Trinity Lutheran Church

September 27, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lutheran World Relief Pack out Day is Wednesday, Sept 30th at 9 am. Come help us fill the boxes with all the wonderful supplies you have all donated throughout the year! It’s a fun assembly line and snacks/lunch to follow!

The Crew is on September 30^th for all 3^rd-6^th grade youth from 3:30 pm till 5 pm!  Snack, Game, Faith Time, and Music.  All are welcome!  Want to help?  We appreciate having adults help in the kitchen and provide extra supervision during group time.  Just talk to PB if you would like to help!

Deadline to sign-up for our summer Youth Summer Trips in 2027 is Sunday, October 4th. We have the opportunity to go on two trips. The Youth Gathering in Minneapolis is June 28-July 2, 2027 and/or a mission trip to Logan County, West Virginia on July 17-23, 2027. All high school youth welcome.

 Where is Pastor Brad? Reminder that Pastor Brad now walks over from the new parsonage to the office so his car most likely is not parked at the church anymore. Just stop into the church to see if he is there if you need him! (Someday there might be a sign from his office letting you know that he is there).

Get Your Trinity Umbrella!  The Women of Trinity are selling Trinity Umbrella’s for $20 with all proceeds going to the Parsonage Fund.  Pick them up at the church.  

Lagers with the Lord Monday, October 19, 6 pm at Buckshot’s. It will be Ask PB anything, so bring your questions!

Outdoor Worship service and Blessing of the Animals Sunday, October 11^th, 9 am  Sit in your lawn chair or in your car. 

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 in worship we are going to bless the quilts and it is always super fun to see people when they come into the sanctuary and see it awash in color and pattern as every pew is covered in quilt, the result of the hard work of our amazing quilting group that meets every Tuesday morning here at the church. And I want to take a moment to talk about this group of ladies.  After all, I’m often mentioned in their little corner of the newsletter and they just made an effigy of me for their float in the Pickle Fest parade this year. 

  The quilting group is nothing short of amazing and frankly always has been.  When I arrived here in 2002, they were like my Mom’s and Grandma’s, helping to guide a young man who had no idea what he was doing and giving sage advice.  They were often the group I approached about an idea to see if it went to far, to test out things.  And though many of them now could still be my Mom or Grandma, they are more like a group of crazy Aunt’s.  I still run things by them, but if they get really enthusiastic about it, I realize that the idea IS probably too far and too crazy! The stories I have about them now are legendary and make my pastoral colleagues shake their heads. But that is what makes them awesome.  The thing that has never changed in this group is their commitment to the church and to helping others through quilting.

  And like quilts, they are varied and diverse. Some of them have been part of this congregation their whole lives. Some of them have been sewing forever. Others are recent additions to our congregation and have limited experience sewing or quilting.  But everyone has a place and a job and contributes.  They have others that don’t come on Tuesday that help make quilt squares and tops and others who contribute fabric and yarn.  They even let a 50-year old pastor come in and tie strings from time to time in between times of harassment.  They open up their time to help teach kids about quilting from the Middle School every year on their service project day and contributed quilts to let college kids do the same and even led a congregation-wide quilting session during a Cross-Generational worship experience.  They contribute to all of our special events, make quilts for fire victims and hospital patients, baptisms and confirmations, Luther Park Bible Camp, and everything else in between (including two quilts for my dogs!) and make these quilts that we will bless on Sunday that will get sent around the world that will bring warmth and comfort to perfect strangers.  And they do it with laughter, joy, faith, and love. 

  Every week I am grateful for them and what they bring to our ministry to Trinity and to me personally.  They are another example of what makes the church a great place.  People of varied backgrounds and experience gathered together in community in common purpose and faith making a difference in the lives of others.  Because they make a difference.  To each other, to Trinity, to Boyceville, and to me, and to the wider world, even if they don’t realize it all the time.

  If you have ever thought about joining them, do.  Or, if you have thought about getting involved in any group at Trinity, do so. You won’t regret it.  Or, if you want to help them out in some way, stop in and talk to one of them and they can tell you how you can contribute to the cause.  Most of all, give thanks for this group of faithful women who use their time, talents, and treasure for the sake of the Gospel and the neighbor.  And say a small prayer for me, because any day they are going to bulldoze the wall to my office to make more room for themselves!

  May God bless you this day and always! 

PICTURE OF THE DAY!

September 20, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lutheran World Relief Pack out Day is Wednesday, Sept 30th at 9 am. Come help us fill the boxes with all the wonderful supplies you have all donated throughout the year! It’s a fun assembly line and snacks/lunch to follow!

Youth Summer Trips for 2027 Informational Meeting will be TODAY, September 20th at 10am. We have the opportunity to go on two trips. The Youth Gathering in Minneapolis is June 28-July 2, 2027 and/or a mis sion trip to Logan County, West Virginia on July 17-23, 2027. All high school youth welcome. More info at the meeting. Deadline to sign up is October 4th. Where is Pastor Brad?

