Trinity Tidings- Nov 13

Posted on: November 14th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

New Member Class, November 13th, 6:30 pm.  If you are someone you know is interested in joining Trinity, please join this class or call PB if you cannot make it.

Deer Hunter’s Worship, Wednesday, November 16th, 6:30 pm All are welcome!  Wear your blaze orange and camo!

Crew is on November 16th for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Community Thanksgiving Worship, Sunday, November 20th, at 6:30 pm at Trinity.  Please bring a non-perishable food item for Stepping Stones.  All monetary gifts will be given to WestCAP. 

Bring your deer hides to Trinity!  Place them in the deer shack and we exchange them for gloves which we give to the needy. 

Decorate Trinity for Christmas!  Sunday, November 27th, right after worship.  We appreciate your help!

Mission Trip Youth in need of items for the Silent Auction!  With a record 27 youth going on this summer’s mission trip, our Silent Auction is more important than ever!  We appreciate any donations of new items or crafts!  Please have them to the church by December 7th

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

    I think this time of year is a season of preparation.  Everyone is preparing for something.  Maybe you are preparing for hunting, getting the cabin ready, getting the hunting rifle sighted, making sure your deer stand is in good condition.  Maybe you are also preparing to be hunter’s widow, checking out where the best craft fairs are, preparing for outings with others.  You could be preparing for Thanksgiving, going to the store to get the turkey, all the ingredients for pumpkin pie, the necessary items to make the best part of Thanksgiving, which is the stuffing.  You might also be preparing for Christmas as well.  Doing some of the early shopping.  Getting the outside decorations up before it becomes bitterly cold.

  To be honest, I feel like I’m in the middle of all of those preparations.  The Deer Hunter’s service is this Wednesday, so I have been getting ready for that (and for the annual tradition of the venison jerky I receive from Marlin Bird.  Right Marlin?).  I’m prepping for Thanksgiving, as we did our shopping this week as we are having our Thanksgiving on Saturday since we will be gone for Thanksgiving, plus the Community Thanksgiving service which we are hosting on the 20th.  And, if you have driven by my house, you know I have been preparing for Christmas, getting all my stuff up outside while it was 70 degrees (glorious).  Even with that, I even wrote my Christmas Eve sermon already and the Men’s Band has been practicing for our three Christmas concerts in December.  It is a time of preparing. 

   I’ve always like being prepared, and not because I was a Boy Scout (I didn’t make it that far).  I like the feeling of knowing that everything is ready to go, of having the security (and frankly, the control) of it being in order so I can handle whatever may come.  But of course, you can’t prepare for everything.  There is always going something that comes out of the blue, or something that doesn’t work or falls over, or something that just won’t go the way you hope it does.  Those moments can cause me some anxiety, but because of my preparation, I feel I can handle whatever may come.

  In the same way, my faith in Jesus Christ prepares for anything that life throws at me.  For I know that Christ has taken care of all things.  I know that Jesus has freed from all bondage.  I know I have a place prepared for me in heaven, not due to anything that I have done but solely on what Christ has done for me.  I know Jesus is there to carry my burdens, bless my blessings, guide my life, and strengthen me when I am weak. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, we are prepared for anything and everything. 

  May the Lord be with you as you prepare for all the things coming up in these next weeks.  And may you know that, through your faith in Jesus Christ, you are prepared for everything and you don’t prepare alone.  Your Savior is with you.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Oct 30

Posted on: October 31st, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Men’s Band Worship on Sunday, November 6th, at 9 am.

Potato Pancake Meal, Sunday, November 6th, 10 am till 11:30 am. Potato Pancakes, Kielbasa Sausage, Apple Sauce, Dessert, Beverage.  Free-will offering taken to support Trinity Youth Ministries.

Workers needed for the Potato Pancake Meal  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.

Crew is on November 2nd for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

New Member Class, November 13th, 6:30 pm.  If you are someone you know is interested in joining Trinity, please join this class or call PB if you cannot make it.

Deer Hunter’s Worship, Wednesday, November 16th, 6:30 pm All are welcome!  Wear your blaze orange and camo!

Community Thanksgiving Worship, Sunday, November 20th, at 6:30 pm at Trinity.  Please bring a non-perishable food item for Stepping Stones.  All monetary gifts will be given to WestCAP. 

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Recently, our puppy Baxter started to play with a racquetball.  Our old dog Henry loved to play with them, but Kapono never got into playing with a ball.  But Baxter loves it.  It is so cute to see him batting it with his paw, following it around, carrying it in his mouth, and learning which parts of the floor aren’t quite level and so he can push the ball out and watch it roll.  It is pretty entertaining to watch.  But, there are times when the ball rolls under a table or a shelf and suddenly Baxter can’t get it.  He sticks his whole arm under there trying to get the ball and will even try to crawl under.  Sometimes, he can get it.  But other times he can’t.  What is a dog to do?

  Like a super hero swooping out of the sky to save the day comes Mom or Dad.  We get on our hands and knees and get the ball out for Baxter.  We reach under to get this thing that he wants and he is so happy when he gets it back.  And why do we do this?  We do this because we love him.  We do this because we want him to be happy.  Even if it means getting up from our comfortable space on the couch or the chair.  Even if it is an inconvenience of the highest order.  We do it because we love him.

   For you, on your own, salvation is out of reach.  It is like that ball stuck under that shelf.  You try and try to get it but it is elusive.  It is just out of reach.  No matter how much you do, you will not and cannot attain that salvation.  And so here comes Jesus, getting that ball of salvation for you, sacrificing his life to give you eternal life.  And why?  Because Jesus loves you.  Because you are loved.

   You cannot attain salvation on your own.  As it says in Ephesians 2, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the free gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”  You are saved not by what you do, for you cannot do enough, but by what Jesus Christ has done for you.  You could not reach the ball of salvation, but Christ has sacrificed so that it can be given to you.

  And so, like Baxter getting that ball we have retrieved for him, rejoice!  Be glad!  You are free from sin and death.  You are saved and redeemed.  You have been given grace and love in Jesus Christ.  Remember this gift you have been given and who has given it to you.  It has come from Jesus, because Jesus loves you.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”  Amen

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Oct 23

Posted on: October 28th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Confirmation Stole Making and Rehearsal  October 26, 7 pm.

Confirmation Sunday, October 30th, 9 am.  We hope that you will come to support our 15 youth who are affirming their faith.  Wear red in honor of Reformation Sunday!

Men’s Band Worship on Sunday, November 6th, at 9 am.

Potato Pancake Meal, Sunday, November 6th, 10 am till 11:30 am. Potato Pancakes, Kielbasa Sausage, Apple Sauce, Dessert, Beverage.  Free-will offering taken to support Trinity Youth Ministries.

Workers needed for the Potato Pancake Meal  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.

Crew is on November 2nd for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

New Member Class, November 13th, 6:30 pm.  If you are someone you know is interested in joining Trinity, please join this class or call PB if you cannot make it.

Deer Hunter’s Worship, Wednesday, November 16th, 6:30 pm All are welcome!  Wear your blaze orange and camo!

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed, friends of Trinity Lutheran, last Sunday.  Last Sunday was our Cross Generational Worship service, a service in which we try to have our various generations interact with each other.  This year, I did something a little different.  I made you sit at tables based on something that was on top of your bulletin, forcing some families and couples to sit at tables apart from each other.  I know that some of you, who knew you would have to participate with each other, already weren’t the biggest fans.  I believe a few phrases I heard was, “I hate this service” and “I think I’m going to go home.”  Then, adding in how I was seating you, made many of you nervous and even upset. 

  BUT you stuck it out.  You stayed.  You gave it a shot.  And then some of you who said the phrases above said, “I really enjoyed it” and “That was a lot of fun.”  The Cross Generational Worship service is meant to stretch us, to challenge us, to get us out of our comfort zones a bit, not only in a bid to get to know each other better but to also to connect on a faith level.  To risk a little bit.  Risk putting ourselves out there.  Risk looking at the world in a different way.  Risk letting something new happen, something that challenges us. 

  I want to thank you Trinity for being willing to risk.  My prayer is that you might continue to risk.  Maybe putting your name on that sign up sheet for that event that you are hesitant about.  Maybe showing up for something that might seem difficult.  Maybe going out into the community to risk connecting with others different than yourself.  For in risking, we are putting our faith in Jesus Christ to care for us and be with us.  In risking, we are letting the Holy Spirit work in, through, and amongst us.  I hope that you will continue to be a risk taker and place your trust and faith in Jesus Christ.

  It reminded me of a poem that I got in college.  I am not sure who the author is, but I share it with you now:

                                                “Risks”

    To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

          To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

          To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

          To love is to risk not being loved in return.    

          To live is to risk dying.

          To hope is to risk despair.

          To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.

Chained by their certitudes they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedoms.

Only a person who risks is free.

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Oct 15

Posted on: October 17th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Cross Generational Worship service is on Sunday, October 16th, at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall.

Mission Trip registration deadline is October 16th.   We will be meeting after church on the 16th as well. 

Crew is on October 19th for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Confirmation Sunday, October 30th, 9 am.

Men’s Band Worship on Sunday, November 6th, at 9 am.

Potato Pancake Meal, Sunday, November 6th, 10 am till 11:30 am. Potato Pancakes, Kielbasa Sausage, Apple Sauce, Dessert, Beverage.  Free-will offering taken to support Trinity Youth Ministries.

Workers needed for the Potato Pancake Meal  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Late Thursday night, I was despondent.  Despondent.  My Chicago Bears football team was going to lose to the Washington Commanders, a terrible football team, which made my team even more terrible.  Also, that same night, my Minnesota Wild got run off the ice in the opening night game against the New York Rangers.  I was not in a good place and ended up staying up way to late, brooding and complaining and being depressed.  Even worse, I knew in my brain that this was all happening over a game/games.  Just a sport.  In the end, nothing significant in the grand scheme of life.  I had been through a lot worse than a couple of losses by my favorite teams.  Why was I feeling like this?  This seems pretty stupid.

   But in thinking that way means that I wasn’t taking what I was feeling seriously.  We can be tempted to dismiss how people are feeling because of the circumstances those feelings came into being.  But in doing so, we end up dismissing who they are and what they are feeling.  Have you ever wondered why someone was so upset that a relationship ended?  Did you think, “They should just get over it.  Plenty of fish in the sea.”  But we don’t really know what things mean to others.  Instead of putting our own values and judgements into what they are feeling and experiencing, we should be people with compassion and empathy towards them because they are actually hurting.  What may be minor to us is everything to someone else.  Being there for people isn’t judging why they are feeling the way they are feeling, it is about just being there, being present for them, in that moment.

  I think back to the night the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.  Amy went to bed right before extra innings with the score tied.  Because she didn’t hear me cheering, she woke up in the middle of the night and thought the Cubs had lost, and then preceded to think about what she could do to help me feel better.  She even said sorry when I woke her up the next morning, only for me to tell her that we had won.  Amy cares not about baseball.  But she does care about me, and so thinking I would be upset, even over a game, made her want to make me feel better and to be there for me.  That is how we should be for each other.  To not judge why they feel what they feel, but to be a place of comfort and refuge for them. 

   After all, we are called as followers of Jesus Christ to be there for each other.  To help each other in the hardships of life, no matter what they are.  To be there in the midst of suffering, no matter how or why it had come about.  To not judge lest we be judged.  May the Lord be with you as you are there for others, and may the Lord bring people into your life to be there for you. 

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Oct 9

Posted on: October 10th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

October 9, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Crew is on October 16th for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Fall Family Fest, October 9th, 2:30 pm till 5:00 pm  Inflatables, Gaga, Games, Activities, Food and more. For all ages.  No cost!  Join us for some fun!

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Cross Generational Worship service is on Sunday, October 16th, at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall.

Mission Trip registration deadline is October 16th.   We will be meeting after church on the 16th as well. 

Confirmation Sunday, October 30th, 9 am.

Men’s Band Worship on Sunday, November 6th, at 9 am.

Potato Pancake Meal, Sunday, November 6th, 10 am till 11:30 am. Potato Pancakes, Kielbasa Sausage, Apple Sauce, Dessert, Beverage.  Free-will offering taken to support Trinity Youth Ministries.

Workers needed for the Potato Pancake Meal  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  On Friday, as I was presiding over a funeral, we ended the service with the song “How Great Thou Art.”  This beloved hymn is most associated with funerals and is a staple of funeral services like hearing Psalm 23 being read.  Sometimes when you have something as ubiquitous as this hymn, it can become kind of rote.  Almost cliché.  But as we sang the hymn, giving glory to God for God’s greatness and for the love of the faithful disciple of Jesus Christ we were remembering and giving over to God, I had this thought: there is a reason this hymn is sung during these times.  Sometimes that things that are traditional, even cliché, work and work well.  They have become traditions for a reason. 

   The music moves you and soars, especially when you have a congregation singing it at full throat, even in the midst of sorrow and grief.  It brings hope and comfort in the midst of pain.  The words inspire and comfort, talking about all that God has done, from creation, to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, and then salvation and going to heaven because of what Christ has done for us.  It just works.

