of.  Then the sickness hit and a few hours later, we were gone. 

   And that was why I was full of grief.  Mission Trips transform lives, not just in terms of the people we serve, but the lives of those who are doing the serving.  They learn about themselves and they see God in action in and through them.  They see that faith means something in a powerful way.  They watch as hope makes a real difference, a hope that comes through Jesus Christ.  And they could start to see that happening.  And it was easy, so very easy, as we drove away, to only think about what we had lost.  What we were not going to experience anymore. 

  And then I thought about my Dad.  And I thought about these words he carried around in his wallet: “This is the beginning of a new day.  I have been given this day to use as I will.  I will use it for good, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.  When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it.  I want it to be gain, and not loss; good, and not evil; success, and not failure; in order that I shall rejoice in the price that I paid for it.”

  Yes, our days were short.  But the trip was  not a failure.  These kids touched lives, however briefly.  And they were touched and impacted.  I guarantee that everyone in my group will never forget Daniel’s story, one of the workers at Denver Dream Center.  I know that many will not forget the feeling of God’s awesomeness as we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park.  These kids know, however brief, that God was at work in and through them in Denver.  They traded a few days in Denver and those days were successes and that is all that matters.  Not how it ended but what they did with the days they had.  I will forever be incredibly proud of them, each of them, not only in how they served but also in how they handled the adversity at the end.  I will be immensely grateful for the leadership of our adult leaders and their partnership as we had to make hard choices.  I am thankful for the healing of our Savior Jesus Christ who watched over us on our drive back and who healed those in our group and watched over them. 

  It is easy to wonder what might have been.  But I am grateful for what was and will cherish that time and all these servants of the Lord that answered the call.  My prayer is that, in time, our focus will be less on the ending and instead on the memories of what we did while we were there.  I’m thinking of Vicky’s eyes at the nursing home when she really liked something or Jerry kicking our butts at Uno.  I’m thinking of hearing Zach’s story as we walked the streets or praying with Gerald on the street corner.  I’m thinking of my whole van having Del Taco after showers or the crew going to Dutch Brothers for drinks and the stories of the kids as they came back from their service and Lydia and LillyAnn leading YeaGod’s during the Gathering and playing Hacky Sack with the boys and doing Church Clap with the girls and Christina forgetting to put our lunches in our cooler and me giving Lenny a big hug when I wasn’t supposed to.  And my heart rejoices and I give thanks to God.  Because, in the end, it is those memories that really matter the most and I hope they will matter the most to our kids. 

  May God bless you today and always. 

Picture of the Day

June 8^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fellowship Servers needed for the summer!  Please sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you are willing to serve!

Please pray for our 19 youth and 8 chaperones heading for Denver Saturday for a week on their Mission Trip!

TACO’S FOR KIDS! Starting on July 7th, every Tuesday until August 18th, we are going to be doing Taco’s for Kids! We will be making 25 beef & cheese tacos and 25 beans and rice tacos every Tuesday for the youth of our community, along with some apple slices and cheese sticks, to hand out, as a way to provide some sustenance during summer when many of our youth don’t often have a reliable source of food. These are simple taco’s that provide a delicious snack to help our vulnerable youth. So what can you do? You can sign-up to come help put the taco’s together at 11 am on those Tuesday’s. If you want, you can even provide the Taco meat at home and bring it here for us to use it in the taco’s. Then, come help us hand it out from Noon to 2 pm over on Main Street by the library. Questions? See Pastor Brad or Heidi Kothrade and more importantly sign up in the Narthex or call the church office to sign-up.

Lagers with the Lord, June 22^nd, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Women of Trinity will be highlighting baby care kits for the months of May and June. If you are going to garage sales this summer these are some of the items we need: size 6-24 months – sleepers or gowns, cotton t-shirts, light jackets, sweaters or hooded sweatshirts, receiving blankets, dark colored hand towels and baby socks. We can also use Onsies, we cut them off to make t-shirts. You can pick up a list of what is needed in the Narthex. Thank you for helping us help others!