 Reminder that Pastor Brad now walks over from the new parsonage to the office so his car most likely is not parked at the church anymore. Just stop into the church to see if he is there if you need him! (Someday there might be a sign from his office letting you know that he is there).

Get Your Trinity Umbrella!  The Women of Trinity are selling Trinity Umbrella’s for $20 with all proceeds going to the Parsonage Fund.  Pick them up at the church. 

The Crew is on September 30^th for all 3^rd-6^th grade youth from 3:30 pm till 5 pm!  Snack, Game, Faith Time, and Music.  All are welcome!  Want to help?  We appreciate having adults help in the kitchen and provide extra supervision during group time.  Just talk to PB if you would like to help!

Crew Snacks  Sign-up for serve Crew Snacks.  We need snacks for around 50 youth and you can bring anything you want.  You do not need to serve the snacks, just bring them here by 3 pm. Sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church office at 715-643-3821.

Lagers with the Lord Monday, October 19, 6 pm at Buckshot’s. It will be Ask PB anything, so bring your questions!

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 got back late last night from doing a wedding down in Illinois with our former intern Katie Wagner, which was super fun.  It was fun to do the wedding with Katie and the wedding itself was fun, as it was one of her former Stout Campus Ministry students who also attended Trinity on Sunday’s.  I had to come back for worship today because we have another great event, a baptism, in which we will be welcoming another child into the family of God.  Now, baptisms are pretty regular around here (there is another one next week), but it is still a pretty special and fun event. 

  And it got me to thinking that when we have these celebrations that we can sometimes take them for granted or put a lot of stress on them.  I think of all of the work that goes into weddings and I’m often reminding couples to try to enjoy them, to remember the most important parts of them, which is the vows they make to each other, the promises they hear from God in the midst of their marriage, and the opportunity to be with friends and family.  Last week I got a chance to attend a birthday party and though I could only go for a little bit due to a burial and not feeling the best, I think of all the work that often goes into a birthday party that we can sometimes lose the fact that people are gathering to celebrate someone and their life.  Or, with the holiday’s around the corner with Thanksgiving and Christmas, how much stress we put on ourselves to throw the perfect gathering instead of enjoying the time we get to gather.

  There is so much in life that is hard.  So many tragedies, difficulties, stresses, and times of hurt and suffering.  But, at the same time, we have chances to celebrate, to rejoice, to give thanks, to appreciate the people in our lives we love and cherish.  Let us not take those moments for granted.  Though baptisms are regular occurrences at Trinity, I hope we always rejoice and give thanks for them and the awesome opportunity we get to welcome another brother or sister in Christ.  I hope at weddings and birthday parties and anniversaries or family reunions or holiday gatherings that we take a moment to give thanks for the chance to celebrate life, milestones, and the chance to be with people we love and who love us. For the Lord is in the midst of those times as well, reminding us of the gift and joy of life.  And even more so, be reminded that every day we have a reason to rejoice. We don’t need a big party or event for it.  Because every day we are saved and redeemed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and every day the Lord shows us we are loved and valued and brings joy into our lives in ways both big and small.  My prayer is that you would appreciate the joys and the celebrations both big and small and see your Lord and Savior in them. 

  May God bless you today and always!

September 13, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lagers with the Lord Monday, September 14, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Get Your Trinity Umbrella!  The Women of Trinity are selling Trinity Umbrella’s for $20 with all proceeds going to the Parsonage Fund.  Pick them up at the church. 

The Crew begins on September 16^th for all 3^rd-6^th grade youth from 3:30 pm till 5 pm!  Snack, Game, Faith Time, and Music.  All are welcome!  Want to help?  We appreciate having adults help in the kitchen and provide extra supervision during group time.  Just talk to PB if you would like to help!

Crew Snacks  Sign-up for serve Crew Snacks.  We need snacks for around 50 youth and you can bring anything you want.  You do not need to serve the snacks, just bring them here by 3 pm. Sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church office at 715-643-3821.

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 started to get very serious about packing things up in the old house and get ready for the move, we started to move stuff.  We got rid of our dining room table.  We cleaned and then rolled up our rugs.  Things went off the walls and stuff was being boxed up.  In the midst of that, we started to notice something with our dog Baxter.  Every now and again, he would have almost panic attacks, especially when he got worked up.  And we figured out why: his safe places were now gone.  He liked to hide behind the dining room table but it wasn’t there anymore, replaced with boxes.  The carpets he rolled on for comfort were gone. Everything was changing around him, despite it being his home.  He would calm down after a bit of snuggling, but it was obvious all the changes, and the loss of his spaces, was affecting him.