  Sometimes we look down or dismiss the things that have become tradition for us or seem like a cliché.  I know I do (so many wedding sermons on 1 Corinthians 13.  So many).  Yet, we never tire singing “Silent Night” on Christmas Eve or “Amazing Grace” at any time.  I think about it with the Men’s Band.  We end every concert with “This Little Light of Mine” and the guys always joke about cutting it and not doing it.  Heck, there are times we skip it in practice.  Yet, every time we play, the energy that comes when we sing that song and invite you to sing with us works.  It just works. 

   As we finished up “How Great Thou Art,” I gave thanks for the amazing hymn and the wonderful man that we said goodbye to.  I gave thanks for those things that I sometimes take for granted or dismiss because we have done them/heard them/said them a hundred thousand times.  If there are things in our life that seem cliché, or rote, or so familiar that you overlook them, take a closer look.  Remember why they work and why they inspire.  And remember again that they are all gifts from our loving Savior, whose Holy Spirit works in and through and amongst us in all things.  Have a great week!

Trinity Tidings- Oct 2

Posted on: October 3rd, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Crew is on October 5th for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Oktoberfest Craft & Vendor Show, Saturday, October 8th, from 9 am to 2 pm at Tiffany Creek Elementary.  Lots of great vendors, food served, all benefit the Woman of Trinity and their ministry and mission. 

Fall Family Fest, October 9th, 2:30 pm till 5:00 pm  Inflatables, Gaga, Games, Activities, Food and more. For all ages.  No cost!  Join us for some fun!

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Cross Generational Worship service is on Sunday, October 16th, at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall.

Mission Trip registration deadline is October 16th.   We will be meeting after church on the 16th as well. 

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 I woke up late this morning.  Now, I don’t mean I woke up 5 minutes late.  I mean I woke up an hour late.  I thought I had an alarm set for 4:30 am and instead I woke up at 5:30 am.  When I realized what time it was, I shot up out of bed and got ready at the speed of light, rushing around the house getting stuff together so I could get here to the office.  My heart was racing and I was freaking out a little bit.  Would I be able to get everything done in time?  How could I have been so stupid to as not double checked my alarm?  Even worse, did I hear the alarm and turn it off in my sleep?  Even an hour later as I write this, I think my heartbeat is still going a little quicker than normal.  I hate being late more than almost anything in the world and even thinking about being late puts me into a tizzy. 

   But here is the thing: I didn’t have anything to worry about.  Other than not having this musing written yet, everything was well in hand.  The baptism stuff is set up.  Sermon has been written for awhile and just needs to be practiced.   The lights have been turned on, the sound system is going, and the doors are unlocked.  Children’s Sermon is prepared.  What was I worried about?  Why was I freaking out when I could have slept in till now (which is about 7 am as write this) and still be fully prepared for everything today?

  I have no idea.  Sometimes we freak out about things that we don’t need to freak out about.  I have seen brides freak out about the smallest things before a wedding.  I have seen kids lose it because they couldn’t buy a foam Prince Phillip sword at Disney World.  I have seen grown man freak out and call that a game was over when their team didn’t convert a third down in the second quarter while said team was currently leading in the game (that one was me.).  Of course, the thing that we think is minor to freak out over is really big to someone else.  My guess is that I freak out over being late because my parents drilled into us that being late was incredibly rude and also a desire to make sure everything is ready and perfect for the job I have to do.  I think it is a desire to be prepared in case something crazy happens.  It probably is about trying to be in control of an uncontrollable life. 

   And maybe that is the thing.  We freak out over things because we are trying to control our lives when so we can’t control everything.  Life is crazy, unpredictable, and surprising.  It takes twists and turns, has ups and downs, and almost nothing ever goes exactly according to the plans we have.  Sometimes we don’t set an alarm.  Sometimes it rains when the forecast says it is supposed to be clear and sunny.  Sometimes your favorite football team runs a fourth and goal play from the one yard line from a shotgun formation (sorry.  That still stings.  Stupid Bears).  Life is uncontrollable and we can’t control it, no matter how hard we try. 

  And that’s ok.  Because God is in control.  This God who has created us, sent his Son Jesus to die for us, and the Holy Spirit to create faith in our hearts, is in control.  And this God has promised to save us.  To be there for us.  To walk with us, even in the shadow of death.  To give us refuge even in the biggest storms of life.  God is in control and God has got us.  God has got you.  Even when you aren’t sure God has you, God does.  Even when we are freaking out, God is there.  Always.

  I don’t think I will ever stop freaking out over being late.  It is just who I am.  But maybe, just maybe, by the grace of God I won’t freak out too much.  My prayer is that in those moments of panic and freaking out, that I will remember that God has me, that everything will be ok and everything will work out.  And I have the same prayer for you.  Remember that your Lord is with you every day, no matter what, and that you are loved, saved, and redeemed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  Even when you are running late! 

  May God bless you this day and always!

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Sept 25

Posted on: September 26th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

TRINITY TIDINGS

September 25, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

2023 Mission Trip Informational Meeting on September 25th at 10:15 am.  Trip is open to all current High School youth.  Come get information and help choose where we will be going in the summer of 2023.  If you can’t make it, please contact PB

We are packing Lutheran World Relief Kits on Wednesday, September 28th at 9 am.  All are welcome to help!  Lots of hands make light work!

Oktoberfest Craft & Vendor Show, Saturday, October 8th, from 9 am to 2 pm at Tiffany Creek Elementary.  Lots of great vendors, food served, all benefit the Woman of Trinity and their ministry and mission. 

Bibles will be given out to Pre-K and 3rd graders on Sunday, October 2nd, at 9 am.

Fall Family Fest, October 9th, 2:30 pm till 5:00 pm  Inflatables, Gaga, Games, Activities, Food and more. For all ages.  No cost!  Join us for some fun!

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Crew is on October 5th for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Cross Generational Worship service is on Sunday, October 16th, at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 “He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

The week of September 12th was a tough week for yours truly. Now, it wasn’t tough because anything bad happened to me, per se.  Rather, it was like I was the Hulk, just breaking things.  It started on a walk with Amy, Kapono, and Baxter on Tuesday when Baxter stopped suddenly and I ended up stepping on his back right foot.  He squealed very loudly and then wouldn’t put his foot down at all, even after a few minutes.  We realized something bad had happened and we called our vet and some others but none could get us in, so I took off for Eau Claire and the Emergency Animal Hospital.  A few hours later we got the diagnosis: two broken toes.  We were given strict instructions to try to keep him from moving around as much as possible, no more walks, no more rough play, for at least a month, maybe more.  Plus, for his sake, some pain meds!  It meant buying a pen to set up in the living room so he could be with us but be separated from Kapono and have limited movement so that he could heal.  Poor guy.

  Then, on Thursday, I was golfing with two friends.  One of them is a pastor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and this was our first chance to see each other in two years.  We met halfway and had a wonderful day of conversation, golf, and fun.  EXCEPT one thing.  I broke a window in the clubhouse with a very, very, very offline drive.  Drove the ball right through the screen and the window.  The worker came out, threw my ball toward where it was supposed to be, and went back inside.  Here I was again, breaking stuff.  Hulk smash!

  So not only did I break two things, I had also a broken spirit.  The guilt in both instances were palatable and still with me.  Both were accidents.  Both were unintentional.  Both made me miserable.  Seeing Baxter in pain just ate me up as I sat in the waiting room to see what had happened.  Feeling terrible about breaking that window, even though the people at the course were really great, made me miserable.  I had broken things and in turn was broken a bit myself. 

   But the thing is, we are all broken people, even when we aren’t breaking stuff.  We are broken due to sin, broken as we deal with pain and suffering, broken by grief and sorrow, anxiety and worry, broken often both physically and mentally.  But we are not destroyed.  We may be broken, but we are made whole by the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  We are put back together by the love of a God who gives everything to us so that we might live.  We are healed by the Lord who carries our burdens, takes our sin, and walks with us every day.  Our brokenness does not separate us from God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.  Rather, our Lord looks upon us with compassion because we are broken. Because we need a Savior.

  Baxter is doing really well.  He had a follow up appointment this past week and things look really good and if you watched him walk or run, you wouldn’t even know that he had some broken toes.  The people at the golf course were so gracious and nice to me when I apologized about the window.  They understood.  Broken things can be mended, healed, put back whole.  We are mended, healed, and put back whole by the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ.  You may be broken today my friends.  I may be broken.  But in the midst of our brokenness comes a Savior to heal us, to make us whole, to remind us that though we are broken, we are loved, we are saved, and we are not alone.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!” 

   “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-10

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Here is Baxter in his living room pen. 

Trinity Tidings- Sept 11

Posted on: September 12th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Sunday School begins TODAY, September 11th, at 9:45 am.  You can register your child in advance with the form located in the Narthex.

Outdoor Worship Service and Blessing of the Animals on September 18th at 9 am. Join us in the Parking Lot for an outdoor worship.  Feel free to sit in your vehicle or bring a chair to sit and bring your animals for a blessing.

Turn in your Time & Talent Sheets!  One is attached to this email.  Please turn it in to the office.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Crew begins on September 21st for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Mission Trip Presentation on September 25th at 9 am.

2023 Mission Trip Informational Meeting on September 25th at 10:15 am.  Trip is open to all current High School youth.  Come get information and help choose where we will be going in the summer of 2023. 

Oktoberfest Craft & Vendor Show, Saturday, October 8th, from 9 am to 2 pm at Tiffany Creek Elementary.  Lots of great vendors, food served, all benefit the Woman of Trinity and their ministry and mission. 

School Bags  Pick up a school bag from a pew in the sanctuary and fill out the list that is included in the bag, then return to the church.  You can also donate loose school supplies as well and place in the bin in the Narthex.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 As I walked out of my house this morning at about 5:20 am, I did something I don’t do that often, especially on a Sunday morning.  I looked up.  I took a moment with completely clear skies to look at the stars.  Normally, as I exit the house, I do so with a to do list in my head, things I want to get to done and have to do when I get to church.  But despite having such a list this morning, I stood there for a few moments to appreciate the stars, to marvel at the beauty of those lights in the sky, especially since it was a clear moon as well.  I’m not sure what prompted it.  Maybe it was the fact that I had taught the creation story to my 7th grade confirmation story early in the week. Maybe it was the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  I don’t know.  But I stopped, and I looked, and I wondered and awed and appreciated. 

  I had the same feeling of appreciation after I got to church as I started to work through my to do list (of which this musings was one) as I set up for the baptism this morning.  We have a lot of baptisms at Trinity and we have a bunch more coming up, but as I moved the font and put the baptismal blanket in place, I thought about how cool it is that we get to do so many baptisms at Trinity.  We have double digit baptisms every year and it could be easy to take them for granted as just something that always happens.  But it is a great gift to have a baptism, to hear those baptismal promises given to a new child of God, to celebrate with a family this joyous occasion of God’s love and hope. 

  I guess what I’m getting at this morning is that it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the tasks of life.  I know that sometimes I get so focused on all the things that need to be done that I can forget to appreciate the things that are in front of me.  I forget to take a moment and to look around, to see the beauty and majesty and awesomeness of life and of God’s gifts to me in life. I hope that you will take a moment today, or tomorrow, or the next day, and appreciate what is around you.  To give thanks for the little things of life.  To remember the love of God in Jesus Christ that is for you.  That you might wonder at the stars or marvel at the joy of a newborn baby or appreciate the hug of a loved one or the snuggle of a pet.  For God is good and God loves you so much that God sent his only Son to die and rise so that you would be saved. 

  May the Lord bless you today and always!

Trinity Tidings- Sept 4th

Posted on: September 6th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Office closed on September 5th for Labor Day.

Sunday School begins on Sunday, September 11th, at 9:45 am.  You can register your child in advance with the form located in the Narthex.

Outdoor Worship Service and Blessing of the Animals on September 18th at 9 am. Join us in the Parking Lot for an outdoor worship.  Feel free to sit in your vehicle or bring a chair to sit and bring your animals for a blessing.

Turn in your Time & Talent Sheets!  One is attached to this email.  Please turn it in to the office.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Crew begins on September 21st for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Mission Trip Presentation on September 25th at 9 am.

2023 Mission Trip Informational Meeting on September 25th at 10:15 am.  Trip is open to all current High School youth.  Come get information and help choose where we will be going in the summer of 2023. 

Oktoberfest Craft & Vendor Show, Saturday, October 8th, from 9 am to 2 pm at Tiffany Creek Elementary.  Lots of great vendors, food served, all benefit the Woman of Trinity and their ministry and mission. 

School Bags  Pick up a school bag from a pew in the sanctuary and fill out the list that is included in the bag, then return to the church.  You can also donate loose school supplies as well and place in the bin in the Narthex.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 A little story for you.  Have a great Labor Day!

Table for Two by Kristen Burgess

He sits by himself at a table for two.

The uniformed waiter returns to his side and asks, “Would you like to go ahead and order, sir?” The man has, after all, been waiting since seven o’clock–almost two hours.

“No, thank you,” the man smiles. “I’ll wait for her a while longer. How about some more coffee?”

“Certainly, sir.”