Vacation Bible School July 13^th-17^th, 9 am till Noon, for all youth 4 years old through 6^th grade. Completely free!  Run by Luther Park Bible Camp.  See the attached registration form. Fill out and return to church so we know how many youth to expect.  Looking for snacks and snack helpers. See sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office to sign-up.

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  It looked like it was over.  Completely over.  And why wouldn’t we think it wasn’t done?  Eight straight losses at home, lost nine of our last ten games.  Down 6-3 in the 9^th inning, my nephew and I looked at each other as we sat in the left field bleachers of Wrigley Field at our annual Cubs game assuming another depressing Cubs loss.  We had enjoyed a beautiful night, shared drinks, had laughs, and I had a eaten the Holy Trinty of sausages (hot dog, Italian, Polish), so the night wasn’t a complete waste.  But a Cubs win and singing the song (“Go Cubs Go”) didn’t seem to be in the cards.  Oh well. 

  And then a miracle happened.  Hit after hit.  Suddenly a team that seemed almost afraid to get a hit with runners in scoring position, and with the worst hitters in doing that up at that plate, started to do it.  We got some help with an error.  And the immortal PCA stepped up, him who had we had literally watched 20 feet from us lose a ball in the lights for a two run inside the park home run, step up to the plate and deliver the winning hit.  Suddenly we were jumping up and down like school kids, singing the song at the top of our lungs as the “W” flag was flown at the top of the scoreboard.  7-6, Cubs win!  One of the best games I ever seen at Wrigley in all of my years (and I’ve been 49 years). 

   The game had everything.  Incredible mistakes.  Redemption.  Comeback.  Some good luck.  It reminded me of life.  Baseball does that.  Sometimes all seems lost and then the incredible happens.  You dust yourself off, you keep going, and things turn around.  In one moment, you are getting the booed, then next, cheered.  You keep doing your best even in the most difficult of odds.  You keep having faith even when faith is at its lowest. 

  My Dad taught me that you never leave a game early.  For one, you never know what great play you might miss. You never know what cool thing you could see.  You never know, if your team is losing, what comeback you could see.  But also, you don’t get to go to those games to often and you should appreciate and enjoy them.  We went to one a year, maybe two if we were lucky.  So we soaked in every moment.  I go to one a year now, maybe two.  I never leave early, ever.  I want to appreciate every moment.  When I started taking my nephew he was in elementary school.  Now he is just finished his first year as a teacher and actually bought ME a drink!  Life is full of ups and downs, blessings and woes, but the key is we just keep the faith and we keep going.  Because you never know what might come your way, what blessing God might put in your path, what miracle you might witness, what thing you get to experience that will change your life, what thing you think is a loss that turns into a win.

  God works in mysterious ways.  Right now, maybe in your life things seem like you are losing.  That it is the bottom of the 9^th and you are down multiple runs and it doesn’t look good.  Don’t leave the game early and don’t give up.  Keep playing.  You never know.  At the same time, if things are going great and you are 3-4 with a couple of hits and a homer, appreciate it.  Remember that the blessings of this life come from a loving Savior who is with you every day.  For whether we feel like we are winning or whether we are losing, we have a Savior in Jesus Christ who is walking with us in every moment and reminding us that we are beloved children of God.  And you never know what is going to happen on the next pitch.

  May God bless you today and always.  

June 1st, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fellowship Servers needed for the summer!  Please sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you are willing to serve! WE HAVE NO FELLOWSHIP SERVERS FOR THIS SUNDAY OR NEXT SUNDAY!

Summer Office Hours begin this week, so the office is now closed on Friday’s. 

Help us pack up the Savers U-Haul on Thursday, June 4^th, at 9 am!

Women of Trinity Spring/Summer Gathering this Saturday, June 6^th, 9 am.  Teresa Pejsa is the guest speaker.  All women are invited!