  We have now moved into the new house, though it is isn’t yet completed.  We have no cabinets.  No bathroom sinks, no stove or fridge or dishwasher.  I’m happy to say it looks like that hopefully by the end of this week that will all change.  Being in an entirely new place has been an adjustment for Baxter.  New routines, and though many things are back, like his rugs, they are in new places and still with unsettled things around them.  There is a new yard to go into and a new routine to going outside. We are also doing new routines, as with two full bathrooms our morning routines are different, bedrooms are different and more.  We got him some stuff to help him calm down and he is starting to adjust (Daphne, by the way, is just fine.  She just needs a human lap, any human lap, and the world is all rainbows and unicorns).  I have no doubt in a week or two he will be fully settled as we get fully settled.

  But I found out something about myself as we moved into the new house this past Tuesday.  I realized it two days later on Thursday when I was having a hard time getting relaxed when I got home, this new home: I need a settled place too.  Sure, my clothes were in there places and the furniture was in its place in my room, but not much else was done in my room.  We were using a sink made out of sawhorses and using a small beer fridge as our fridge.  We were still searching for things and even worse, I was swamped with work.  Funeral.  All day Confirmation retreat I was teaching at Luther Park coming up.  Confirmation starting.  Five hour Luther Park board meeting (and other meetings).  Youth meeting coming and youth presentation that needed to be finished.  Crew around the corner, Lagers with the Lord to finish, sermons to write, and on and on, besides working a football game. I realized that my life can be chaos and that I need a settled place, kind of like Baxter.  That home is that settled place where the world slows down (even if I come home and start immediately working again, which is what I did a few nights this week). 

  But without things settled, I was unmoored a bit.  I was also out of routine.  Now working out in the morning, instead trying to find boxes to unpack so I could feel more settled.  Forgetting to take medication at night because I don’t quite have the spot for it yet and remembering in the middle of the night. Dealing with a restless dog who couldn’t get settled like me. 

  But, as I got home last night from teaching all day, with a shredded voice, tired feet, and a weary spirit, I found I was able to start to relax.  Was it because I had more stuff unpacked in my room?  Was it because Amy had done a lot of unpacking while I was gone?  Was it just time and getting more used to the house?  Probably all three.  But I was also reminded that in the chaos of life, we have a home in our loving God.  I was reminded of Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength.”  God is our home in the midst of the chaos of life and when we need a settled place.  And I think of how the Lord has seen us through the chaos of moving and getting everything in, despite all that isn’t there right now, in the midst of work and everything else.  I think of all the people that helped to make it happen so we can even be in the house and not in a hotel.  I think of the love of Amy and the dogs that always provide comfort when life seems to be going out of control. 

  Because not only is the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our refuge and strength, the Lord brings people into our lives to be those safe spaces for us, to make us feel at home, even when we aren’t in a physical “home.”  We all have people we can turn to that help settle us down, like how we settle down Baxter, that reminds us that everything will be ok. 

  The new house will soon feel like home.  Baxter will soon adjust and find all of his safe spaces.  And in our life, when the chaos swirls and we need that place to feel like home, never forget that your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is there for you and brings people in your life to be a safe space for you.  May God bless you today and always!

September 6, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TIME FOR THE LAST MOVE!  Tuesday, September 8^th, 8:30 am.  Moving our mattresses, box springs, couple of smaller furniture items, and a few other things.  A few trucks/trailers are appreciated! 

Office closed on Monday for Labor Day.  No Bible Study

Confirmation begins this Wednesday for 7^th grade youth at 5:30 pm!

Women of Trinity Fall Gathering, Saturday, September 12^th, at 9 am till Noon.  Brunch will be served and they will be doing a Gnome craft you can take home! All women are invited! 

Sunday School begins on September 13^th at 9:45 am

Lagers with the Lord Monday, September 14th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Get Your Trinity Umbrella!  The Women of Trinity are selling Trinity Umbrella’s for $20 with all proceeds going to the Parsonage Fund.  Pick them up at the church. 

The Crew begins on September 16^th for all 3^rd-6^th grade youth from 3:30 pm till 5 pm!  Snack, Game, Faith Time, and Music.  All are welcome!  Want to help?  We appreciate having adults help in the kitchen and provide extra supervision during group time.  Just talk to PB if you would like to help!

Crew Snacks  Sign-up for serve Crew Snacks.  We need snacks for around 50 youth and you can bring anything you want.  You do not need to serve the snacks, just bring them here by 3 pm. Sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church office at 715-643-3821.

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

  Twenty-four years ago, when I was interviewing to be the pastor of Trinity, they took me through the parsonage for the first time and then, about two hours later, in my interview, someone asked me if I would be happy living there.  I got a sense that the parsonage was a sensitive subject as that question was asked and found out later that a pastoral candidate before me had rejected the call because the house was sufficient for them.  I said something like, “Yes, I think it will do fine,” when inside I was thinking to myself, “Are you kidding me?  For seven of the past eight years I have either lived in a dorm or in apartments the size of closets!  I don’t have to share a bathroom with an army full of other people?  I get more than one room?  Sign me up!” 