The man sits, his clear blue eyes gazing straight through the flowered centerpiece. He fingers his napkin, allowing the sounds of light chatter, tinkling silverware, and mellow music to fill his mind. He is dressed in a sport coat and tie. His dark brown hair is neatly combed, but one stray lock insists on dropping to his forehead. The scent of his cologne adds to his clean-cut image. He is dressed up enough to make a companion feel important, respected, loved. Yet he is not so formal as to make one uncomfortable. It seems that he has taken every precaution to make others feel at ease with him.

Still, he sits alone.

The waiter returns to fill the man’s coffee cup. “Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?”

“No, thank you.”

The waiter remains standing at the table. Something tugs at his curiosity.

“I don’t mean to pry, but…” His voice trails off. This line of conversation could jeopardize his tip.

“Go ahead,” the man encourages. He is strong, yet sensitive, inviting conversation.

“Why do you bother waiting for her?” the waiter finally blurts out. This man has been at the restaurant many other evenings, always patiently alone.

Says the man quietly, “Because she needs me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh Yes. I’m very positive of that.”

“Well, sir, no offense, but assuming that she needs you, she sure isn’t acting much like it. She’s stood you up three times just this week alone.”

The man winces, and looks down at the table. “Yes, I know.”

“Then why do you still come here and wait?”

“Cassie said that she would be here.”

“She’s said that before,” the waiter protests. “I wouldn’t put up with it. Why do you?”

Now the man looks up, smiles at the waiter, and says simply, “Because I love her.”

The waiter walks away, wondering how one could love a girl who stands him up three times in one week alone. The man must be crazy, he decides. Either that or he must really love that girl. Across the room, he turns to look at the man again. The man slowly pours cream into his coffee. He twirls his spoon between his fingers a few times before stirring sweetener into his cup. After staring for a moment into the liquid, the man brings the cup to his mouth and sips, silently watching those around him. He doesn’t look crazy, the waiter admits. Maybe the girl has qualities that I don’t know about. Or maybe the man’s love is stronger than most. That’s probably it. This guy must be so much in love with her he can’t even see straight. The waiter shakes himself out of his musings to take an order from a party of five.

The man watches the waiter, and wonders if he’s ever been stood up. The man has. Many, many times. But he still can’t get used to it. Each time, it hurts. He’s looked forward to this evening all day. He has many things, exciting things, to tell Cassie. He loves her so much and so deeply. But, more importantly, he wants to hear Cassie’s voice. He wants her to tell him all about her day, her triumphs, her defeats….anything, really. He has tried so many times to show Cassie how much he loves her. He’d just like to know that she cares for him, too. He sips sporadically at the coffee, and loses himself in thought, knowing that Cassie is late, but still hoping that she will arrive.

The clock says nine-thirty when the waiter returns to the man’s table. “Is there anything I can get for you?”

The still empty chair stabs at the man. “No, I think that will be all for the night. May I have the check please?”

“Yes, sir.”

When the waiter leaves, the man picks up the check. He pulls out his wallet and sighs. He has enough to have given Cassie a feast. He takes out enough money to pay for his five cups of coffee and the tip. Why do you do this, Cassie?” His mind cries as he gets up from the table.

“Good-bye,” the waiter says, as the man walks towards the door.

“Good night. Thank you for your service.”

You’re welcome, sir,” says the waiter softly, for he sees the hurt in the man’s eyes that his smile doesn’t even begin to hide.

The man passes a laughing young couple on his way out and his eyes glisten as he thinks of the good time he and Cassie could have had. He stops at the front and makes reservations for tomorrow. Maybe Cassie will be able to make it, he thinks. Oh, I do hope so.

“Seven o’clock tomorrow for party of two?” the hostess confirms.

“That’s right,” the man replies.

“Do you think she’ll come?” asks the hostess. She doesn’t mean to be rude, but she has watched the man many times alone at his table for two.

“Someday, yes. And I will be waiting for her.”

The man buttons his overcoat and walks out of the restaurant, alone. His shoulders are hunched, but through the windows the hostess can only guess whether they are hunched against the wind or against the man’s hurt.

As the man turns toward home, Cassie turns in bed. She is tired after an evening out with friends. As she reaches toward her night stand to set the alarm, she sees the note that she scribbled to herself last night.

“7:00,” it says. “Spend some time in prayer.”

Darn, she thinks. She forgot again. She feels a twinge of guilt, but quickly pushes it aside. She needed that time with her friends. And now she needs her sleep. She can pray tomorrow night.

Jesus will forgive her. And she’s sure he doesn’t mind.

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Aug 29

Posted on: August 29th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Women of Trinity Fall Gathering, Thursday, September 1st, 6 pm.  It is a potluck so bring a dish to pass.  All women are invited!

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, August 31st, 7 pm.

Sunday School begins on Sunday, September 11th, at 9:45 am.  You can register your child in advance with the form located in the Narthex.

Outdoor Worship Service and Blessing of the Animals on September 18th at 9 am. Join us in the Parking Lot for an outdoor worship.  Feel free to sit in your vehicle or bring a chair to sit and bring your animals for a blessing.

Crew Snack Sign-Up.  Please sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for the Crew.  Please prepare to serve 60 kids and you can bring anything you want.

Crew begins on September 21st for all 3rd-6th graders  Crew is 3:30 pm till 5:00 pm and this year we will be taking a Journey Through the Bible.

Mission Trip Presentation on September 25th at 9 am.

2023 Mission Trip Informational Meeting on September 25th at 10:15 am.  Trip is open to all current High School youth.  Come get information and help choose where we will be going in the summer of 2023. 

Office closed on September 5th for Labor Day.

School Bags  Pick up a school bag from a pew in the sanctuary and fill out the list that is included in the bag, then return to the church.  You can also donate loose school supplies as well and place in the bin in the Narthex.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— O prosper the work of our hands!” Psalm 90:17

   On Monday, September 5th, we will have the last hurrah of summer with Labor Day. Labor Day is a federal holiday that celebrates the labor movement in the United States and lifts up workers and their achievements. It is a day of rest and fun for many of us and we often don’t think of all the hard work and sacrifices made by the workers of this country over its history to get us to this point. Work is a gift from God and our work is part of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. Not just the work that we do in our jobs, but our work on behalf of our community, our families, and most especially for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    We are the hands and feet of God, after all, laboring in the world to not only provide for our families, but to care for the neighbor and lift up the kingdom of God. Each of us has been given gifts and talents that we use in all areas of life and we ask, as it says in the Psalm above, that the Lord would be upon and us prosper for us the work of our hands, wherever that work may be.

   On this month of Labor Day, as we enjoy the last moments of summer and take a moment to give thanks for work and what it means in our life, I want you to take a moment to think about how you can work for the Lord and for the ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church. Included in this Trinity Tidings is a Time and Talent sheet that I hope you will fill out and turn back in. It gives just a few of the ways you can work for the Lord to continue to make Trinity a strong and vibrant ministry. I encourage you to think outside of the box as well.

   Parents don’t always have to teach Sunday School or help with Crew. We could use the wisdom and faith of all ages to help guide our youth. Are you willing to get up once every other month to read scripture? Can you help with something that is often goes unseen, like shoveling snow, taking the garbage to the dump, or filling up communion cups? Men don’t always have to be ushers, by the way, and women don’t always have to serve on Altar Guild. Maybe you can help take items to the food pantry once a month or be willing to serve on a committee that talks about important issues of ministry. Where are you willing to serve? Where can the Lord prosper the work of your hands?

    Because without your labor, the church is just a lifeless building doing nothing to proclaim the Gospel, serve our neighbor, and bring glory to God. Without your labor, without you answering God’s call to serve in ways both seen and unseen, we are nothing but a country club who eats cheese and crackers and drinks coffee and slowly dies. But with your labor, with your service, we are a dynamic vessel that changes lives and brings glory to God. I will pray for you and with you as you discern how you can serve the Lord. And I pray that God will prosper the work of your hands in every aspect of your life and strengthening you in faith, hope, and love.

  Your fellow worker,

     PB

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings-Aug 14th

Posted on: August 15th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Lunch & Pie Social, August 21st, 10 am till 4 pm.  Lots of great food and homemade pie!  Benefits the Women of Trinity.

Workers & items needed for the Lunch & Pie Social  Please see the sign-ups on the table in the Narthex

Float Riders needed for the church float at Picklefest! All kids get a free bag of candy!  Meet at the church at Noon on Sunday, August 21st

Campfire Worship, Wednesday, August 17th, 6:30 pm.  Bring a chair to sit on. 

Pick up your church directories!  They are on the Cake Table in the Narthex

Trinity Men’s Band will be at First Lutheran Church in Cumberland at 6pm on August 24th and at the Downsville Rec Park on August 28th at 11 am.

School Bags  Pick up a school bag from a pew in the sanctuary and fill out the list that is included in the bag, then return to the church.  You can also donate loose school supplies as well and place in the bin in the Narthex.

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, August 31st, 7 pm.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  On Friday, late morning, I was pretty wiped.  It had been a good week but a long one and draining.  Between saying goodbye to Katie on Sunday, to having some appointments during the week, running up to camp to preach on Tuesday night, to playing in a golf outing all day Wednesday then sprinting to get back to lead worship to running a golf outing on Thursday and all the work that took to coming in Friday morning to get a sermon written, some office stuff done, and to polish off the wedding I was doing on Saturday, I needed a recharge and a rest. There had been too much running, too much stuff.  

  You might find this hard to believe, but I’m not the best at recharging and resting.  Sure, I enjoy a short afternoon nap when I can get it, but it tends to be buttressed by running around like a crazy man.  I often find that I need rest long after I should have taken one.  But Friday was a perfect scenario.  Amy made an awesome lunch, it was raining outside, and Star Wars happened to be on the TV.  Perfect time to take a rest.  The puppy needed some Dad time and after a little playing, we settled into the Lazy Boy chair in the living room with the familiar sounds of Star Wars on the TV and we took a nap of naps.  We slept so hard it took me awhile to get fully awake and functional.  It was a nap I needed, to rest and recharge before heading to the wedding rehearsal I was doing.

   We all need rest.  We need time to stop.  Now, rest doesn’t always mean a drool inducing two hour nap.  Sometimes it can just be slowing down, enjoying your surroundings or the people you are with.  Sometimes it is taking a moment for prayer or to read scripture. It might be a conversation with a friend or an outing that gets you out of town for a bit. It is about letting your body, soul, and mind reset and recharge.  As I have gotten older, I have seen the need for this more and more as I can’t just power through a crazy schedule without consequences to my physical and mental health.  And with Katie gone, I am being extra mindful of making sure that I stay healthy for the sake of our ministry here at Trinity.

  Soon school is going to start, schedules are going to get crazy, and the joys of summer and vacation will be in the rearview mirror.  But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take a timeout from time to time.  A chance to rest, to relax, to recharge in a way that works for you.  I have no doubt that there will be times this fall when I’ll grab Baxter, turn on some Star Wars, and rest.  Remember that you are human and not a machine.  Get some rest, recharge the body, the mind, and the spirit, and remember that from the very beginning God knew our need for rest.  After all, that is why God rested on the Sabbath and gave it to us as a gift, as a reminder that we need to recharge so that we can be fully who God has created us to be.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”  Amen

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Aug 8th

Posted on: August 8th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

August 8, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Lunch & Pie Social, August 21st, 10 am till 4 pm.  Lots of great food and homemade pie!  Benefits the Women of Trinity.

Workers & items needed for the Lunch & Pie Social  Please see the sign-ups on the table in the Narthex

Float Riders needed for the church float at Picklefest! All kids get a free bag of candy!  Meet at the church at Noon on Sunday, August 21st

Campfire Worship, Wednesday, August 17th, 6:30 pm.  Bring a chair to sit on. 

Pick up your church directories!  They are on the Cake Table in the Narthex

Trinity Men’s Band will be at First Lutheran Church in Cumberland at 6pm on August 24th and at the Downsville Rec Park on August 28th at 11 am.

Confirmation Parent Meeting, Wednesday, August 31st, 7 pm.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 On Thursday, I surprised Amy with a puppy, a male toy Schnauzer that she named Baxter.  Amy was completely surprised and of course fell in love with the dog immediately (he is pretty cute).  But you know who didn’t fall in love with Baxter?  Our current dog, Kapono.  Let’s just say that she is not a fan.  And I can see why.  She has been our only dog for many years and she likes things the way she likes them.  Plus, she likes all the attention from Mom, and now that attention is split.

  But you know who wants to be friends?  Baxter.  Baxter tries to engage Kapono, tries to get her to play with him, and she is having none of it.  But he doesn’t give up.  He keeps going to her, all excited. And she keeps going the other way, trying to escape this hyper puppy.  But Baxter doesn’t give up.  No matter where Kapono tries to flee, Baxter follows.  And doesn’t give up.  I have no doubt that eventually they will get along.

   Watching Baxter chase after Kapono, I thought about our relationship with God.  Sometimes we run away from God.  We run away because of shame, of guilt, of feeling unworthy.  Maybe we aren’t ready for the radical love of God in Jesus Christ, a radical love that makes us see the world in a different way.  Maybe we are afraid, for we know that in Jesus Christ we are changed.  And we don’t like change.  Like Kapono. 