TACO’S FOR KIDS! Starting on July 7th, every Tuesday until August 18th, we are going to be doing Taco’s for Kids! We will be making 25 beef & cheese tacos and 25 beans and rice tacos every Tuesday for the youth of our community, along with some apple slices and cheese sticks, to hand out, as a way to provide some sustenance during summer when many of our youth don’t often have a reliable source of food. These are simple taco’s that provide a delicious snack to help our vulnerable youth. So what can you do? You can sign-up to come help put the taco’s together at 11 am on those Tuesday’s. If you want, you can even provide the Taco meat at home and bring it here for us to use it in the taco’s. Then, come help us hand it out from Noon to 2 pm over on Main Street by the library. Questions? See Pastor Brad or Heidi Kothrade and more importantly sign up in the Narthex!

Women of Trinity will be highlighting baby care kits for the months of May and June. If you are going to garage sales this summer these are some of the items we need: size 6-24 months – sleepers or gowns, cotton t-shirts, light jackets, sweaters or hooded sweatshirts, receiving blankets, dark colored hand towels and baby socks. We can also use Onsies, we cut them off to make t-shirts. You can pick up a list of what is needed in the Narthex. Thank you for helping us help others!

We are looking for donations for the Mission Trip. We are looking for travel size toiletry items, hand sanitiz ers, plastic cutlery, chalk, and food bags. Please bring them to the church by June 10th.

Vacation Bible School July 13^th-17^th, 9 am till Noon, for all youth 4 years old through 6^th grade. Completely free!  Run by Luther Park Bible Camp.  See the attached registration form. Fill out and return to church so we know how many youth to expect.  Looking for snacks and snack helpers. See sign-up in the Narthex. 

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  I was thinking about community the other day.  I thought about it in a big sense as we stood there on Memorial Day at the cemetery, celebrating the honored dead who gave their lives for our country, coming together as the young and the old, all together to give thanks for their sacrifice for our country.  And when we think of community, we often think of it in that larger sense, like in that kind of gathering, or when we gather in our larger church community for a funeral or a celebration like our Raise the Roof fundraiser. 

  But I also started to think about the little communities that often form in the midst of us, the ones that are just as important.  This hit me as I came to give some grief to our card club group this past Thursday or as I watched our quilting group lead middle schoolers as part of their service learning day on Tuesday.  Those are smaller communities.  They care for each other, check in on each other, bond with each other.

  I think of the small community that will form when our kids go to Luther Park Bible Camp next week.  This will be an important new community for them.  They will leave their electronic devices at home and form their own communities in their cabins. They will get a chance to break out from the way they are perceived in school, learn different things about themselves and each other even when they are with people from their school, and they will get a chance to meet others and be inspired by different leaders like their counselors.  They will be challenged by being away from home, away from devices that like to tell them who they should be and what they should be.  They will get to instead explore what God has to say, try some new things, and get some seeds of faith planted that may not show fruit till later in life.  They will form their own community that will be unique and special in their time together.  The same thing will happen the next week with our high school students on their Mission Trip as well.

  I think of the sense of community that happens when we serve together.  It is one of the reasons we don’t have dishwashers here at Trinity.  There is a bond that forms when you wash dishes with someone, a way you can get to know someone as you start talking when making or serving a meal.  We want to act as community this summer in providing taco’s for needy kids starting in July.  In summer, so many of our youth don’t have food security.  School is the place where they can count on getting meals.  This is a way for us to provide a little something to them, once a week in the summer.  But it also a way for us to not only provide something for our most vulnerable but to foster community amongst us.  Are you willing to come join a community ready to help others?  Sign-up to serve, put a smile on a child’s face, and maybe meet someone new as you make a taco.

  Because in the end, that is one of the cool things about a lot of the things we do at church.  Whether it is the Women’s Gathering on Saturday, serving VBS snacks in July, the Taco’s for Kids, or even as I watched a group of adults taking care of Saver’s items on Saturday, small communities were forming.  Communities of mutual support, connected by shared faith and purpose.  I’m about to enter into another community with Bible Study where we spend 30 minutes talking about life and being there for each other and the other 30 minutes talking about the Bible (mostly).  You are welcome to join us at anytime because we all need community.

  For community is a gift from God, wherever and however it is.  May the Lord bless you in whatever community you find yourself in and I hope you might feel the pull of the Spirit to be part of one of the many here at Trinity.  May God bless you today and always! 