  This Thursday, I will no longer live in that house.  Actually, on Tuesday Amy and I will walk out of there and spend our first night in the new house for the first time. Twenty-four years I have been in that house and it is the longest I ever lived in one place in my entire life.  I am excited for the new house.  Excited to have a kitchen (once our cabinets are installed in a few weeks or less) to not run into Amy every four seconds and have a ton of counter space and storage space.  The new parsonage is a great and amazing home that we are excited to move into with more living space than we have had with a larger living room, two full bathrooms, plug-ins everywhere, and so many modern amenities and walls in which I don’t have to drill into to hang a picture. 

  But at the same time, I will miss the old parsonage.  I first saw it as a 25-year-old (didn’t turn 26 till two months after I saw it for the first time).  Now I leave it as a 50-year-old.  A lot of memories in that house.  I will miss the office, which was basically a recreation of my college dorm room and a space we don’t have in the new house.  I remember how the house transformed from a bachelor house to a house dominated in look and feel by Amy when we got married, as it should have and was for the better.  I will never forget the epic nap Amy and I took the day after our wedding in the guest bedroom or the times when we brought all of our dogs into the house for the first time.  But I’m excited for the new house and it was fun yesterday to have Daphne and Baxter run around the new house for the first time. 

  It will be with a touch of sadness when I exit the old parsonage for the final time this week but I know that the new owners will do it proud and it will continue to be a great house for decades to come.  It has been a good and faithful servant to the people of Trinity since 1949.  And I’m excited for the future and the memories we will make in the new house, how we will decorate it for Christmas, enjoying all that this new house has to offer, and the blessings that the Lord will bring.  Because we can look back with fondness but we don’t cling to the past.  We move forward, trusting in the Lord who guides us and giving thanks.

  Speaking of that, Amy and I want to give thanks for the countless people who have helped to make all of this a reality.  First off to our amazing parsonage committee: Bill Fisher, Amy Hellmann, Tony Bowell, Paul Danovsky, and Jon Oakland, who have put in so much time and effort.  A special thanks to Bill who has headed the committee and spent so many hours on this.  If you see him, please give him a special thanks for he deserves it.  Our general contractor Kaleb Humpal has done an absolutely amazing job and continues to do so as things close down.  If you got a chance to tour the house, you saw his amazing work.  Thank you to all of our sub-contractors who have also done great work.  Thank you to Kevin Bygd who seeded our lawn and to Lonna Borgert and Tina Talmage who transplanted our precious peony plants, a few who came from both Amy’s mother and my mother.  And finally, to the too many to name volunteers who, over multiple days, have helped us move stuff from the old parsonage to the new or helped us throw stuff out of the old parsonage.  We are forever grateful and thankful for your help and appreciative of your time and efforts on our behalf.  Last but never least, all thanks and glory to Jesus Christ, who blesses us with grace and mercy every day and to all of you who have supported this project with your prayers, giving, and encouragement.

  May God bless you this week and always!

August 30^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Looking for help to move items into the new parsonage on Thursday, September 3^rd, at 8:30 am till Noon.   Need trucks and trailers.  Talk to PB or show up at the old parsonage to help. 

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, September 2^nd, at 7 pm for all 7^th & 8^th grade confirmation parents.

Sunday School begins on September 13^th at 9:45 am

Get Your Trinity Umbrella!  The Women of Trinity are selling Trinity Umbrella’s for $20 with all proceeds going to the Parsonage Fund.  Pick them up at the church. 

The Crew begins on September 16^th for all 3^rd-6^th grade youth from 3:30 pm till 5 pm!  Snack, Game, Faith Time, and Music.  All are welcome!  Want to help?  We appreciate having adults help in the kitchen and provide extra supervision during group time.  Just talk to PB if you would like to help!

Crew Snacks  Sign-up for serve Crew Snacks.  We need snacks for around 50 youth and you can bring anything you want.  You do not need to serve the snacks, just bring them here by 3 pm. Sign-up on the table in the Narthex or call the church office at 715-643-3821.

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

  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:12

  I love movies, as many of you know, and one of the great genres of the cinema is the revenge movie.  You know, someone gets wronged or something bad has been done to them and the hero takes revenge on all the bad guys.  Think movies like “Taken,” or “John Wick” or “True Grit,” or “Gladiator”, and one of my favorite movies of all time, “The Godfather,” as some examples that come to mind.  Think of a great novel, like the “Count of Monte Cristo,” or the Shakespeare play “Hamlet” as other great examples of a revenge stories.  These are a but a few of a myriad of examples that come to mind.  But we love a good revenge story.

  And why not?  There is something that feels really good to see someone get their comeuppance.  And in life, we like to see those we perceive to be our enemy get got. It happens all the time in sports, when we watch our hated rivals get beat.  We take delight in their misery.  Or when that person who wrongs us finally gets wronged in the end.  There is a sense of satisfaction in watching that happen that even if want to fight it we sometimes just can’t.  It just feels right.