  But God is like Baxter.  God does not give up on us and keeps coming after us.  We might run away, but God keeps after us.  You can run away all you want, but God will keep on coming.  Why?  Because God loves you.  Because wants to show you the grace and mercy you need in life, show you that you are matter and that you are loved. No matter what.  We might get lost from time to time, but the Lord brings us back.  Searches for us so that we might know the grace and mercy given to us in eternal life.  As Jesus says in the Parable of the Lost Sheep,  “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?”

  I’m thankful that God never gives us up on us.  We may try to run away, but God keeps coming.  I know that without God searching for me, I would be truly lost.  But because God has found me, I know the love of God in Jesus Christ.  I know that I am saved and redeemed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I know that I have a place prepared for me in glory and a promise that I can live by.

   Remember that God never gives up on you.  Ever.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Meet Baxter:

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- July 31

Posted on: August 1st, 2022 by Brad Peterson

TRINITY TIDINGS

July 31 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Celebrating and Saying Farewell to Katie Wagner  Sunday, August 7th.  August 7th is Katie’s last day with us and we invite you to join us for worship and fellowship as we give thanks for her time with us as Youth Coordinator and Pastoral Intern. 

Lunch & Pie Social, August 21st, 10 am till 4 pm.  Lots of great food and homemade pie!  Benefits the Women of Trinity.

Workers & items needed for the Lunch & Pie Social  Please see the sign-ups on the table in the Narthex

Campfire Worship, Wednesday, August 17th, 6:30 pm.  Bring a chair to sit on. 

Pick up your church directories!  They are on the Cake Table in the Narthex

Summer Fellowship  We need fellowship servers starting on June 12th.  Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to serve!

Summer Cake Walk  The Women of Trinity take over the Cake Walk in the summer to help fund their ministries!  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex!

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 We got back from our Mission Trip late Friday night from a week in Nashville.  We did and saw much.  Toured the Grand Ole Opry, visited the Nashville Zoo, Centennial Park and the Parthenon, went to Opryland, and they even indulged me in going to get some BBQ (and I indulged them with ice cream!).  We worked at homeless shelters, community centers, nursing home, with organizations as varied as Habitat for Humanity, Community Resource Center of Middle Tennessee, and Shower Up, which provides shower services to the homeless.  We sweated in the crazy heat, endured taking five minute showers in a building with no AC and sleeping on air mattresses where the AC was so high you had to wear all your clothes. We served alongside people from Michigan and Minnesota, did the Church Clap dance, laughed, cried, and everything in between.  It was a good trip and I know the kids can’t wait to share it all with you in the future and to thank you for helping to make it happen.

  But this little post here is about two people who, without them, we couldn’t have gone on this trip.  This is about our two volunteer chaperones, Melissa Holden and Lori Jensen.  Katie and I get to go on this trip but that is also part of our job.  Melissa and Lori had to leave their jobs for a week to go on this trip, and without them, we wouldn’t have been able to go.  They drove a van, headed up work crews, and provided much needed guidance and support to our youth throughout the week.  They had to sleep on air mattresses and endure all the same things that the kids had to endure. They might have even had to battle a cockroach in their bed!  Through it all, they were a great example to our youth and participated fully in everything the Mission Trip offered. 

  We have been blessed through the years with adults willing to give up so much to come with our kids on our trip and all of them, including Melissa and Lori, have been awesome.  So if you see these two, please thank them for making this trip a reality, for sacrificing so much to be a part of it, and for the awesome servants, parents, and leaders that they are.  Thank you Melissa and Lori!

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

The group in front of the Parthenon in Nashville.

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- July 18th

Posted on: July 19th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

TRINITY TIDINGS

July 18, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Christmas in July Worship Sunday, July 24th, 9 am.  Wear your Christmas stuff to church!

Celebrating and Saying Farewell to Katie Wagner  Sunday, August 7th.  August 7th is Katie’s last day with us and we invite you to join us for worship and fellowship as we give thanks for her time with us as Youth Coordinator and Pastoral Intern. 

Pick up your church directories!  They are on the Cake Table in the Narthex

Summer Fellowship  We need fellowship servers starting on June 12th.  Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to serve!

Summer Cake Walk  The Women of Trinity take over the Cake Walk in the summer to help fund their ministries!  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex!

We are on summer office hours now, so the office is closed on Fridays.

No Wednesday Worship on July 27th

Personal Care Kit Donations are being collected by the youth for their mission trip to Nashville. Items to include are: men’s/women’s socks, travel size toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, travel size hand sanitizer, travel size shampoo, and soap. Please bring items to the church by July 21st.

Thank you Trinity for the amazing surprise 20th Ordination Anniversary and being at Trinity party!  It was an amazing day on Sunday and special thanks to all who worked so hard to make it happen (and to hide it from me!).  I am eternally grateful.  PB

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

  When I was in Middle School, I was in track, because everyone was in track.  And our coach made every person do a running event.  So, because I was not fast in any way beyond ten feet, I had to run the mile.  I hated every second of it.  Plus, I was not very good at it, often coming in last or close to last.  Frankly, I am surprised I finished every race.  But I knew why I finished: my friend Aaron.

  Aaron was a runner and loved to run long distances, and he also ran the mile.  The different between him and me is he would finish while I would still be on my second lap of four.  I would be wheezing, struggling to breath, just wanting it to end, but then Aaron would come over.  He would run next to me, even though he had already run the mile, and encourage me to finish.  He would keep me going, even in the midst of my torture, so I would finish.  I have no doubt I wouldn’t have made it without his encouragement.

  In life, we so often find ourselves running the race of life and it feels like we have no breath, that we are wheezing, that it is torture, that we want to quit.  But our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ runs with us.  After all, it is God who has given us breath.  Without that breath, we are just flesh and bone.  But we are alive and in life, our Savior doesn’t leave us to run it alone.  Christ runs with us, helps us when we want to give up, guides us in all that we do.  You are never alone.

   May you know every day that the Lord is with you, renewing you, strengthening you, running besides you in this grace race we call life.  Never give up, because your are loved and saved by your Savior Jesus Christ.  May God bless you every day and always!

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- June 19

Posted on: June 20th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Pick up your church directories!  They are on the Cake Table in the Narthex

Baby Care Kits so if you are going to any thrift sales we can use sleepers or gowns, hooded sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets, baby socks, t-shirts, all size 6 months to 24 months.

Summer Fellowship  We need fellowship servers starting on June 12th.  Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to serve!

Summer Cake Walk  The Women of Trinity take over the Cake Walk in the summer to help fund their ministries!  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex!

Blood Mobile on Monday, June 27th, from Noon till 6 pm.

We are on summer office hours now, so the office is closed on Fridays.

Personal Care Kit Donations are being collected by the youth for their mission trip to Nashville. Items to include are: men’s/women’s socks, travel size toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, travel size hand sanitizer, travel size shampoo, and soap. Please bring items to the church by July 21st.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  This past week, we held our first VBS in 17 years without Luther Park Bible Camp.  During this past week, I relearned three things.  They are:

  1. Kids are pretty awesome.
  2. Kids are pretty exhausting.
  3. None of the awesomeness of the week happens without awesome volunteers.

Now look, I inherently knew those things prior to this week, but the week of VBS reinforced all of those things.  Kids are awesome.  They are goofy, strange, weird, and funny in all the best ways.  I appreciated their energy in singing songs, the thoughtfulness they put in when we made cards for the nursing home or rocks for the friendship garden.  I enjoyed their willingness to go with us during Bible Study and for the crazy abandon they had in trying to get me and others wet on water day.  Working with kids is pretty awesome because, for the most part, kids are awesome.

  But they are also incredibly exhausting.  You have to bring energy to match their energy, which is exhausting enough, because they have A LOT of energy!  At the same time, they don’t always listen, they are messy, and sometimes do things that defy all logical thought.  At the end of each day, Katie and I would look at each other like we had survived a battle, and we knew we had to do it again the next day. However, I’ll take the exhaustion every day.  It is worth it. 

  Finally, none of VBS happens without awesome volunteers.  They make it all happen.  From our great parents who helped to teach and supervise, to our awesome Queens of the Snack that served the kids every day (plus those who donated the snack items), to our cool youth of all ages that came and did everything from helping to lead worship to running crafts to filling up water containers for water day, volunteers make everything happen.  My biggest fear in doing VBS ourselves for the first time in 17 years was that we wouldn’t have the volunteers to make it happen.  But we did.  Thank you to our great volunteers!

   I encourage you to go to the Trinity Facebook page to see pictures from VBS and we look forward to doing it again next year!

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- June 13

Posted on: June 14th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 12:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Help Needed:  Luther Park will not be running VBS for this year.  We need help with setting up crafts and helping to watch kids.  Please talk to PB or Katie if you can help. 

VBS Snacks Needed: Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Turn back the clock worship, Sunday, June 19th.  Join us at 9 am as we bring back an old fashioned worship service, with the old chants and everything.  Hope to see you there!

Pick up your church directories!  They are on the Cake Table in the Narthex

Baby Care Kits so if you are going to any thrift sales we can use sleepers or gowns, hooded sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets, baby socks, t-shirts, all size 6 months to 24 months.

Summer Fellowship  We need fellowship servers starting on June 12th.  Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to serve!

Summer Cake Walk  The Women of Trinity take over the Cake Walk in the summer to help fund their ministries!  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex!

Blood Mobile on Monday, June 27th, from Noon till 6 pm.

We are on summer office hours now, so the office is closed on Fridays.

Congratulations to Brian & Katie Moll for winning Simply Giving Mania!

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Football is my favorite sport, and I love almost everything about it, outside of Aaron Rodgers always beating my Chicago Bears.  I love the athleticism, the hitting, the strategy.  I can watch football on every level, on any day, at any time.  But there is one thing I don’t love.  I don’t love the celebrating on the routine plays.  You sack the QB, making Aaron Rodgers cry? Celebrate.  Score a TD? Celebrate.  Get a big first down or make a big catch?  Celebrate fully.  Tackle someone after a four yard gain and celebrate like a crazy person?  Stupid.  That’s just me.  There is too much boasting going on for my like.  Call me a grouch, a grump, old school.  But I think there is a time to a boast and a time not to. It just seems like something dumb to boast about, doing what you are supposed to do. 

  Sometimes I have a hard time with a part of this reading from Romans for today. To boast in our sufferings?  Really?  To boast about grieving a death?  Boast about a physical ailment or a mental illness?  Boast about a natural disaster? Just seems stupid. 

  But that is not what Paul is actually saying here.  Paul isn’t saying that we boast because of our sufferings.  No.  Rather.  We boast in the midst of our suffering.  Why can we boast in the midst of our suffering?  Because we share in the glory of God.  Because we have been given peace.  Because we have been justified by faith and not by our works.  Because God is at work in the midst of our suffering, producing endurance, character, and hope.  And that hope sustains us, never disappoints us, because our hope rests on Jesus Christ, our Savior. 

   We can boast, even when we suffer, for we know that suffering is not the end.  Nothing is greater than God’s love in Jesus Christ for us and this Jesus died and rose to bring us to eternal life.  Suffering is not our final state.  We have been given things that are greater than our suffering: peace, love, justification, salvation, character, endurance, hope. 

  So today, my friends, boast.  Rejoice.  Give thanks!  Your salvation is here and nothing that happens in life can take aways the peace, hope, grace, and love you have been given in Jesus Christ.  For that we can say, “thanks be to God!”  Amen

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- May 30, 2022

Posted on: May 31st, 2022 by Brad Peterson

TRINITY TIDINGS

May 30, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Simply Giving Mania!  From May 1st till June 5th, if you join our automated giving program Simply Giving or increase your current Simply Giving by $5 a month, you will get entered into a drawing to win four tickets.  What tickets?  YOUR CHOICE!  Choices are: Four tickets to the Wisconsin Football Game against Illinois State on Sept. 3; Brewers-Twins game at Target Field, an event at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire, or an event at the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie.  Pick up a form on the round table in the Narthex or included in this Good News  or attached to this email.  DEADLINE THIS SUNDAY!

Summer Office Hours begin this week.  Office will be closed on Fridays. 

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 12:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Help Needed:  Luther Park will not be running VBS for this year.  We need help with setting up crafts and helping to watch kids.  Please talk to PB or Katie if you can help. 

VBS Snacks Needed:  Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Wednesday Worship moves to 6:30 pm on June 1st.

Join us this Sunday, June 5th, to help Bob & Lynda Bird celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary!  Fellowship will be served in their honor by their family and you can stop till 1 pm. 

Funeral for Linda Nerison will be on Wednesday, June 8th, at 11 am.

Turn back the clock worship, Sunday, June 19th.  Join us at 9 am as we bring back an old fashioned worship service, with the old chants and everything.  Hope to see you there!

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.  Acts 16:25-26

  A few years ago, Amy and I visited San Francisco and we toured the famed prison Alcatraz.  To walk those infamous halls, to walk into the small cells and hear the stories of those that were in that prison, was truly eye opening.  Now, thankfully, I’ve only visited jail and have never actually had to be a resident of one.  To have the loss of freedom, to be trapped in a small cage, restricted in all that I do, seems to me to be one of the worst things I could endure.  But the fact of the matter is, we all are often imprisoned in our version of jail.  It might not be a physical structure, like Alcatraz, but it is one all the same.  We build ourselves jails of grief, of pain, self-doubt, of guilt and shame, of fear and greed.  We find ourselves in shackles and chains, some of our own making and some placed upon us by the sinfulness of the world and the work of the devil. No matter the kind of chains we have around us, they restrict us, suffocate us, trap us in a cycle of suffering, pain, and hardship.  They weigh  on our soul. Think of how the Marley is always depicted in the story “A Christmas Carol.”  Weighed down by heavy chains.  Our hearts and souls have those chains around us. 