May 24^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Memorial Day Prayer Service, Monday, May 25^th, 11:45 am at Tiffany Cemetery in Boyceville

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

Fellowship Servers needed for the summer!  Please sign-up in the Narthex or call the office if you are willing to serve!

The next Savers FUNdrive collection will be during the whole month of May, so start cleaning out the closets and SAVE IT, BAG IT, AND THEN BRING IT to Trinity Lutheran Church any Saturday in May! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Peggy Schutz – 715-556-2247. *No large items and no black bags this year*. Please pull around to the back of the church. 

Women of Trinity will be highlighting baby care kits for the months of May and June. If you are going to garage sales this summer these are some of the items we need: size 6-24 months – sleepers or gowns, cotton t-shirts, light jackets, sweaters or hooded sweatshirts, receiving blankets, dark colored hand towels and baby socks. We can also use Onsies, we cut them off to make t-shirts. You can pick up a list of what is needed in the Narthex. Thank you for helping us help others!

We are looking for donations for the Mission Trip. We are looking for travel size toiletry items, hand sanitiz ers, plastic cutlery, chalk, and food bags. Please bring them to the church by June 10th.

Vacation Bible School July 13^th-17^th, 9 am till Noon, for all youth 4 years old through 6^th grade. Completely free!  Run by Luther Park Bible Camp.  See the attached registration form. Fill out and return to church so we know how many youth to expect.  Looking for snacks and snack helpers. See sign-up in the Narthex. 

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day in which we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, and also the day in which celebrate the beginning of the Christian church.  After all, it is the Holy Spirit that calls us together into this thing called the church, a collection of human beings that gather together to worship and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.  As you have heard me say about a thousand times, the church is not just a building, it is a people joined together, and the church is bigger than just Trinity, it encapsulates all of us who share this faith in Jesus Christ scattered throughout the world.  But that can be too big for our brains at time and I know when we often talk about church, we talk about our local context and even our local physical structures, and that is fine, even if it does limit us.

  But you know what really limits us?  How we sometimes view this thing called church. We so often expect the church to be perfect and the people inside of it to be perfect.  We think the church is to be some sort of perfect place, filled with perfect people, who always make the right decision and act the right way.  We say things like, “Oh, they go to church.  They are going to do this and act like this and be like this.” But that can’t be further from the truth.  The church is not a place for saints.  It is a place for sinners who need redeeming.  For we all fall short of the glory of God.  The church is a collection of people in need of redemption, who are trying to do their best and they sometimes fail.  It is an institution in some regard doing their best who sometimes fails.  It can be messy because it is filled with humans beings.  And we need to remember that.

  For when we do, when we remember that this thing called the church is filled with messy human beings who are connected not because they are perfect but because they are messy, who need the grace of God, we can see the beauty of the church.  We see the beauty of imperfect people who are made new by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, of imperfect people coming together to worship in thankfulness and praise to the one who has given them new life; of imperfect people joining together to make a difference in the life of others.  That is the church.  That is us.

  As we gather today to celebrate the birthday of the church, let us remember that the Spirit is moving in and through us.  We are not perfect.  But we are not meant to me.  What we are meant to be is a place and a people where Jesus is proclaimed, people can use their gifts for the sake of the neighbor, people can be there for each other, and we can be reminded that God calls all sorts of messy people hear the good news of Jesus Christ for them.  May God bless you today and always!

TRINITY TIDINGS

May 17^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next Savers FUNdrive collection will be during the whole month of May, so start cleaning out the closets and SAVE IT, BAG IT, AND THEN BRING IT to Trinity Lutheran Church any Saturday in May! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Peggy Schutz – 715-556-2247. *No large items and no black bags this year*. Please pull around to the back of the church. 

Baccalaureate Service on Sunday, May 17^th, 6 pm at the Boyceville Gymatorium

Memorial Day Prayer Service, Monday, May 25^th, 11:45 am at Tiffany Cemetery in Boyceville

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

Vacation Bible School July 13^th-17^th, 9 am till Noon, for all youth 4 years old through 6^th grade. Completely free!  Run by Luther Park Bible Camp.  See the attached registration form. Fill out and return to church so we know how many youth to expect.  Looking for snacks and snack helpers. See sign-up in the Narthex. 