  But is it?  Because sometimes to get that revenge there are some pretty nasty things that have to happen, especially in those revenge movies we love so much.  And we can say that those are just movies and fiction and pretend, but how many times in life have we been tempted, or cheered on, when not so great things have been done to make sure our enemies have gotten their “just” desserts?  Or how we have let our own principles slip or at least ignored them because the one who did us evil got what we thought was coming to them?  Or how we maybe were happy when the person we didn’t like had something bad happen to them?  We have all felt it.

  Which is why this verse from Romans hits so hard.  Paul reminds us, charges us, as followers of Christ, of how we are to be in the world.  We are to not overcome evil with more evil.  Even if it feels good.  Even if it makes them get what we perceive as what is coming to them.  Why?  Because when we use evil to overcome evil, all we do is put more evil in the world.  In the end, judgement belongs to the Lord and not to us.  But also, what the world needs, a world full of sin and pain and suffering is not more evil.  It needs more good.  It needs more kindness.  It needs more compassion.  It needs more love.

  And I know what you are thinking.  Right now you are thinking that it sounds pretty naïve, or weak, or ineffectual.  But love and compassion and kindness brings about real and lasting change in people much more than revenge and evil.  It is sometimes an act of kindness that will change the course of a person’s life and make them change how they live their life in a substantial way.  The best way to deal with evil is to try do as much good as we can, to show the world a different way.  I believe this.  I have to, otherwise I might just go into despair and never get out of it.

  But I also believe it because I see it in my Savior Jesus Christ.  Who could easily condemn me forever but instead offers me grace and forgiveness and eternal life through the cross.  The cross, the ultimate instrument of death and torture, is now an instrument of love.  Taking what was evil and turning it to good.  For my sin demands punishment, but by the grace of God in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness and new life for all of us who turn in faith to Jesus Christ who loves us.  As always, Christ shows us the way. 

  There is much evil in the world, in ways both big and small.  How we react to that rests with us.  And as cool as it seems in the movies to exact revenge, sometimes in very harsh ways, we have a different calling. Because life is not the movies. Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good.  May the Holy Spirit be with us as we put some good into the world and in doing so, show that the goodness of God in Jesus Christ is greater than any evil.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”  

August 25^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

No worship August 26^th!  Join the Men’s Band at First Lutheran Church in Cumberland at 6 pm for worship.  Corn Feed prior starting at 4 pm. 

Looking for help to move items into the new parsonage on Thursday, August 27^th, at 8:30 am till Noon and Saturday, August 29^th, from 8 am till Noon.  Need trucks and trailers.  Talk to PB or show up at the old parsonage to help. 

New Parsonage Open House!  Wednesday, August 26th from 6-7 pm. Come check it out!

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!

Parsonage Blessing, Sunday, August 30^th, at the end of the 9 am worship service!

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, September 2^nd, at 7 pm for all 7^th & 8^th grade confirmation parents.

Sunday School begins on September 13^th at 9:45 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

   Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it”. Matthew 16:15-18

  This is a dramatic moment in scripture, Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah, and it leads to Jesus giving Peter a new name, from Simon to Peter, which means “rock.”  But I think what is most remarkable is who gives this confession, this truth.  It is Peter.  Peter is the great screw-up of the disciples.  He is that kid we all knew in high school with great potential that kept getting in their own way.  You know, the one that would do amazing things and had amazing talent and then in the same breath do the most amazingly stupid things you could imagine.  That is Peter. 

  This is the disciple who is at the Transfiguration who then puts his foot in his mouth and asks Jesus if he can build dwellings for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses.  It is Peter who answers Jesus’ call to come out on the water and yet then immediately gets afraid and starts to sink.  It is Peter, who in a few moments after this amazing declaration, will rebuke Jesus to his face because he doesn’t like how Jesus will describe what it will mean to be a Messiah and Jesus will call him Satan.  And of course, it is this same Peter who will promise to never deny Jesus who will of course deny him three times.  And yet, it will be this Peter who leads the early church and be that rock that Jesus identifies.  Peter is flawed and yet faithful.

  I think that is important for us as followers of Jesus today.  There are some in the wider Christian community that think that we need to be perfect in our following of Jesus.  But we are flawed people.  Sinners who make mistakes.  Yet, we are still called.  We are not called to be perfect, but we are called to be faithful.  Often we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect, to follow every command of Jesus, to do and act as we know Jesus would want us to.  But that is impossible in many ways because we are sinners.  The question is: are we being faithful?  Are we being faithful to the one who has called us?  Are we still trusting and believing in this Messiah who gives everything for us?  Are we coming with repentance when we make mistakes and doing our best?  If we are, then I think we are being true to our calling as followers of Jesus Christ.