  Today we have a story of Paul and Silas in prison. They are jailed because of the fear of others and the greed they inhabit.  Yet, in the midst of their imprisonment, they are freed by God, and they themselves free others, including the jailer who is ready to end his life over the guilt that the prisoners have escaped. 

  You, my friends, are free from the jails that you find yourself in, the chains shattered and broken, by your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  For Jesus died to free you from all things.  Jesus died and rose again, defeating sin and death, so that you would be free.  Jesus promises to carry your burdens, forgive you of your sins, and to be with you always.  This has been done not because you are perfect but because you are in chains.  Because you are imprisoned by fear, greed, grief, and suffering.  For your Savior loves you and so frees you so you can be who God created you to be.  Jesus frees you to give you hope. 

   Yes, we may find ourselves imprisoned by a variety of things.  But in Christ, there is always freedom.  In Christ, our chain breaker, all that enslaves us is destroyed and we are made new.  Today, your Savior has taken all that burdens you, all the enslaves you, the jail you find yourself in, and has destoreyd it.  Because he loves you.  And for that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”  Amen

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings – May 22, 2022

Posted on: May 23rd, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Simply Giving Mania!  From May 1st till June 5th, if you join our automated giving program Simply Giving or increase your current Simply Giving by $5 a month, you will get entered into a drawing to win four tickets.  What tickets?  YOUR CHOICE!  Choices are: Four tickets to the Wisconsin Football Game against Illinois State on Sept. 3; Brewers-Twins game at Target Field, an event at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire, or an event at the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie.  Pick up a form on the round table in the Narthex or included in this Good News. 

Office is closed on Monday, May 30th, for Memorial Day.

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 12:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Help Needed:  Luther Park will not be running VBS for this year.  We need help with setting up crafts and helping to watch kids.  Please talk to PB or Katie if you can help. 

VBS Snacks Needed:  Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Wednesday Worship moves to 6:30 pm on June 1st.

Congrats to all our 2022 High School Graduates! Lexi Andrews, Madison Andrews, Brittany, Buhr, Libby Bygd, Preston Coombs, Myia Draeger, Jacob Granley, Ella Holden, Dawson McRoberts, Harper Olson!

Congrats to our 2022 Trinity Memorial Scholarship Winners! Libby Bygd, Ella Holden, Harper Olson

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” John 14:26

I’m not sure what I would do without two things in my life: Post-it notes and my phone alarm.  Other than the alarm that goes off at 4:05 am every day to wake me up (yep, that’s what time I wake up.  Every day.  Except Saturday.  Then I sleep in till 5:30 am). 

  Anyways, without Post-It Notes and my phone alarm, I might be lost in life.  Because they remind me of all the things I have to do, get, and go to.  Yes, I have an electronic calendar that sends me a notice a half hour before something is going to begin, but in reality, it is the phone alarm and Post-It Notes that really do the trick.  I set the alarm to remind me to go do crossing guard, or go to a meeting, or to make sure I make a phone call or send an email that needs to be sent.  The Post-It Notes remind me of things I need to get at the store (those go on my wallet) or something that needs to be done like write a Musings for Trinity Tidings (those go on my desk) or to grab something before I leave the house (those go on the door).  As you might have guessed, I need a lot of reminders of things.  When you are ADD like me and can get easily distracted, those reminders are godsends that help to keep my life in order.

   We are often busy people who need reminders, whether we have ADD or not.  We need reminders of all sorts of things and I bet you have your own system for how to remind yourself of the things you need reminding.  But we don’t just need reminding when we have an event to go to or to pick up milk from the store.  We also need to be reminded that Jesus Christ love us and has saved us.  Because we forget.  We forget that we are loved, that we are saved by grace through faith, that we have the promise of eternal life.  We forget that we are called as disciples who serve our neighbor and our Lord.  We forget.  We get distracted by life, by the sufferings we endure, by our sinfulness and shame. 

   But God has sent us something to remind us of all that has been done for us.  To remind us that we are loved, forgiven, and saved.  And that is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, I like to say, is God’s Post-It  Note.  God sticks that on our heart to remind us of all that God has done for us.  To remind us that Jesus is with us always.  To remind us of who we are and who God has made us to be.  Because we need constant reminding.  Every day.  I know I do.

   This very moment, the Lord is sending you the Holy Spirit to remind you of all Jesus Christ has done for you.  You are a loved child of God, freed from sin and death, called to love your neighbor.  This is who are.  This is what Jesus Christ has done for you through his death and resurrection.  May you be reminded every single day. 

   May the Lord bless you this day and always!

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Our 2022 Trinity Lutheran Memorial Youth Scholarship Recipients.  L-R: Harper Olson, Libby Bygd, Ella Holden

Trinity Tidings- May 15th

Posted on: May 16th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Men’s Band Concert, Sunday, May 22nd, 9 am.

Simply Giving Mania!  From May 1st till June 5th, if you join our automated giving program Simply Giving or increase your current Simply Giving by $5 a month, you will get entered into a drawing to win four tickets.  What tickets?  YOUR CHOICE!  Choices are: Brewers-Twins game at Target Field, an event at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire, or an event at the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie.  Pick up a form on the round table in the Narthex or included in this Good News. 

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 12:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Help Needed:  Luther Park will not be running VBS for this year.  We need help with setting up crafts and helping to watch kids.  Please talk to PB or Katie if you can help. 

VBS Snacks Needed:  Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Graduate Recognition Sunday May 22nd at 9 am.

Women of Trinity Summer Gathering, June 2nd, 6 pm.  All women are invited to attend this annual event!  Gather with other women for a meal, fellowship, and fun!  Sign-up in the Narthex so we can have a good count for food.

Summer Fellowship  We need fellowship servers starting on June 12th.  Please see the sign-up sheet in the Narthex to serve!

Summer Cake Walk  The Women of Trinity take over the Cake Walk in the summer to help fund their ministries!  See the sign-up on the table in the Narthex!

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Colossians 3:12

  I don’t know what you all do, but I tend to take some time and set out the clothes I’m going to wear about three or four days in advance.  This is a big change, for when I was a kid through even seminary, I tended to just pick the cleanest thing I could find as my style could be described as “sports shirt with jeans or shorts and if it was cold I would grab a sweatshirt.”  I was super stylish.

  But now, there are a lot more things to consider.  What will be going on that day?  Do I have to umpire that night, so I need to have stuff ready for that?  Will I be golfing that day or doing a visit?  What if we are going to be moving stuff around the church?  Do I need an extra t-shirt for working out in that morning?  Do I need to have clerics ready for a funeral or other event?  This is one of the reasons why I set stuff out a few days in advance, mostly to make sure I have the actual clothes I need clean and ready for whatever is going to be happening on those days.

   Here in the reading from above from Colossians, Paul reminds us that we have some new clothes to put on.  Having been loved, saved, and renewed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we don’t put on the same clothes we did before.  We are now holy and beloved by God, made that way not by what we have done, but by what Jesus Christ has done for us.  And so we have new clothes to put on.  Clothes like kindness, compassion, humility, meekness, and patience.  These are the clothes we are given to wear out into the world, to show the world the power of God’s love in Jesus Christ.  These are the clothes you are given to effect change in the world.

   Have you ever thought about putting on these clothes?  About intentionally approaching your day with these attributes? Facing a day that you know might be challenging at work with patience?  Thinking about wearing kindness as you deal with a family situation?  Putting on compassion as you use your gifts for the sake of your neighbor?  God in Jesus Christ gives us new clothes to wear, clothes that prepare us for every situation, clothes that speak volumes to the world about what it means to follow Jesus Christ. 

  So as you plan your week and you pick out the clothes you will wear on your body, think about the clothes given to you in Jesus Christ. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Live by the clothes you have been given, clothes given to you by a Savior who gave his life for yours, has forgiven your sin, make you new, and will one day bring you to eternal life.  May God be with you today and always!

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

May 8 Trinity Tidings

Posted on: May 12th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Men’s Band Concert, Sunday, May 22nd, 9 am.

Simply Giving Mania!  From May 1st till June 5th, if you join our automated giving program Simply Giving or increase your current Simply Giving by $5 a month, you will get entered into a drawing to win four tickets.  What tickets?  YOUR CHOICE!  Choices are: Brewers-Twins game at Target Field, an event at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire, or an event at the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie.  Pick up a form on the round table in the Narthex or included in this Good News. 

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 12:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Help Needed:  Luther Park will not be running VBS for this year.  We need help with setting up crafts and helping to watch kids.  Please talk to PB or Katie if you can help. 

VBS Snacks Needed:  Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Graduate Recognition Sunday May 22nd at 9 am.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  “Surely goodness and mercy  . . .” Psalm 23:6

   If you talk to my friends, they might tell you that I can be pretty negative, especially when it comes to my sports teams.  I’m always complaining about them.  Of course, I usually have a good reason, but I’m also the guy that states a game is over when my team is down by one early in the game.  I’m also pretty negative about my own sporting output, especially on the golf course. 

   Frankly, I sometimes think we as a society are pretty negative about the world.  We look at life and only see . . .bad things.  I can’t blame us, with all that is going on.  But I also think it is a collective symptom of looking only for the negative.  We tend to downgrade the present and romanticize the past.  Lord knows I have been known to do it.  But then I think of these words almost at the end of Psalm 23: “Surely goodness and mercy.”  The key word for that is “surely.”  There is a confidence in that statement.  Surely there will be goodness and mercy, goodness and mercy provided by the Lord.  It is a statement of faith.  Surely.

   I’ve been trying to remind myself of this.  No matter what is going on the world, no matter how much the news I hear makes me fearful or sadness me, in the Lord there is always goodness.  There is always mercy. There is the smile of a child.  A sunny day.  A flower blooming from the ground.  The love of family.  The snuggle of a dog.  A good song, a funny TV show, the delicious bite of a good meal.  Surely.  We are surrounded not just with suffering, pain, and hardship.  I contend that we are surrounded by more blessing, more joy, more gifts then we often see for we take them for granted.  Surely.

   We need a reset of the way we look at our lives.  As I write this, the Wild just lost a playoff game that they really didn’t play well in.  I normally would be depressed and sad and ranting.  But I’m thankful for a great team to watch, a hope that they will win the next game, and trying to be positive.  Why?  Surely goodness and mercy.  I see the terrible headlines in the news but I also have been trying to find stories of hope, of achievement, of people doing amazing things for other people. Surely goodness and mercy.  I’m trying look to see how God is working in and through the people around me. 

   Take a moment to remind yourself of the blessing of life.  Try to see the world through the eyes of your great shepherd Jesus Christ.  Try to exist in the world with these words always on your lips and in your heart: “surely goodness and mercy.”  Surely.  May God bless you this week and always!

Trinity Tidings- May 2

Posted on: May 2nd, 2022 by Brad Peterson

TRINITY TIDINGS

May 2, 2022

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Men’s Band Concert, Sunday, May 22nd, 9 am.

Adopt-A-Highway Saturday, May 7th, 8 am.  All ages welcome!  Wear long pants and bring gloves.  Help us care for our stretch of highway and keep God’s creation clean! 

Simply Giving Mania!  From May 1st till June 5th, if you join our automated giving program Simply Giving or increase your current Simply Giving by $5 a month, you will get entered into a drawing to win four tickets.  What tickets?  YOUR CHOICE!  Choices are: Brewers-Twins game at Target Field, an event at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire, or an event at the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie.  Pick up a form on the round table in the Narthex or included in this Good News. 

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 2:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Snacks Needed:  Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Graduate Recognition Sunday May 22nd at 9 am.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  This past Saturday, I had the privilege to be the MC for Boyceville’s Prom.  I always enjoy going and helping out, seeing the kids all dressed up, and talking with them.  It is always fun and special to be invited into these big moments and it also makes you reflect a bit.

  As I was driving home, I thought about the three proms I attended, my Junior prom in 1993, Senior prom in 1994, and then I attended prom at the end of my freshmen year of college in 1995.  In my school, only Juniors and Seniors could go to prom unless invited and I went to all three with the same girl, Deena, who was a year younger than me.  But as I reflected on those proms this past Saturday, I had a realization.  It may even sound cliché, but each of the proms I attended was at a major turning point in my life, where things would not be the same not too long after.  Let me explain.

Junior Prom, 1993

My Junior Prom was held on May 8th, 1993, and it was in our high school gym (as all of our proms were).  My class actually tried to have it offsite as we had lots of money to spend on prom but the school said no.  Our theme was “A Whole New World,” an Aladdin inspired theme, and one of the things I remember was that we got to skip classes to decorate the gym on Thursday and Friday of that week.  Also, being who I am, I arrived with my date early and the DJ for our prom never showed, so we hired one quickly on the spot and I was asked to help carry in all his equipment, including trays and trays of CD’s (for our young people, this was how music was listened to back in the 90’s).  I remember having a great time with my date and my friends and was disappointed I couldn’t go to post prom, which was held in an “Action City” type of place the next town over because my date’s parents said she had to be home by midnight. 