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

   On Monday of this week we gathered at Buckshot’s for “Lagers with the Lord” and our “Ask PB Anything” session.  It was a great time with some great questions and I thank everyone that came and asked some wonderful and insightful questions.  But one that has stuck with me was this: “What song would be your walk up song before a sermon?”  Now, that was a very difficult question in the moment, and in the moment, I gave three possibilities.  I gave these three songs:

1.     “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

2.     “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince (was specifically thinking of the beginning)

3.     “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, specifically thinking of deep into the song when the drums come in. 

  Someone commented that they were surprised I didn’t choose something from Star Wars, but frankly that is more of a walk-in to church song (we are going to get to that in a minute), but now that I have had a chance to think about this question over a few days, I would like to add some more possibilities.  Again, this is the kind of stuff that can consume my brain when I try to sleep. Number 1 rule: I chose no blatantly Christian music type songs.  No hymns.  That is no fun.  Here you go. 

1.     “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys.  How this one did not come immediately to mind I’m frankly ashamed of.  This would be my walk up song if I was a professional baseball player.  I play this song to hype myself up all the time. 

2.     “Jump” by Van Halen.  This was the run out music for the 1984 Chicago Cubs and still gets me hyped every time.  So I would love it right before I preached.

3.     “Walk this Way” RunDMC featuring Aerosmith.  You get the best of both worlds here with the beat and get the great Aerosmith guitars. 

4.     “Shout” by the Isley Brothers.  Another just great hype up song. Just a tremendous way to get going.  Plus has a Gospel flare. 

 Now, let’s talk about walk in to church songs.  So, imagine worship is about to start and the doors are going to open and I’m going to walk in.  Here is my top 5.

1.     “Main Title” Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope, John Williams.   I mean, come on, there is only one choice here.  Just one.  I’m no Sith Lord, so there was not going to be the “Imperial March” chosen. 

2.     “Sweet Child O’Mine” by Guns N’ Roses.  One of my favorite guitar riffs of all time.  Plus, it is a long intro, so plenty of time to get down the aisle.  A classic of the hair metal era (one of my favorites), just a really great song. 

3.     “Circle of Life” Carmen Twille, from the Lion King.  Cliché?  Yes.  But that opening cry just really works as the doors open.  Very spiritual sounding, dramatic, fulfills a Disney requirement here as well. 

4.     “Partyman” by Prince from the Batman soundtrack.  Has a great opening line from the movie, “Gentlemen, let’s broaden our minds.”  Plus, isn’t Jesus a partyman?  There is nothing like hearing your sins are forgiven to start a party. 

5.     “Duel of the Fates” from Episode I, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. John Williams.  Just a banger.  An absolute banger.  Love that choir.  Totally would get us hyped up for the start of worship. Plus it would make me think of one of the greatest lightsaber duels in all of Star Wars, which is always a plus. 

Honorable mention: “We’re All in This Together” from High School Musical.  A fun upbeat song that reminds us that we are all together, even though we are different, which is a great message for the church in general.

So there it is.  What would be your choices (again, no obvious actual church songs)?  Drop me your suggestions! I hope you have a great week and remember this: God loves you every day and is strengthening you in faith, hope, and love!  

May 10^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Happy Mother’s Day!

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, May 11^th , 6 pm at Buckshot’s  It will be an “Ask the Pastor Anything” session. There will be pieces of paper you can write questions down and PB will answer them!  All are welcome!

The next Savers FUNdrive collection will be during the whole month of May, so start cleaning out the closets and SAVE IT, BAG IT, AND THEN BRING IT to Trinity Lutheran Church any Saturday in May! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Peggy Schutz – 715-556-2247. *No large items and no black bags this year*. Please pull around to the back of the church. 

Graduate Recognition Service is on Sunday, May 17^th, 9 am

Baccalaureate Service on Sunday, May 17^th, 6 pm at the Boyceville Gymatorium

Memorial Day Prayer Service, Monday, May 25^th, 11:45 am at Tiffany Cemetery in Boyceville

Looking for mowers!  See the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to mow the church lawn this spring and summer!