  Peter was the first to confess Jesus as Messiah, and it is telling that God chose a flawed disciple to be the one to make that confession.  God in Jesus Christ has called you to carry on that mantle, to faithful even in the midst of your flaws, to follow in the footsteps of the rock and keep proclaiming Jesus as Messiah and serving your Lord the best way you can.  Have some grace for yourself when you aren’t perfect, for your Savior Jesus Christ certainly does.  And give thanks for people like Peter who showed us the way, that even the most flawed amongst us are called, loved, and redeemed by the Son of God Jesus Christ.

  May God bless you today and always!  

August 20^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Annual Lunch & Pie Social on Sunday, August 23! We look forward to seeing you between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for hot beef and pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade potato salad, baked beans, homemade pickles, homemade pie, and ice cream. Bring your family and friends to join us for lunch and a slice of pie – everyone is welcome!  

Looking for workers and donations for the Lunch & Pie Cream Social!  See the sign-ups on the table in the Narthex or come help us out on Sunday, August 23^rd from 10 am till 4 pm or on Saturday, August 22^nd at 9 am.  Every little bit helps!  You can call the office as well to sign-up at 715-643-3821!

Looking for float riders for the Cucumber Festival Parade Float on Sunday, August 23rd. All ages are welcome. Come to church at Noon by the shed. All youth who ride get their own candy bag.

New Parsonage Open House! Sunday, August 23rd from 10-Noon and Wednesday, August 26th from 6-7 pm. Come check it out!

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!

No worship August 26^th!  Join the Men’s Band at First Lutheran Church in Cumberland at 6 pm for worship.  Corn Feed prior starting at 4 pm. 

Looking for help to move items into the new parsonage on Thursday, August 27^th, at 8:30 am till Noon and Saturday, August 29^th, from 8 am till Noon.  Need trucks and trailers.  Talk to PB or show up at the old parsonage to help. 

Parsonage Blessing, Sunday, August 30^th, at the end of the 9 am worship service!

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 recently got back from vacation and the last three days of that vacation was spent at the d23 Convention.  If you don’t know what that is, it is a huge Disney convention, basically like Christmas for Disney nerds like Amy and myself.  It is named after the year that the Disney corporation was founded, 1923, and it involves big announcements across all of Disney (movies, TV, theme parks around the world, cruise line, etc), panels about all sorts of stuff from history, to a convention floor full of booths displaying all sorts of items and promoting all sorts of things, to some major stores selling all sorts of merchandise that is coveted by collectors and casuals alike.  It is three days of sensory overload, where one minute you are sitting in front of a stage eating a sandwich and watching the voices of Disney princesses having a trivia contest and seeing the director of the last Star Wars movie (and actor) Jon Favreau walk by to a bit later meeting the producer of the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast to going to a panel where the team who makes Grogu (Baby Yoda) come to life shows you how they do that to the next walking through an exhibit of movie props that includes stuff from the Muppets, Hannah Montana, Mary Poppins, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Parent Trap and more, to seeing incredible people in full homemade costume of favorite characters, to a thousand other things. 

  Along the way, you meet all sorts of people.  Every day we were in line with a Mom and Son from Israel who stayed in our same hotel and how live part of the year in Florida.  It was their first d23 and we spent a lot of time waiting together and it was fun to get to know them.  At the same time, you meet people around you as you wait to get in and in other lines and you start conversations, from what stores you got into, what panels you saw or didn’t see, thoughts on news, people you saw on the floor, and compliments on what you are wearing.  It is a shared community starting at 5:30 am and going till 8 pm at night and we joked at the end that we should all get a “I survived d23” pin at the end.  But that is what d23 ends of being: a community.

  We all have different communities.  I think about those of you who go to a campground every weekend.  That is a type of community.  We are celebrating our Boyceville community this weekend with Pickle Fest, a chance to lift up this place we live and care about and welcome back others to this place.  I think about our church community, gathered around shared faith and mission, connected by the love of God in Jesus Christ. 

  And one thing is the same about all these communities: not everyone is the same in them.  We all look different, have unique abilities and talents, possible even different perspectives and points of view.  But we have a shared passion, whether it be Disney or Boyceville or Jesus or whatever, and that is what connects us together. It is the connection that is important, not that we are all exactly the same.  It is our diversity that makes us stronger.  It is our uniqueness as individuals, gathered together around common purpose, that makes our community, no matter where it is, special.  It is being in community that reminds us that we are not alone in this world.

  So give thanks this day for your community, no matter what kind it is.  And nurture it and support it in whatever way you can.  May God bless you today and always!

August 2^nd, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 6^th, 9 am, Sioux Creek Golf Course.  Come support Luther Park and have a great time doing it while playing golf with Pastor Brad!  Raffles, hole games, and fun for all ages!  Sign up at by clicking on this link: https://lutherpark.org/golf-outing/

Lagers with the Lord, August 17^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

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!

Save the date for the Annual Lunch & Pie Social on Sunday, August 23! We look forward to seeing you between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for hot beef and pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade potato salad, baked beans, homemade pickles, homemade pie, and ice cream. Bring your family and friends to join us for lunch and a slice of pie – everyone is welcome!  