   But that is not what made this prom important in my life.  I have the date burned into my brain because this was the day I knew that my Dad was going to die.  He had cancer, and though he had been diagnosed terminal, we were all hopeful that he was going to last a few more months, maybe even throughout the summer.  I went to visit my Dad in the hospital that morning, and when I walked in I found him all yellow with jaundice and barely able to talk.  And when he did talk, much of it made no sense.  I left after ten minutes as I couldn’t take it and didn’t want to break down in front of him.  As I rode down in the elevator, I knew my Dad was going to die sooner rather than later.  I knew that my life would never, ever, be the same.  On the way to eat with my date, I told her that my Dad was bad and that I was concerned.  But I downplayed it and I don’t know how, but for a few hours I tried to forget what was about to happen to enjoy the prom.  I put on a brave face and pretended everything was ok, when everything really wasn’t.

   He would die two days later, on May 10th, 1993. 

Senior Prom, May 1994

   There is the cliché that your Senior prom is, outside of graduation, kind of a last hurrah.  To appreciate the people and things around you because everything is going to change.  At my Senior prom, I knew that to be true.  One of the reasons for that is that, in the year since my Dad had died, I had changed.  I had grown up.  I had to become independent.  I had to face some things and I had gotten through to the other side. 

  But I also knew this: I was scared.  I was scared to go to college.  I was one of those kids who loved high school.  I knew who I was, I enjoyed what I did, I had a great group of friends, and I was successful.  College?  No clue.  None of my friends were going to the school I was going.  I didn’t know anybody that went there either.  Who would my friends be? Would I meet people?  And also, what happens if I fail?  What if I don’t do well in school or meet the goals I had set for myself?  Being at that Senior Prom was like being in a comfortable position and situation.  But afterwards?  Fear and unknowns.  But mostly fear.

  My last Prom, May, 1995.

    I walked into prom in May of 1995, home from college from the summer for about a week, and I knew one big truth: I no longer belonged here.  Sure, I was with my same date from the previous two proms.  My best friend had walked in with his date right before me.  I knew almost everyone in the room, in a place I had called my home for most of my life.  But I knew I didn’t belong.  I didn’t fit.  It wasn’t me anymore.

  Of course, I loved my friends and my hometown.  But I had changed in my year at college.  The fear that I had felt during my Senior Prom about going to college had been replaced with confidence.  Living outside of my hometown for the first time ever, no longer the principal’s son, I had found myself.  I had a great group of friends, was doing well in my classes, and had found a community at the Campus Ministry at Immanuel Lutheran Church that became like a family.

   I could just tell that I didn’t quite fit the same way anymore in my hometown, like a puzzle piece that kind of fits but really doesn’t.  At first it made me sad, like something was lost.  But then it was more of gratitude.  My hometown and the people therein had shaped and molded me but had also given me the tools to find myself.  And I had.  Little did I know that God had already shoved me onto the path that would lead me to becoming a pastor.  A little bit after this prom, I agreed to be an interim youth director at my church, handling all the programming for the summer (my twin sister came on board to handle the money part).  That would lead me to an idea that would really catapult me: to work at Bible Camp the next summer.  And then the rest is history.

  Three proms that came each time at a moment when my life was about to change.  Junior prom, the loss of my Father, who would shape the rest of my life.  Senior prom, confronting the fear of being able to make it on my own, outside of my comfortable bubble.  And my last prom, where I left the past behind and where God was about to really show me a new path.  Today, I look back and see God’s hand in all of it, and when I go to prom now, I pray that the Lord will be there for our youth, in their joys and fears, sorrows and triumphs, and that one day they will see how God has been at work in their lives, whether through prom’s or not!

   May the Lord bless you today and always!

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Me, with my date Deena, my Junior Prom, May 8, 1993

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

April 24, 2022

Posted on: April 25th, 2022 by Brad Peterson

TRINITY TIDINGS

ANNOUNCEMENTS .

Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in April  Every Saturday in April, from 9 am till Noon, we are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity.  All items should be clean and in good condition.  Place clothes and shoes in a trash bag and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

Men’s Band Concert, Sunday, May 1st, 9 am.

Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 1st, 10 am till 11:30 am.  Smelt, meatballs, tater tots, homemade chips, baked beans, dessert, beverage.  Free-will offering taken to support Trinity missions. 

Calling all men!  We are looking for workers for the Smelt Feed!  Sign-up on the table in the Narthex. 

Adopt-A-Highway Saturday, May 7th, 8 am.  All ages welcome!  Wear long pants and bring gloves.  Help us care for our stretch of highway and keep God’s creation clean! 

Simply Giving Mania!  From May 1st till June 5th, if you join our automated giving program Simply Giving or increase your current Simply Giving by $5 a month, you will get entered into a drawing to win four tickets.  What tickets?  YOUR CHOICE!  Choices are: Brewers-Twins game at Target Field, an event at the Pablo Center in Eau Claire, or an event at the Mabel Tainter in Menomonie.  Pick up a form on the round table in the Narthex or included in this Good News. 

Vacation Bible School! Sign-up today for VBS on June 13-17th, 9 am till 2:00 pm every day for ages 4-6th grade.  Cost is $10 per student. 

VBS Snacks Needed:  Sign-up in the Narthex to provide snacks for Vacation Bible School in June.

Graduate Recognition Sunday May 22nd at 9 am.

Don’t forget that you can support Trinity through the Vanco app OR using the donate form on our website.  Download the free app, search for Trinity Lutheran Boyceville, and go from there!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Now that we are a week past Easter Sunday, a few reflections and some other observations . . .

  • It was nice to have a “normal” Easter again, with the full processional, the confirmation youth making breakfast, seeing the light stream through the stained glass windows, all of the people.  It felt like Easter again after two years of modified or online only services. 
  • A couple of highlights for me during the services:  Seeing the full processional at sunrise worship; during the second service having someone yell out, “Way to go PB” after I got done playing trumpet (first time in the over 30 years I’ve been playing it), seeing Katie get swallowed hole by all the kids at the children’s sermon; a little boy giving me a picture he colored during communion; watching the confirmation kids and parents work so well for the Easter breakfast; and playing uke with Bob at sunrise and Katie at both services. 
  • Another highlight was the fun that was had by those that came out on Good Friday morning to clean the brass, what I dubbed the “Delores Brezina Memorial Brass Cleaning.”  Lots of great help, conversation, and I think Dee was looking down and proud of the fun that we were having (and the shiny look of the polished brass).
  • I’m a strange person.  I have seen the same Liberty Mutual commercial, in which the young spokesperson can’t say the spiel right.  I laugh every time he says “liberty biberty.”  Every single time. 
  • Special thanks to Stan Larson for the gifts of venison bacon and hunter sticks he gave me.  Allowed me to have two types of bacon on Easter!
  • Sadly, due to snow, I did not get a chance to play my post Easter round of golf on Easter Monday.  But we did go out to the first tee and hit a shot in the snow.  I actually hit it down the middle (unlike this past Friday when I actually got to play a full round). 
  • Katie is off this week and if you didn’t get a chance to listen to her podcast, “The Word Examined,” I highly recommend it.  I enjoyed the puns especially in the resurrection episode! 
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs will be, forever, the best holiday candy ever.  EVER. 
  • Wednesday was our last Crew of the year.  68 kids.  Even though it can be exhausting, I will never take for granted that 68 kids want to hang out for an hour and a half at church, singing songs, eating food, listening to Bible stories.  It wouldn’t be possible without our great helpers (Lonna, Nichole, Trudie, Heather) and all our snack servers.  One kid asked me on Friday when the next Crew was and I reminded him that it was done for the year.  He said, “Aw.” 
  • In this month of April, we have had three special services, with the Cross Generational Worship, Youth Palm Sunday Worship, and the Holy Week and Easter services.  These don’t happen without all those who give of their time and talent to make it happen and our incredible church staff.  Thank you to so many who made those services possible!
  • Since Amy was gone for Easter, I got to eat fish in the house and I made lamb for Easter dinner.  It was delicious! 
  • Some day spring will come . . .

May God bless you today and always!

Website: www.trinityboyceville.com

YouTube: www.youtube.com/TrinityBoycevilleWI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trinityboyceville

Trinity Tidings- Jun 11

Posted on: June 12th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

June 11, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

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

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

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

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

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

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

  May God bless you today and always! 

Trinity Tidings- Jun 3

Posted on: June 3rd, 2025 by Brad Peterson

June 3, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Women of Trinity Summer Gathering, June 5th, 5:30 pm.  All women are welcome! 

Loading up the Savers U-Haul, Thursday, June 5th, 9 am

Summer Fellowship Servers needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office if you are willing to serve fellowship on any Sunday June through August. WE CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP SERVERS FOR JUNE 15, & 22,

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

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

Trinity Summer Office Hours begin in June!  Office will be open Monday – Thursday, 9 am till 1 pm.  Closed Fridays.

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

We are collecting Cereal for the West CAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

Voices of Praise is taking a break until September  We will see you then!

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

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

Today is our dog Baxter’s 3rd birthday (he is so cute), and it kicks off a month of celebrations for us in the Peterson household.  Well, we actually started celebrating on May 30th with the end of school for Amy.  But the celebrations continue with my birthday on June 21st, our 20th anniversary on June 25th (can you believe we have been married 20 years and that Amy has survived me that long?), and Amy’s birthday on June 28th.  It is always a fun month (that also includes a much needed vacation for me!)

   But we need celebrations.  To be honest, we often spend a lot of time dealing the difficulties of life that we forget to celebrate things in life.  And it can be easy to celebrate the big things, like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings (I had one of those this past week too!), and such, but we also need to take a moment to celebrate the other joys of life.  Because there is a lot to celebrate.  Like when we can take a nap.  Or when we get to have dinner with friends or a visit with a family member.  Or time at the lake or cabin or sitting down to watch our favorite team play or listening to our favorite band play a concert.  Maybe it is just a beautiful sunset or a good book being read.  It can be a million different things. 

  The Lord puts little joys, little things we can celebrate in our lives every day.  We just have to stop and see them, realize them, open your eyes to notice them around you.  For those little celebrations, those little joys, sustain us.  They are gifts to us.  Like how our birthday boy Baxter sometimes just crawls up our chest to say hi, just giving a little bit of love before he goes back to playing with his lamby toy or attacking his sister.  Those little moments are little gifts I believe from the Lord to remind us that we are loved and to brighten our spirits.

  So appreciate the celebrations of life, the big and the small.  See the joys that are all around you.  Most of all, celebrate the love of God in Jesus Christ that is for you every day!  May God be with you today and always!

Trinity Tidings- May 27

Posted on: May 27th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

May 27, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Women of Trinity Summer Gathering, June 5th, 5:30 pm.  All women are welcome! 

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. LAST SATURDAY THIS SATURDAY, MAY 31ST!  Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

Summer Fellowship Servers needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office if you are willing to serve fellowship on any Sunday June through August. WE CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP SERVERS FOR JUNE 8, 15, 22nd!

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

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

Trinity Summer Office Hours begin in June!  Office will be open Monday – Thursday, 9 am till 1 pm.  Closed Fridays.

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

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

Voices of Praise is taking a break until September  We will see you then!

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

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

Since we had sound issues on Sunday, below is the written version of the sermon I gave on Sunday that, if you watched online, you couldn’t hear.  Yes, this does prove that I do actually write my sermons, despite rumors of the contrary.  No, it does not mean that I stick to said written word.  😊

  John 14:23-29 : Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate,i the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen

Have you ever heard the phrase “easier said than done?”  You know, you can say something and it seems pretty easy, and then you have to do it, and it isn’t so easy? Like, running a mile doesn’t seem so hard until you actually have to do it.  Or sewing on a button seems easy, until you have to actually try to do it.  There are many things that could fall into that category.  And Jesus says something in our reading today that I think falls into that phrase, “easier said than done.”

  Jesus says to the disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  Actually, this is the second time he says it in chapter 14, which tells you that the disciples had troubled hearts.  He of course, follows it up with “do not let them be afraid.”  Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Umm, that is easier said than done, because I don’t know about you, but it is pretty easy to let my heart be troubled.  All I gotta do is turn on the news to get my heart into a troubled state.  All I gotta do is talk to some of my friends or family and hear what is going on in their lives to get my heart to be troubled.  All I gotta do is let my own weaknesses, insecurities, and doubts creep into my head in the middle of the night to let my heart be troubled.  It is easier said than done, to not let our heats be troubled or to not be afraid.

  And I think that Jesus knows it.  Which is why Jesus is telling the disciples, and us, that he is not leaving us alone.  Not only is he promising to be with us, reminding us that he and the Father are one, but telling us two other things.  One, that he is gifting us with his peace, a peace that is different than the world’s peace.  This is a peace that comes from his salvation, of knowing that sin and death have been defeated and we have the promise of eternal life.  When you know you have the promise of eternal life, you can rest a little easier and live with hope, for you have that assurance of heaven.  We are saved, not by our works, but by what Christ has does for us, and that is a peace the world cannot give.  It is a peace that only Christ can give. 

