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including Dedication of the Renovated Playground and
Retirement Affirmation of Child Development Director Nancy VanFossen

 

Sunday, October 29

4:00pm Playground Open House and Greetings for Miss Nancy

4:45pm Dedication of Playground and Affirmation of Miss Nancy & Preschool Teachers

5:00pm Lutheran Heritage Oktoberfest Meal, Music and Merriment

6:30pm Auf Wiedersehen (aka See Ya Later)

 

God Works Through People Like …

Young and old, Holy Trinity members, friends and Child Development Program — plan now to attend the all congregation Fall Festival!  Under our ministry theme for the fall, “God Works Through People Like …” we’ll take the opportunity to celebrate the people in our lives whom God has used to help each of us grow and thrive.

Prominent among such people for 25 years’ worth of preschool students and their families is Miss Nancy, who always put children first!  And for the past 17 years, she has excelled as Director of the Child Development Program, achieving a 5-star Step-up to Quality Rating, sustainable fiscal health and a sense of community consistent with that valued and promoted by the congregation as a whole.  Now after her steady leadership through the pandemic and the renovation of the playground built in large part with grant funding that she secured, Nancy is ready to pursue new opportunities.

A member of Holy Trinity for more than 30 years, Nancy will be available to receive your greetings and well wishes on the playground at 4pm, Sunday, October 29.  At 4:45pm we will have a brief playground dedication and affirmation of service for Miss Nancy and the other preschool teachers.  Then at 5pm, the celebration continues with

• activities for children on the renovated playground,
• a group project to collect the names of God’s helpers in all our lives and
• our annual Lutheran Heritage Octoberfest with polka music & dancing over hot dogs, spaetzle (noodles), apple sauce, cream puffs and cider (especially for the children) with brats, potato salad, sauerkraut red cabbage, beer, wine and soda as well.

While there is no cost for attending the event, donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of dinner.  It will also help our preparations if you would let us know that you might attend by signing up inside the preschool door, at the sign-up corner in the Gathering Space or online here

. You can also indicate in each of those places if you are interested to serve on the Grill Brigade cooking hot dogs and brats, or if you have a favorite German menu item that you would like to contribute to the buffet.

 

The next installment of Holy Trinity’s concert series will feature the Cornerstone Chorale and Brass on Sunday, October 15 at 4:00 pm. The Cornerstone Chorale & Brass presents a powerful message of reconciliation, healing and social justice through narration and a wide variety of traditional music.  Woven together with newly composed musical themes, the concerts encourage faith communities and individuals to reach out in service to those in need.

The nationally recruited professional ensemble brings together 20 singers, 7 instrumentalists and a narrator from across the country.  Our 2023 program is centered around appreciating the many blessings in our lives, reminding us that we are called not only to recognize, but also to respond to God’s love and grace by working for peace and justice for all people.

It’s easy to be thankful when we have plenty and are not in need—or is it? Thankfulness is an attitude of the heart and mind and is not necessarily dependent of the state of our financial affairs or even our health or general well-being. Those who rely on their Savior for all their needs have this attitude: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18). For more information about stewardship, please contact Max Buban at maxmbuban82@gmail.com.

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Adult Faith Formation
9am Sundays, September 10 – October 15

This study curriculum was created by the Task Force on Civic Life and Faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and published by the ELCA’s churchwide organization as a critical step toward development of a social teaching statement. It is an invitation to learn what the task force has been discussing in regard to civic life and faith, including some of the most fraught questions of our time.

The curriculum invites participants to delve into the nature of politics, the meaning of the Scriptures, the purpose of government, the responsibility of congregations and church-related organizations, First Amendment issues, the relationship of faith-based living and civic life, connections between worship life and serving neighbor in society, the nature of citizenship, and other relevant topics. These are weighty and difficult discussions for people of faith!

Your participation and response within this study will aid the task force as it considers what might be included in the draft social statement on civic life and faith that will be available for comment in 2024. The deadline for response to this study curriculum is October 15, 2023.

As will be evident throughout the study, the task force recognizes how Christians of good will can and do disagree about social issues. Though we are one in Christ and share many basic values such as neighbor love and neighbor justice, studying together can be difficult because social concerns, like political life, are complex and personal, with institutional and structural implications.  However, Scripture teaches that the Spirit of Christ is able to guide our discernment and deepen our insights (Romans 12:1-2).  We will rely on this truth to ground our dialog and growth through this interaction together.

Tuesday, September 26 at 10:00 am will be the first session of Gather’s fall WELCA Bible study series, “Holy Places”. The writer, The Rev. Meghan Johnston Aelabouni, reminds us “that faith doesn’t just live in our thoughts or emotions. Faith resides in our whole bodies, and our bodies live and move and have our being in sacred places where God encounters us: places like home (September), sanctuary (October), and pilgrimage (November).”  This month we focus on home. Everyone is welcome. Please join us and bring a friend!

 

Several times in his letters, the apostle Paul talks about the Body of Christ and the gifts that God has given His stewards who “are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). As we serve together with fellow members of the Body, let us give thanks to the Giver of the gifts, as well as the gifts. God gives gifts and the believers who employ them for God’s glory and the building of the Kingdom. For more information about stewardship, please contact Max Buban at maxmbuban82@gmail.com.

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