Looking for workers and donations for the Lunch & Pie Cream Social!  See the sign-ups on the table in the Narthex or come help us out on Sunday, August 23^rd from 10 am till 4 pm or on Saturday, August 22^nd at 9 am.  Every little bit helps!  You can call the office as well to sign-up at 715-643-3821!

Looking for float riders for the Cucumber Festival Parade Float on Sunday, August 23rd. All ages are welcome. Come to church at Noon by the shed. All youth who ride get their own candy bag.

Tacos for kids– Every Tuesday until August 18th. We will be making taco’s for kids in need and then handing them out, along with apple slices and cheese sticks. Join us at 11 am to put the Taco’s together and/or help hand out from noon– 1pm on Main St.

New Parsonage Open House! Sunday, August 23rd from 10-Noon and Wednesday, August 26th from 6-7 pm. Come check it out!

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

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

 “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9

  How is the faith of your congregation pastor?  Someone asked me that question recently, a person I didn’t really know well.  It was an interesting question, and I wasn’t exactly sure what they meant.  But then as I thought about it, I realized that we often spend a large amount of time worried about how people’s individual faith is.  Are they faithful or aren’t they?  Do they believe in the promises of Jesus or not?  Is there doubt or is there not?  Often, in the midst of the stories of Jesus and his disciples, he is often commenting on their “little faith” or their own doubt, even as they are marveling at his miracles or his teachings, and we often lift those disciples up as examples of faith.  In two weeks we are going have one of the best examples of that with Jesus walking on water, where Peter walks out on the water with him and then starts to sink when fear creeps in, a perfect example of living with doubt and faith at the same time.

  Because, after all, that is what we do, don’t we?  We are constantly living with doubt and faith.  They go hand in hand, because faith is overcoming doubt.  And doubt is always there, and it is easy to question to the promises of God in Jesus Christ, for even the most steadfast of us, in the most difficult of times.  But sometimes, I believe the thing we forget to remember the most is that it is often not about our faithfulness.  It is about God’s faithfulness to us.

  I love this verse from 1^st Corinthians.  We are in partnership with our Savior Jesus Christ, and a partnership is a two-way street.  But the thing is, God in Jesus Christ always upholds their side of the bargain.  Jesus will always be there for us, dying and rising for us, giving us His righteousness and blessedness and taking our sinfulness so that we have the promise of eternal life.  God is always faithful, even when we are not.  Even when we doubt.  And it is that promise, that assurance, that brings us hope.  God never breaks this partnership even when we do.

  Yesterday was my 24^th anniversary of starting as pastor at Trinity.  24 years.  And if I have learned anything, it is that God is faithful.  Times don’t always look great.  Things don’t always go the way we want them to go.  Bad things happen, scary awful things.  But through it all, God is faithful.  God in Jesus Christ sees us through.  Every time, whether we are at our most faithful or not.  God’s promises in Christ do not depend on our faithfulness, they only depend on God’s, and God comes through again and again and again.  So trust in the faithfulness of God, keep going, and know that your Savior Jesus Christ is there for you.  Always.

  May God bless you today and always!

July 19^th, 2026

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Women of Trinty are collecting for Personal Care kits during the month of July. You can bring any or all of the items needed to make a kit. These are the items needed: 1- light weight bath size towel, dark color preferred, 2- bath size bar soap, 1- adult size toothbrush in original package, 1- sturdy comb, 1- metal nail clipper: attached file optional. Thank you for helping us help others!

Heart for the Luther Park, Saturday, August 1^st. Quilt Auction begins at Noon, Lunch at 11 am, Silent Auction at 11 am.  Camp’s biggest fundraiser.  Lots of great items in the Silent Auction, a Common Thread’s Maker’s Market, Food, amazing quilts, and a lot more. 

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 6^th, 9 am, Sioux Creek Golf Course.  Come support Luther Park and have a great time doing it while playing golf with Pastor Brad!  Raffles, hole games, and fun for all ages!  Sign up at by clicking on this link: https://lutherpark.org/golf-outing/

Lagers with the Lord, August 17^th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

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 1 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!

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. 

Save the date for the Annual Lunch & Pie Social on Sunday, August 23! We look forward to seeing you be tween 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for hot beef and pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade potato salad, baked beans, homemade pickles, homemade pie, and ice cream. Bring your family and friends to join us for lunch and a slice of pie – everyone is welcome!  

Looking for workers and donations for the Lunch & Pie Cream Social!  See the sign-ups on the table in the Narthex or come help us out on Sunday, August 23^rd from 10 am till 4 pm or on Saturday, August 22^nd at 9 am.  Every little bit helps!  You can call the office as well to sign-up at 715-643-3821!

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

“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:4-5

  It has been fun to watch the new parsonage take shape as it is being constructed.  Every few days I take a walk through it, seeing the new details come together, new things get installed, and watching it rise from a slab of concrete to an actual house.  I’ve been very impressed with the work being done and how great Kaleb Humpal, our contractor, has been along with all of the subcontractors. 