  The other thing that Jesus is telling us is that we are not alone.  Christ is giving us an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with us.  And this Advocate, this Spirit, is there to remind us of all that Christ has done for us.  This Spirit is there to create faith in our hearts, sustain us in faith, and to remind us.  to remind us that we are loved.  To remind us that we are saved.  To remind us that we are not alone.  To remind us of everything that Jesus has taught us.  So that in those moments when our hearts our troubled, when we feel overwhelmed with sadness and grief and doubt and anxiety, we can remember Christ’s promises for us.  That we are forgiven.  That we are loved.  That we have eternal life.  That we have a peace that passes all understanding.  That it will be ok because Christ is with us.

  Do not let your hearts be troubled is easier said than done because we do need constant reminding.  It is easy to forget all that Jesus has done for us and that Jesus is with us.  But that is why Christ sends the Advocate, the Spirit, to us.  To remind us.  To remind you.  That we do not need to be afraid.  That it will be ok.  Jesus has us.  Jesus has you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid, for the peace of Christ is with you.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”  Amen

Trinity Tidings- May 20

Posted on: May 20th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

May 20, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Office Closed Monday, May 26th.  No Bible Study

Memorial Day Prayer Service, Monday May 26th, 11:45 am, Tiffany Creek Cemetery

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

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

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

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

Trinity Summer Office Hours begin in June!  Office will be open Monday – Thursday, 9 am till 1 pm.  Closed Fridays.

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

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

Voices of Praise is taking a break until September  We will see you then!

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

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  One of my favorite things to be a part of is when our seniors give the sermon in worship.  For at least the past 15 years or so now (maybe longer), we have had at least one senior, often two, preach on a Sunday morning, often at our youth service and at our Graduate Recognition Sunday.  To be honest, I’m always shocked when they say yes.  You know, when I was a senior in high school I was asked to preach at our Graduate Recognition Sunday and I said no, which I regretted.  I would preach my first sermon a year later, after my freshmen year in college, and I can tell you right now that many of our seniors have done a much better job than I did then (and probably than what I do now!)

  To give you a little insight to what happens, I ask them to preach, and after they say yes, and then give them the assigned scripture for that Sunday, and if they don’t like that scripture, I let them pick their own OR I ask them what they want to talk about and help them find a scripture that can fit the theme they want.  Sometimes I give them some scriptures in advance that I think they might like.  Often they might even pick the scripture they picked as their confirmation verse back when they were confirmed.  I’ll help them with the background of the scripture, but after that, everything they do is completely on their own.  Every word they write is their own words.  I’m there to help them if they need it, and sometimes, they might ask me for a way to start, and sometimes they need help ending, because a sermon is a little different than a speech they might give in school.  But every sermon is completely theirs and I’m always blown away by their faith and the things that they share. 

  It is a blessing we have that we have students that are willing to share their faith.  It is nerve racking and scary to stand before the congregation to give a sermon, plus to do so in front of family and classmates.  But I think that is what makes it all the more special.  This year was especially fun as when I asked the two senior’s to preach, Delaney and Brooklynn, thinking one would do it at the youth service and one at Graduate Recognition, they came back to me asking if they could do it together.  It was especially fun since they go to different schools and the assigned scripture for this past Sunday on Graduate Recognition Sunday set up perfectly for their experiences they have had and they knocked it out of the park.  I encourage you, if you weren’t there, to watch it, either by going to our Facebook page or the Trinity Boyceville YouTube channel. 

  I want to thank all of you for the way that you embrace our youth here at Trinity.  I always tell our youth that the church is a place where they can be themselves and that they will be loved for just being them.  You allow that to happen and share the love of Jesus Christ with them by embracing them for who they are.  They face challenges that we cannot possibly fathom or understand.  They are pulled in so many directions and have so many pressures and expectations that it makes my head spin.  Yet, when they come in the doors of Trinity, they are embraced.  They are welcomed.  They are encouraged as people and as children of God.  You set that tone and thank you for doing that.  My hope is that we will continue to love these young people as they are, remind them that Jesus Christ loves them as they are and is with them always, and that Trinity will always be a place where they can be reminded that they are loved and hear of God’s grace in Jesus Christ for them and lift them up.  May the Lord bless our young people and guide them in all that they do, and may the Lord bless you today and always!

Trinity Tidings- May 11

Posted on: May 12th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

May 11, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Parsonage Committee Update Sunday, May 18th, 10 am  Join us immediately after worship to hear an update from the parsonage committee. 

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

Lagers with the Lord Monday, May 19th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Graduate Recognition Sunday, May 18th, 9 am.

Boyceville Baccalaureate Sunday, May 18th, 6 pm at the Boyceville Gymnatorium.

Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm!  Come join us for a time of song.  A great time to sing with others and have some fun!

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

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

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

“My sheep hear my voice.” John 10:27a

  I think a lot about voice.  After all, I kind of make my living with my voice and many of the things I do happen because of my voice.  And I have many voices.  I have my regular, every day voice.  I have my preaching voice, which I can change based on what I’m preaching and how I’m preaching in the moment. I have my teaching voice.  I have my announcing voice, and there are different voices for that.  There is football announcing voice, prom announcing voice, general announcement voice.  I have “yelling at confirmation kids/yelling at the dogs” voice.  There is pastoral care voice.  There is my singing voice (probably the worst voice).  There are a myriad of funny voices that I do (at least I find them funny).  There is a voice for every occasion it seems. 

  At the same time, I have learned to listen to a myriad of voices.  In the band, I can pick out everyone’s voices for our harmonies and where we are.  I know all of Amy’s voices (especially the “I’m really annoyed at you Brad” voice, which is most common, because I’m really annoying).  I know the voices of many of you, not only your speaking voices but also singing voices as I hear you from the pews.  I can still, in the back of my mind, hear the voices of my parents (especially my Dad).  And I’m always trying to hear the voice of the Lord.

  I love this verse from John that is listed above.  My sheep hear my voice.  The thing is, I think that the Lord often uses different voices to reach us, kind of how we have different voices for different occasions.  Sometimes that voice is loud and clear and easy to understand and get.  Sometimes it is harsh and bold. Sometimes it is soothing and calm.  Sometimes it is funny and playful.  Sometimes it is thought provoking and needling.  Sometimes it is quiet.  But I firmly believe that the Lord is speaking to us, all the time, letting that voice ring out in ways that we often miss or don’t totally understand.  We just have to be willing to listen or have our hearts open to listen. 

  And this where I continue to grow.  Not only in the listening (as Amy would say, I suck at listening), but in being open to the new ways the voice of the Lord might be speaking to me.  As I have gotten older (and possibly more mature?  That’s debatable), I’ve started to hear the voice of the Lord in unexpected ways and surprising places.  But that is the fun of the Lord.  God will not be boxed in by us and the Holy Spirit moves where it will.  We just have to be willing to hear it. 

  So today, my friends, open your heart and your ears to the voice of the Lord.  We are sheep, after all, and the shepherd is speaking.  The voice of the Lord is out there and is talking to you and might be talking to you in ways you do not expect.  May you hear that voice and hear that promise that you are loved, forgiven, saved, and redeemed. May you hear that voice that comforts and challenges, guides and pushes, corrects and makes alive.  For that voice is out there and that voice is for you. 

  May God bless you today and always!

Trinity Tidings- May 4

Posted on: May 5th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

May 4, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

Lagers with the Lord Monday, May 19th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Graduate Recognition Sunday, May 18th, 9 am.

Boyceville Baccalaureate Sunday, May 18th, 6 pm at the Boyceville Gymnatorium.

Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm!  Come join us for a time of song.  A great time to sing with others and have some fun!

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

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . .” Hebrews 6:19a

  Today is May 4th, otherwise known as Star Wars Day.  Why is it called Star Wars Day?  May the 4th be with you, a take off of the famous phrase, “may the force be with you.”  Of course, as Lutherans, we want to all respond with, “And also with you.”  For me, this is an important holiday and it has given me great joy over the years to see this day become a bigger deal.  I will have a wicked cool new Star Wars shirt on for the Men’s Band concert, I’ll be watching some Star Wars content at home, and I will revel in the joy of something I truly love.

  One of the reasons why I love the Star Wars Universe so much (and it is a universe, spanning movies, tv shows, books, comics, toys, games, and more), is that Star Wars, in its essence, is a story about hope.  It is about people fighting against evil, often at extraordinary odds, and holding onto hope in the midst of crazy odds.  They have hope, whether it be in the Force, in each other, or even in the premise of good winning out over evil in the end.  No one in the universe is perfect, not even the heroes. They make stupid decisions and yet they cling to hope above all things and keep going. 

  As followers of Jesus Christ, we are people of hope.  Our hope comes from our Savior Jesus Christ, who has defeated sin and death for us on the cross and risen from the grave to bring us to eternal life.  This hope is our anchor as it says in Hebrews and this hope sustains us in the midst of a world that is so often full of suffering, hate, and evil.  This hope in keeps us going, reminds us of the goodness of God, and helps us trust that despite the darkness of the world, the light of God in Jesus Christ wins the ultimate victory.  This hope helps us to trust others, to have faith in even when it we have no reason too, and to remember that we have a God and Savior who walks with us.  Hope is the most powerful thing of all and we have it because we have Jesus, the Savior of the world, who promises to be with us always.  To be with you always.  For the salvation we receive in Christ Jesus is a story of hope, just as Star Wars is also a story of hope.

  We need hope every single day.  It is why I love Jesus, and why I love Star Wars.  Now, Star Wars does not give me eternal life.  Only Jesus does that and this Jesus soothes my soul, calms my fears, forgives my sin, and brings me to eternal life.  But Star Wars brings me joy, beyond the awesome lightsaber fights and space battles and the rest.  It reminds me of hope, of the joy of friendship, and the power of hope, an anchor to our soul.  May you feel that hope today, a hope that comes from a Savior who loves you, saves you, and brings you to eternal life.  And may the Force, and the Lord, be with you always!

Trinity Tidings- Apr 28

Posted on: April 29th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

April 28, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FREE FOOD, FREE STUFF, FOR ALL Saturday, May 3, 8 am till 10 am.  Free breakfast and personal care item distribution for those in need.  All are welcome.  We are looking for help with this event.  See the sign-up in the Narthex or contact the office if you would like to help.   

Men’s Band Worship, Sunday, May 4th, 9 am.

Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 4th, 10 am till 11:30 am.  Smelt, Meatballs, Tater Tots, Cole Slaw, Garlic Bread, Chips, Baked Beans, Dessert.  Free-will offering taken to benefit Trinity Missions.  Served by the Trinity Men.  Help needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex or just come!  Help is very much appreciated! 

Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm!  Come join us for a time of song.  A great time to sing with others and have some fun!

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

Lagers with the Lord Monday, May 19th, 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Last week was our last week of Sunday School. Thank you to everyone who helped with Sunday School this year!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  Look, I have to stand in front of people all the time and do all sorts of things, and sometimes I get a little nervous.  I think a little nervousness is good no matter what.  Performing with the Men’s Band on Saturday in front of the entire Synod, with all my colleagues silently judging me?  Somewhat nervous, but not as nervous as the times I have had to speak in front of them (I did have to pray in front of them and that was nothing).  I get nervous before big crowds of Easter and Christmas or huge funerals, just wanting to do well and feeling the pressure of saying the right words that people need, but that nervous level maybe gets to about a 75 out of a 100.  High, but not crippling.  But on Saturday night, I was at a nervous level of 500 out of 100.  Why?  I was about to do something I had never done before: I was going to DJ prom.

  Now look.  Let’s be real.  I knew I was being asked for two reasons.  The first: I was cheap.  The kids knew I would do it for free (they did give me a little something).  I come every year and announce and never ask for a thing.  And they know I’m a sucker who has a hard time saying no to them.  So that was the first reason.

  And the second?  This one was even expressly said to me and I agreed.  They knew that if they asked me to play something, I would play it.  For prom the kids make a play list and submit it for approval from the school and then that approved play list is given to me.  So if I played something and they didn’t want it, they knew I would pass it by.  If they wanted something to be played at a certain time,  I would play it, unlike their DJ’s in the past who would often fight them on stuff.  What do I care?  I want the kids to have fun so I’ll play stuff when they want.  So I was under no illusion that I was asked because of my great skills at picking songs at football or basketball games.  Heck, they give me so much grief for what I play in the van on the mission trips. 

  But here is the thing my friends.  I used to do this all the time.  I played the tunes at tons of parties in college and seminary, hooking up two five disc changers and rocking it out for multiple hours.  And look, to be honest, I was pretty good.  I knew how to build the party, when to make it jump, how to bring it down, and then blow the roof off.  But that was in the MID 1990’S.  The last time I truly did it was probably Halloween 1997, senior year of Seminary.  The last time I put together a playlist that was meant to be used for anything close to a prom was for Amy and I’s wedding, which we did the music ourselves, but I wasn’t behind the controls for that. 

  But it is 2025.  Half the playlist I didn’t even KNOW.  Sure I listened to it twice, but it is not like a lot of the music is stuff I listen to daily.  I try to get a little current, but I’m a 48 year old, soon to be 49 year old man.  I’m not hip.  I’m not with it.  Just saying those words shows that.  And I’ve never done a prom, which is a whole different animal.  I was nervous as all get out.  I did NOT want to ruin this for the kids and I was trusting that if I made wrong choices, the kids would tell me, and we would move on. 