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  The other day I was emptying our dishwasher and putting dishes away in our kitchen when I glass slipped through my fingers and as I watched that glass head towards the floor I thought to myself, “Well, that’s going to break.”  You just get that sinking feeling in your stomach in that split second as it descends to the floor and think to yourself, “I’m are going to have shards I’m going to have to pick up and, because of our ever present dogs, I’m going to have to make sure our dogs aren’t going to step onto the shards and cut themselves, resulting in a trip the vet. Plus, Amy might kill me for breaking this glass.”  All this is going on in my head as that glass hurtles towards the floor when it SMACKS onto the floor.  And then: nothing,  It doesn’t shatter.  No breakage.  Not even a crack. Totally fine.  And total relief by me.  Thank you Jesus.  That glass was more resilient than I thought.

  It made me think about ourselves.  Sometimes we think are more fragile than we are, that we can’t handle the things that life throws at us, that we are just going to break and all apart.  I know I can feel this way.  I sometimes look at my schedule and the things I have going on and think, “Well, I’m going to crumble like cookie by the end of this week.”  And then five other things happen and yet somehow I make it through.  We have more strength and resilience than we think because we don’t go through all these things on our own.  We have a Savior who walks with us, a Messiah who bears our burdens and lifts us up, even when we don’t realize it.  We also just might be tougher than we think. 

   But too often we give up before we even get started.  Too often we see the road ahead and just lay down.  We think of ourselves as that glass that was hurtling toward the floor.  Of course we will break.  Yet, trust in yourself.  Trust in your Savior Jesus Christ who walks with you, loves you, saves you, and strengthens you.  You are stronger than you think.  With Jesus besides us, we can get through anything.  You might hit the floor and just might not break like you think.  For the Lord is there for you today, tomorrow, and every single day.  For remember this promise, “I am with you always till the end of the age.” May you remember every day that your Savior Jesus Christ is with you and because of that, you always have hope.  For when you feel weak, Jesus is there to make you strong.

  May God bless you today and always! 

April 29^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Men’s Band Concert Sunday, May 3^rd, 9 am

Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 3^rd, 10 am till 11:30 am Smelt, Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Tater Tots, Cole Slaw, Chips, Dessert, Beverage.  Served by the Trinity Men to benefit the Trinity Parsonage Project.  MEN WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SERVE THIS MEAL!  COME AT 9 AM TO HELP!

The next Savers FUNdrive collection will be during the whole month of May, so start cleaning out the closets and SAVE IT, BAG IT, AND THEN BRING IT to Trinity Lutheran Church any Saturday in May! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Peggy Schutz – 715-556-2247. *No large items and no black bags this year*

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, May 11^th , 6 pm at Buckshot’s  It will be an “Ask the Pastor Anything” session. There will be pieces of paper you can write questions down and PB will answer them!  All are welcome!

Graduate Recognition Service is on Sunday, May 17^th, 9 am

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Consistency is something we strive for in life.  Well, at least I try to.  I know to keep myself healthy I have to consistently work out, so at least five days a week I need to do some sort of work out.  In my preaching, I hope to be consistently average.  I know that not every sermon is going to be a home run, but I hope to not strike out too often (you can be the judge). And I’m really working on being a consistently average golfer.  I just want to consistently hit in the ball well, even if it doesn’t go where I want it to go every time, if I make good contact on a consistent basis, I feel confident that I will work the rest out.  One thing I’ve gotten better at in the last year is hitting consistently better putts.  They don’t always go in, but I’m close to the hole consistently and the other day they were dropping, which was nice! 

  Our Simply Giving program is about giving you, and the church, consistency in your financial giving to Trinity.  It allows you to never worry about your giving because it comes out directly from your bank account and isn’t contingent upon whether you are here physically for church or not.  This is great as we come upon summer when many people are gone on vacation or there cabins.  Or, if you are a parent or grandparent that spends many weekends with your children in gyms or at baseball or softball diamonds watching their athletic contests.  Simply Giving helps you to support the ministry of this congregation on a consistent basis even when you can’t consistently be here.  Even better, it gives us a consistent source of revenue that we can count on that helps smooth out the ups and downs of our finances.