  In watching the house take shape it made me think about the above scripture passage from 1 Peter, talking about being built into a spiritual house.  One of the things to notice here in these verses is that the stones that build this house are at first not perfect.  They are rejected by the world.  But they are precious in God’s sight.  We are not perfect, but we are loved by our Lord.  We are built into a spiritual house not because we are perfect but because we are chosen and loved by God, made perfect by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.

  For we always live in that tension, for we are both saints and sinners.  Sinners because we make mistakes and sin against God and each other.  But we are made saints through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross for us.  We are both at the same time and God takes us, imperfect though we are, and forms us into something perfect through the work of God’s only Son Jesus Christ and builds us up, builds you up. 

  Be reminded today that you are loved and you have been built up into a spiritual house by your loving God.  You are precious in God’s sight and nothing can change that.  For your sins are forgiven, you have been saved by grace through faith, and you are a precious child of God.  May God bless you today and always!

July 12^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.

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

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.

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

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. 

The Women of Trinty are collecting for Personal Care kits during the month of July. You can bring any or all of the items needed to make a kit. These are the items needed: 1- light weight bath size towel, dark color preferred, 2- bath size bar soap, 1- adult size toothbrush in original package, 1- sturdy comb, 1- metal nail clipper: attached file optional. Thank you for helping us help others!

Heart for the Luther Park, Saturday, August 1^st. Quilt Auction begins at Noon, Lunch at 11 am, Silent Auction at 11 am.  Camp’s biggest fundraiser.  Lots of great items in the Silent Auction, a Common Thread’s Maker’s Market, Food, amazing quilts, and a lot more. 

Luther Park Golf Outing, Thursday, August 6^th, 9 am, Sioux Creek Golf Course.  Come support Luther Park and have a great time doing it while playing golf with Pastor Brad!  Raffles, hole games, and fun for all ages!  Sign up at by clicking on this link: https://lutherpark.org/golf-outing/

Save the date for the Annual Lunch & Pie Social on Sunday, August 23! We look forward to seeing you be tween 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for hot beef and pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade potato salad, baked beans, homemade pickles, homemade pie, and ice cream. Bring your family and friends to join us for lunch and a slice of pie – everyone is welcome!  

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

  When Amy and I go to a Disney park, we always have a schedule.  That schedule includes dining reservations, reservations for special things like a dessert party, and we usually have a game plan of what we are going to do in a day.  And we often talk about what we are going to do, going from attraction to attraction and so on.  It is good to be thinking about what you want to and how you are going to do it so you can maximize and be efficient in your time while enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth. 

  So on this most recent trip to Disneyland, we were heading through Sleeping Beauty Castle on our way to another attraction that had a decent wait time before a scheduled Lightening Lane reservation when we came upon something unexpected.  The horse drawn trolley was sitting in front of the castle, which wasn’t the unexpected thing.  We love the trolley and love to ride on it, but that wasn’t something that would normally stop us from our schedule.  But what did stop us was the world famous, always amazing, incredibly talented Dapper Dans of Disneyland were on that trolley. The question was: could we ride with them?  There was a small moment of hesitation as we assessed the situation to make sure they were taking passengers and then we jumped on, schedule and previous plans be damned.  After all, we love the Dapper Dans and we weren’t going to turn down this opportunity to travel down Main Street, USA with them. It was awesome.

  Why do I bring this up?  Because it made me think that for all our planning and scheduling, sometimes the very best moments come unscripted and unplanned and you have to be ready for them.  You have to seize the chance and be willing to take it.  In life, as well as at a Disney Park, you never know what might come up.  But you have to hearts open to the unplanned thing that God might put in front of you.

  So often we think we can only do this thing or that thing, or our gifts can only be used this way or that way, or God is only calling us this way or that way.  We get a very narrow view of life and our place in it, or even worse, where God thinks our place is.  But our Lord does surprising things all the time and new and amazing things are in front of us all the time, if we are willing to see it and step into it.  The Holy Spirit is working in and through you my friends.  It might be a nagging thing in the back of your brain or a feeling in your heart.  Fear might be holding you back or a sense you might be feeling that “isn’t you.”  But what might happen if you took that chance or stepped into that moment instead of running away from it?  What if you said yes instead of no or didn’t make the excuse of why you couldn’t experience that thing you have thought about?  You might find a whole new world in front of you or a whole new experience that can have a positive impact.

  Don’t be afraid of the new thing in front of you and be open especially to the ways that God is calling you to use your gifts for God’s glory in the world.  You just never know what might happen.  You might find yourself living in Northern Wisconsin as a pastor for the past 24 years instead of being a high school science teacher in Illinois.  Or you might ride down Main Street USA in Disneyland listening to the sweet sounds of the Dapper Dan’s instead of keeping to your schedule and having the time of your life.  God works in mysterious ways. 

  May God bless you today and always!