  At this point you are now wondering how it went.  And, to be honest, it went really well.  Really well.  One of the great feelings in life is when you pick a song and the whole room goes nuts.  And that happened.  Multiple times.  Even better, every time my song guru, the one I trusted to tell me when I needed to play something or when I might need to skip something, came over to tell me they wanted something next, I had that exact thing cued up next (thanks Zoey, you rule).  It was a heck of a lot of fun and I think the kids had a lot of fun too.  And that was the greatest joy.  Watching them have a good time. 

  In the end, that is what it is always about.  It is what I love about announcing and playing music at games.  It is why I say yes to these things.  Watching the kids, or the crowd, have a great time just brings me a lot of joy.  It is why I started playing music at parties back in college for my friends.  Getting them hyped, helping them have fun, was just as much fun for me as being out on the dance floor with them (don’t worry, I stayed behind my table where I belonged).  I may never get the opportunity to do this again, and I might have been freaking out about it before it began, but I’m glad I took a risk and said yes.  I hope the kids had fun, it seemed they did.  And if nothing else, I got to pretend I was in my early 20’s again, playing tunes and making a room bounce.  And that was pretty fun.

  May God bless you today and always. 

Trinity Tidings- Apr 13

Posted on: April 14th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

April 13, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Maundy Thursday worship Thursday, April 17, 6:30 pm

Good Friday worship Friday, April 18th, Noon & 6:30 pm

Easter Sunday Worship, Sunday, April 20th,  6:30 am and 9:00 am

Easter Breakfast, Sunday, April 20th, 7:30 am.  Biscuits and Gravy, Scrambled Eggs, Fruit, Beverage.  Free-will offering to support our youth going to camp.  Served by Confirmation Youth.

NO WORSHIP THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16TH

Brass Cleaning on Wednesday, April 16th, 9 am.

Lagers with the Lord April 21st  at 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

Crew is on Wednesday, April 23th, at 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th grade youth. LAST ONE TILL SEPTEMBER!

We are collecting items for our FREE FOOD, FREE STUFF, FOR ALL. This event will be on May 3rd and will be open to our community to help those in need. We are collecting the following items: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Please bring those items to the church and place them in the bins in the Narthex.

FREE FOOD, FREE STUFF, FOR ALL Saturday, May 3, 8 am till 10 am.  Free breakfast and personal care item distribution for those in need.  All are welcome.  We are looking for help with this event.  See the sign-up in the Narthex or contact the office if you would like to help.   

Men’s Band Worship, Sunday, May 4th, 9 am.

Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 4th, 10 am till 11:30 am.  Smelt, Meatballs, Tater Tots, Cole Slaw, Garlic Bread, Chips, Baked Beans, Dessert.  Free-will offering taken to benefit Trinity Missions.  Served by the Trinity Men.  Help needed!  Sign-up in the Narthex

Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm!  Come join us for a time of song.  A great time to sing with others and have some fun!

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  This week is Holy Week, as we journey with Jesus to the cross, his death, and then his resurrection on Easter Sunday.  I hope you will join us on this journey through our worship services on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, whether that be in person or online. 

  In preparation for that, I share with you one of my favorite stories.  Here is “The Ragman,” by Walter Wangerin Jr. 

I saw a strange sight. I stumbled upon a story most strange, like nothing in my life, my street sense, my sly tongue had ever prepared me for. Hush, child. hush now, and I will tell it to you.

Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our City. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new, and he was calling in a clear tenor voice: ‘Rags!’ Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.

‘Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!’

‘Now this is a wonder,’ I thought to myself, for the man stood six-feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular, and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city?

I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Soon the ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, signing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking.

The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers.

‘Give me your rag,’ he said gently. ‘and I’ll give you another.’

He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up, and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver.

Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then he began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear.

‘This is a wonder,’ I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away from mystery.

‘Rags! Rags! New Rags for old!”

In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage, whose eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek.

Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity, and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart.

‘Give me your rag,’ he said, tracing his own line on her cheek, ‘and I’ll give you mine.’

The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with the bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood — his own!

‘Rags! Rags! I take old rags!’ cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman.

The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.

‘Are you going to work?’ he asked a man who leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head. The Ragman pressed him: ‘Do you have a job?”

‘Are you crazy?’ sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket — flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm.

‘So,’ said the Ragman. ‘Give me your jacket, and I’ll give you mine.’

So much quiet authority in his voice!

The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman — and I trembled at what I saw: for the Ragman’s arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on, he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs; but the Ragman had only one.

‘Go to work,’ he said.

After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, an old man, hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.

And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old, old, and sick, yet he went with terrible speed. On spider’s legs he skittered through the alleys of the City, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.

I wept to see the change in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I need to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so.

The little old Ragman — he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And I waited to help him in what he did but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labor he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he signed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.

Oh how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope — because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep.

I did not know — how could I know? — that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night too.

But then, on Sunday morning, I was wakened by a violence.

Light — pure, hard, demanding light — slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, besides that, healthy! There was no sign of sorrow or age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.

Well, then I lowered my head and, trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place, and I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: ‘Dress me.”

He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him. The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!

Trinity Tidings- Apr 6

Posted on: April 7th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

April 6, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lent worship this Wednesday at 6:30 pm!   Holden Evening Prayer service.  Come join us!  Last one for this year!

Lent Meal from 5:30 pm till 6:30 pm. This week the meal is Taco Bar served by the Women of Trinity.  Come join us!

Crew is on Wednesday, April 9th, at 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th grade youth

Maundy Thursday worship Thursday, April 17, 6:30 pm

Good Friday worship Friday, April 18th, Noon & 6:30 pm

Easter Sunday Worship, Sunday, April 20th,  6:30 am and 9:00 am

Easter Breakfast, Sunday, April 20th, 7:30 am.  Biscuits and Gravy, Scrambled Eggs, Fruit, Beverage.  Free-will offering to support our youth going to camp.  Served by Confirmation Youth.

Lagers with the Lord April 21st  at 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

We are collecting items for our FREE FOOD, FREE STUFF, FOR ALL. This event will be on May 3rd and will be open to our community to help those in need. We are collecting the following items: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Please bring those items to the church and place them in the bins in the Narthex.  

Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm!  Come join us for a time of song.  A great time to sing with others and have some fun!

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

  My favorite disciple is Peter, and you might think it is because my last name is Peterson, and though that was the initial reason (because when you are five years old and you learn about the disciples for the first time, that is what happens), Peter has remained my favorite because he is just so . . . messy.  I mean, think about it.  Peter is always getting things spectacularly right and then incredibly wrong.  He will say Jesus is the Messiah, the first one to confess such a thing, and then ten seconds later Jesus is calling him Satan because Peter gets it so wrong about what being the Messiah means.  Jesus is calling him the rock on which he will build the church and yet this same rock is the one who denies Jesus three times.  Peter is so, well, human.  Like us, he has profound faith but makes profound mistakes. 

  But what if, when we talked about Peter, we never talked about those mistakes?  What if, when I read the story of Jesus’ passion on Good Friday, I skipped over the part of Peter denying Jesus?  What if we only talked about Peter’s triumphs?  It makes Peter less of a compelling character.  Even worse, it makes him less of a connection point for us, who so often have moments of great faith and great doubt and mistakes.  We need the whole story, not just half of it.

  As a lover of history, I appreciate the whole story, not just half of it.  And sometimes the whole story is messier than we wish it would be.  Our denomination, Lutheran, is named for Martin Luther.  And when I tell the story of Martin Luther, I tell the good. There is so much good.  Martin Luther changed the world.  But I also tell the bad, on how his writings against the Jews later in life not only led to violence at that time but laid groundwork that the Nazi’s used to justify the Holocaust.  Why?  Because telling the whole story is important and I believe telling the bad doesn’t erase the good.  At the same time, it is our mistakes that help us grow and learn as people.  Finally, we believe in a God of forgiveness.  After all, Jesus forgave Peter after his denial, and Peter would go on to lead the disciples (and make a few more mistakes too). 

  It is dangerous in life to only tell half the story, to erase the past, because in erasing the past, we are doomed to not learn from our past mistakes.  One of the reasons I talk about my own failings in my sermons is because I hope others can learn from them.  But also, because as a kid I thought that my pastors and religious leaders were perfect human beings and that I could never ever be like them and that God must love them because they were perfect.  To find out that they weren’t, and yet God still loved them and called them to serve the Lord, opened the door for me to realize that maybe, just maybe, God might be able to use me, despite my obvious shortcomings and failings. 

  We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God.  Whether that be individuals, communities, institutions, churches, governments, and the world at large.  We all need forgiveness, grace, mercy, and second chances.  We can choose to learn from our past, from our history, or to ignore it and erase it.  Ignoring and erasing it is a fatal mistake that dooms us to ignorance, arrogance, and lack of vision.  I give thanks that we have the full story of Peter to learn from.  I give thanks for the leaders in my life that were willing to share their whole story with me to give me an example to learn from and grow from.  I’m thankful for a merciful God who sends his one and only Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins, who offers all who call on his name forgiveness and eternal life and a chance to learn and grow from our mistakes. For a God who never gives up on us, who guides us, and reminds us that we are never alone, even when we screw up.  As the great Jedi Master Yoda said to Luke Skywalker in the Last Jedi, “The greatest teacher, failure is.”

  May God bless you today and always. 

Trinity Tidings- Mar 23

Posted on: March 24th, 2025 by Brad Peterson

March 23, 2025

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lent worship this Wednesday at 6:30 pm!   Holden Evening Prayer service.  Come join us!

Lent Meal from 5:30 pm till 6:30 pm. This week the meal is Spaghetti & Garic Bread served by the Trinity Men.  Come join us!

Lagers with the Lord, March 24th at 6 pm at Buckshot’s.

We are collecting items for our FREE FOOD, FREE STUFF, FOR ALL. This event will be on May 3rd and will be open to our community to help those in need. We are collecting the following items: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, underwear (men’s & women’s), socks. Please bring those items to the church and place them in the bins in the Narthex.  

Crew is on Wednesday, March 26th, at 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th grade youth

Butter Braid sales have begun! Purchase Butter Braids to help our youth attend Luther Park Bible Camp this summer! See any confirmation youth or the form on the table in the Narthex or use this link: https://store.myfundraisingplace.com/2136d1a2-8b11-4008-a855-701d9dca29c0

Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm!  Come join us for a time of song.  A great time to sing with others and have some fun!

We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry!  Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex. Please make sure the cereal is not expired. 

Order your Easter Lilies!  Order deadline is March 30th.  See form that is with this email. 

New Member Class Sunday, March 30th, 6pm.

SAVERS FUN DRIVE-Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in May. Every Saturday in May, from 9 am till Noon. We are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in white kitchen trash bags and all other items in boxes. Thank you for supporting the Women of Trinity!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

   On Saturday, I decided to take our dog Baxter for a walk (I had already taken Daphne for a walk.  They can’t be walked together by one person, as you will soon see, especially as Daphne is still learning to take walks).  Baxter is really weird.  He gets really excited to go, and then gets outside, and he refuses to walk.  So I picked him up, walked a little bit, put him down.  He doesn’t move.  I start to push him a bit with my foot and he might go a few steps, then not move.  He is a stubborn little dog.  So I picked him up again, took about ten steps.  Set him down again.  Nothing.  Now I’m frustrated.  So I decided that maybe this wasn’t going to happen, so I turned us around to head back to the house.  And the little jerk starts walking.  He walks!  And as I come to the corner, instead of crossing the street to go home, I go left and he actually followed me and kept going.  We took the route I was going to take, just in reverse, and he only stopped twice, just for a moment, and it only took a nudge to keep him going.  He finally got stubborn again and stopped moving right in front of the house!  I think he wanted me to carry him in like he was a little prince or something. 

   I wonder if God sometimes feels like I did on that walk with Baxter.  God is leading us, telling us through God’s Word how we are to be in the world.  Yet, we just won’t move.  We refuse to go where God is leading us, refuse to be the people God is calling us to be.  God is prodding us, wondering if we will love our neighbors as ourselves, wondering if we will even follow God and believe and trust in the grace and mercy given us through Jesus Christ.  We are stubborn people.  We don’t listen very well, even with prodding.

  Yet, at the same time, God doesn’t give up on us.  And all it can take is a change in perspective, or seeing something in a different way, that can get us to walking the path that God wants us to walk.  Sadly, sometimes that is tragedy or difficulty.  Sometimes it is hearing of God’s promises in Jesus Christ, hearing again the salvation and hope that comes in Jesus that starts us walking.  Sometimes it is the encouragement of others, our fellow disciples of Jesus Christ, that get us moving.  But no matter how stubborn we are, God will continue to reach out to us, continue to prod us, continue to be there with us. 

  May you, as you walk in this life, talk the path that God is calling you to take.  May you hear and trust in the promises of Jesus Christ and know that you are loved, forgiven, and saved.  And may you not be afraid to go where God is leading you and to be the hands and feet of God in the world.  For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!”