The holiday ads are in full swing, and the weather is starting to let us know Christmas is just around the corner.  Holy Trinity’s partnership with Boulevard Presbyterian has made the holidays brighter for so many families around Columbus and we have the opportunity to serve again this year.  With one less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’re collecting toys now so each child will have a present to unwrap on Christmas morning.  Please consider picking up Lego sets, craft kits, soccer balls, footballs, basketballs, etc. and drop them off in the red bin in the Gathering Place.  We’ll also be available after worship services to collect any monetary contributions and we’ll shop the sales to stretch every dollar!  Your support in the past has been invaluable, and we’re hoping you can join again to support 385 families this year with our Christmas Basket program! For any questions, please reach out to Denise Meyer and Karen Eicher.

Save the dates: Wednesday, 12/11 – Cookie Decorating at Holy Trinity starting at 4:00 pm; Saturday, 12/14 – Basket Assembly at Boulevard Presbyterian at 9:30 am; and Sunday, 12/15 – Basket Delivery at 12:30 pm.

Holy Trinity is hosting the CWU Christmas Tea on Friday, December 6 at 1:00 pm.  Clair Dent will perform on her violin and accompany the singing of a few Christmas carols. All women are invited to attend.  You can mail your reservation/check (payable to Church Women United for $10.00 per person with “Christmas Tea” in the memo line) to Beatrice Cunningham, 350 Chase Rd., Columbus, OH 43214. Deadline for reservations is November 29. The Church Women United Layette Project donates at least 20 layettes each month to women and babies in need. CWU would be grateful for donated items such as disposable diapers for babies 8 lbs. and larger, wipes, bottles, burping cloths, receiving blankets, socks, onesies, washcloths, towels, lotion, baby wash, shampoo, or sleepers. Please contact Shirley Boyd or Beth Myser if you have questions.

Holy Trinity’s next opportunity to serve breakfast at First English Lutheran Church is Sunday, November 24.  We love new faces!  Join us at First English, 1015 E. Main Street at 7:30 am to cook and serve breakfast to our neighbors and friends.  No previous experience is necessary!  As always, donations of fresh fruit and baked goods are welcome.  Please contact Becky Warnement for more information.

Holy Trinity’s Beacons invite anyone interested in learning more about their group to join them on Wednesday, December 4 at 9:00 am.  We make quilts, fleece blankets, and neck pillows to send to Lutheran World Relief as well as other local organizations for distribution to those in need.  No sewing experience is needed.  Come check it out and bring a friend.  Suggestions for new projects are always welcome.  We meet at 9am, bring a lunch (dessert is provided), and sometimes work into the early afternoon.  “Come when you can and leave when you have to.”  Please contact Mariruth Seubert or Shirley Doolittle with questions.

Please look for the wheelbarrow in the Gathering place from now until Sunday, November 24.  We would like to fill it with food for the Lutheran Social Services food pantries in central Ohio.  You are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items that will be shared with those who need it here in the Columbus area.  Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Our habitat house is coming along nicely! We have finished the second floor walls, inside and out, and are getting ready to put on the roof! We’re working on the roof trusses now, and hope to have them ready by the time the crane comes to put them up mid-November. Come join us Thursday mornings from 8:30 till 12:30, and Saturdays from 8:30 till 3:00 p.m., or anytime you can!  No experience is necessary, we have tools and training, and a good lunch is provided.  Contact Benson Ross for more information or to get involved.

This month, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church joins Advent Lutheran Church of Upper Arlington and Epiphany Lutheran Church of Pickerington in a new Trustee model of leadership for Jacob’s Porch Lutheran Campus Ministry at The Ohio State University.  Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Dublin is expected to join the collaboration later this fall when their pastor returns from sabbatical.  Designed in consultation with the current Jacob’s Porch Board and approved by the now defunct Ohio Lutheran Campus Ministry Board and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Jacob’s Porch’s new constitution identifies a Trustee Congregation by its commitment to support the campus ministry with at least 1% of its offerings annually and three leadership volunteers:  one serving on the Trustee leadership board and two others deployed across Ministry Support Teams for Programs, Operations, Development/Communications, and Property.

Holy Trinity has been donating 1% of its annual offerings to Jacob’s Porch for more than a decade now.  At its October meeting, the Council at Holy Trinity designated the Council Partner for Outreach Ministries to serve as our Trustee in the new leadership model.  We are now seeking two more additional leaders to serve on the Ministry Support Teams identified above.  If you are interested to learn more about this exciting new opportunity in ministry, contact Council partner Mark Abell, Director for Equipping Ministers Laura Hudson, or Pastor Steve Wachtman.

On Sunday, November 3, Jacob’s Porch Pastor Grant Eckhardt will preach at both services and visit with interested adults and youth during the Sunday school hour to discuss current events at their campus ministry.  This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the new Trustee model of leadership that we are sharing now with Advent, Epiphany, and Prince of Peace Lutheran Churches and any interest you might have to get involved there.

With the arrival of November come two WELCA events. Both highlight women and their work for the church.  One is service to our own community and the other is outreach to women across the world.

First, please look for the wheelbarrow in the Gathering place beginning November 1.  We would like to fill it with food for the Lutheran Social Services food pantries in central Ohio.  You are encouraged to bring nonperishable items through Thanksgiving.  The food will be shared with those who need it here in the Columbus area.

Second, we invite you to share in our annual Thankoffering Sunday on November 10. For Women of the ELCA, the Thankoffering tradition is one of our foundations.  For more than 100 years, Lutheran women have given thanks to God and dollars to mission through Thankoffering.  Holy Trinity’s WELCA groups will celebrate Thankfoffering Sunday on November 10 at both services.  Our guest preacher will be Katya Brodbeck, pastor at Powell United Methodist Church and wife of our own Director of Music, Joshua Brodbeck.

Last year Holy Trinity sent $1,014.64 to support Women of the ELCA churchwide ministries providing crucial support for Gathermagazine and Bible study; leadership development; support for new units; spiritual gifts programing;  ministry resources about women’s health, human trafficking, faith practices, and more; racial justice training; advocacy for women and children; outreach through social media; and partnerships with other Christian women’s organizations. The impact of these ministries is multiplied over and over, expanding the reach of your Thankoffering and our shared response to God’s love.  We hope to continue that tradition this year.  All loose offering collected on November 10, as well as any special offering you choose to make, will be included in our gift this year. Thank you for your continued support of women’s ministries at Holy Trinity and around the world.

22^nd Street Cookies, a pilot program of First English Lutheran Church helping less advantaged youth get out of poverty, is selling frozen cookie dough. For anyone that placed an order last month, your cookie dough will be delivered this Sunday, November 3. There may be a few extra 1 lb. tubs available for sale, first come, first served. Becky Warnement will be happy to place additional cookie dough orders for anyone wanting to purchase.