  And now, we have an even better reason to join Simply Giving or modify it if you are currently using it, and that is the new parsonage that we are currently building.  You can giving regularly to the parsonage fund through Simply Giving and make a consistent contribution to this endeavor. You don’t have to wait for our next fundraising event or a reminder.  You can help on a consistent basis through Simply Giving.

  Simply Giving is incredibly easy.  Fill out the form that is attached to this email and send it into the church. You can cancel or modify it at any time.  I use Simply Giving for my giving at Trinity and always have because it is the best, most efficient, and consistent way I know how to give to our ministry.  I hope you will join me in being a consistent giver and supporter of our ministry.  If you have any question, don’t hesitate to call the church office at 715-643-3821.  Thank you for your contributions to Trinity and may God bless you today and always!  

April 19^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Crew is Wednesday, April 22^nd  3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3^rd-6^th graders.  Last one till September!

Calling volunteers of all ages to help collect items for our Savers FUNdrive!! The Dunn County Humane Society has invited our church to assist in packing soft goods for the first of two Savers FUNdrives in 2026, following their Rummage & Bake sale on Saturday, April 25th at 4:00 p.m. at the Dunn County Fair Grounds in the Fanetti Center. Volunteers of all ages are encouraged to sign up on the sheet in the narthex and can also help load the U-Haul on delivery day, on Wednesday, April 29th, 9:00a.m. at the church.

The next Savers FUNdrive collection will be during the whole month of May, so start cleaning out the closets and SAVE IT, BAG IT, AND THEN BRING IT to Trinity Lutheran Church any Saturday in May! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Peggy Schutz – 715-556-2247. *No large items and no black bags this year*

Men’s Band Concert Sunday, May 3^rd, 9 am

Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 3^rd, 10 am till 11:30 am Smelt, Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Tater Tots, Cole Slaw, Chips, Dessert, Beverage.  Served by the Trinity Men to benefit the Trinity Parsonage Project. 

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, May 11^th , 6 pm at Buckshot’s

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

“For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” Acts 2:39

  We have a lot of dog toys.  Why?  Because we spoil our dogs. But there is a phenomenon that happens with our dogs and the toys, specifically with Baxter.  When Daphne starts to play with a specific toy, Baxter will then take that toy away from her.  Even if he has his favorite toy near him, or twenty other toys around him, he will go and try to take that toy away.  And then at some point, Daphne will try to take the toy back.  Then they will fight over it.  Daphne will get it, and then Baxter will take it, and the cycle will continue.  It is like Baxter can’t share the toys, even though there are plenty of toys to go around.

  Sometimes we act like Baxter and the dog toys when it comes to God’s grace in Jesus Christ.  We put barriers up to it, thinking that it only belongs to us, or to those we think “deserve” it.  We put walls up, hoops to jump through, or pass judgement on who is worthy and who isn’t.  But judgement belongs to God, and as it says here in Acts, in which Peter is speaking on Pentecost, reminds us that the promise is for all of us.  My favorite part of this verse is that phrase, “and for all who are far away.”  It is a reminder that the promise of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ is dependent on who God calls.  Not on who we call or who we determine.  And some of us might be far away. Not because of distance, but because of sin.  Because of so many things. 

  But the church is a place not for saints but for sinners to hear again the promise of eternal life of Jesus.  To hear that call to return, to hear that promise again and again that our sins are forgiven, that we are loved, and that we are saved by grace through faith.  That promise is for all of us, every single one, no matter what.  And it is God who decides, not us.  We don’t rip that promise away, not ever. 

  Baxter might not be the best at sharing the dog toys, but God is the one who sends out the promise of eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ.  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Judgement belongs to God and not to us.  May we share the promise and hope of Jesus Christ to all, no matter what, and leave the rest in God’s hands, where it belongs.  And may we trust in that promise that gives life to us and be joyful that the promise is there for all. 

  May God bless you today and always!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lagers with the Lord, Monday, April 13^th , 6 pm at Buckshot’s

The Crew is Wednesday, April 22^nd  3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3^rd-6^th graders.  Last one till September!

Calling volunteers of all ages to help collect items for our Savers FUNdrive!! The Dunn County Humane Society has invited our church to assist in packing soft goods for the first of two Savers FUNdrives in 2026, following their Rummage & Bake sale on Saturday, April 25th at 4:00 p.m. at the Dunn County Fair Grounds in the Fanetti Center. Volunteers of all ages are encouraged to sign up on the sheet in the narthex and can also help load the U-Haul on delivery day, on Wednesday, April 29th, 9:00a.m. at the church.

The next Savers FUNdrive collection will be during the whole month of May, so start cleaning out the closets and SAVE IT, BAG IT, AND THEN BRING IT to Trinity Lutheran Church any Saturday in May! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Peggy Schutz – 715-556-2247. *No large items and no black bags this year*

Men’s Band Concert Sunday, May 3^rd, 9 am

Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 3^rd, 10 am till 11:30 am Smelt, Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Tater Tots, Cole Slaw, Chips, Dessert, Beverage.  Served by the Trinity Men to benefit the Trinity Parsonage Project. 

You can use Venmo to make your gift to Trinity!  You can find us using: @TrinityLutheranBoyceville. If it asks you for a phone number, use 1349

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  On Saturday, a man over 80 years old teamed up with a group of little girls to pick out what a 49-year-old man would have painted on his face after a room full of people of all ages had collected money to make sure that would happen.  Now, that is one heck of a sentence.  But it is true, and that is what happened at the Raise the Roof Fundraiser yesterday.  Bob Bird, the over 80 year old man, wanted to know what it would take to get me to paint my face as he was working the kid area of the fundraiser and was watching the face painting.  I believe he initially thought it would be like 50 bucks.  Me being me, I thought we could take it bigger and went to the organizers and asked what if we made it a little bigger (and after getting approval from my wife), our organizers got the little girls to go around collecting money to get my face painted if they raised $250.  They got $278.  Bob got to choose, but being the man he is, he used the input from the girls to choose what was going to go on my face.  They then watched together in glee (both Bob and the girls) as said face was painted.  Let’s say the reaction of everyone in the room was spectacular and my wife banned me from the parsonage until I cleaned it off and could barely stand next to me later (picture to come below). 

  But it was emblematic of the day.  People of all ages coming together for shared purpose and mission.  And that purpose and mission was raising money for our new church parsonage.  It was a great day and all of the credit goes to our incredible planning team that did such an amazing job.  They really put together an amazing event and all the credit belongs to them.  We also had an amazing group of volunteers of all ages helping out which made things run so smoothly.  My friend Mara attended was just amazed at everything that was going on.  And, of course, the amazing generosity of everyone present, from those that donated items to those who bought tickets or wrote down bids for Silent Auction items.  The generosity of spirit in the room, the conversations that were being had, it was really amazing.  It was the church in action, people coming together.

  I felt the same thing on Easter Sunday as people of all ages were helping during the Easter services, whether it was playing music, carrying in items during the processional, or just being together as our sanctuary was overflowing (literally).  People of all ages coming together for common worship, giving thanks and praise to the resurrected Lord, using their gifts and talents together in praise of God who has saved and redeemed us.  And on Saturday, people of all ages coming together for common purpose, using their gifts and talents in praise of God for common purpose, to serve the Lord.  It is the best of us and what makes us church.

  Saturday we raised around $23,000 for our new parsonage.  That is absolutely amazing.  But the most amazing thing of all wasn’t the dollar amount raised.  The most amazing thing of all was that we came together to do a thing as the church.  All of us.  Our community came together, all parts of us.  That is a blessing that we should be grateful and thankful for and not ever take for granted.  Just being together, in that room, being the body of Christ together, is a gift.  Even if it some of it included laughing at a soon to be 50-year-old man with Minnie Mouse painted on his face because of an idea from an over 80-year-old man assisted by elementary aged girls.  God works in amazing ways. 

  May God bless you today and always!

PICTURES OF THE DAY

 PB getting his face painted as Bob looks on

 The final product.  Bob with PB