Please join us this coming Sunday, March 3, as we observe the Third Sunday in Lent. We’ll have a Service of Holy Communion in the Sanctuary at 8am, followed by Fellowship Time at 9, Sunday School for all ages at 9:15, then a Service of Holy Communion in the Sanctuary and Online at 10:30.
The third covenant in this year’s Lenten readings is the central one of Israel’s history: the gift of the law to those God freed from slavery. The commandments begin with the statement that because God alone has freed us from the powers that oppressed us, we are to let nothing else claim first place in our lives. When Jesus throws the merchants out of the temple, he is defending the worship of God alone and rejecting the ways commerce and profit-making can become our gods. The Ten Commandments are essential to our baptismal call: centered first in God’s liberating love, we strive to live out justice and mercy in our communities and the world.
Please follow this link to access Sunday’s online bulletin, if you’re joining us for the livestream.
Thank you: We’ve received several compliments on the newish exterior lighting design for the church at night from folks in the community. Many thanks to several souls on the Property Committee for their excellent work stewarding and refining the upgrades. The church looks amazing! Thanks, also, to Maddie Shuler and Amy Ruhf for offering lovely solos during the offering at the 10:30am service, the past couple of weeks. The Chancel Choir will be back this Sunday!
Young at Heart News: Join us on Tuesday, March 19, at noon! We’ll have a game day and brown bag lunch, with lots of fellowship.
Also, please RSVP as soon as possible if you’d like to join us for a wonderful baseball outing in May. We will go see the Iron Pigs play on Tuesday, May 7. We’ll carpool, departing the lot at Trinity at 9am. The gates open at 9:30, play begins at 11. The cost of a $40 ticket will include the game as well as food and drink (which will be served from 10:30am – 1pm). The final count and payment are due by March 31. You may sign up on the bulletin board or RSVP to Kathy Sigley.
Easter Sponsorships: This year’s Easter flowers will be ordered from Filchner’s Flowers and Produce, and will be available for pick-up following the 10:30 Service on Easter Sunday, March 31. We are also going to be adorning some of the worship elements with other flowers, for which you may make a donation (it’s an excellent way to make a memorial if you don’t want to bring a flower home) and the form also includes the option of helping to sponsor our guest trumpeter. The firm deadline for orders is this Sunday, March 3. Please follow this link to download a form, or you may pick one up in the narthex. Thank you!
Midweek Lenten Suppers: A sign-up sheet has been posted for those who are willing to prepare soup for our Midweek Lenten Suppers, which continue through March 20. We’ll begin at 6pm with supper, the service will follow at 6:45. Last year, we had an excellent variety of delicious homemade soups, shared with delightful fellowship. This year’s Lenten series is entitled The Landmarks of Lent, and it promises to be an enriching time! Please plan to join us, and, if you’re inclined, please sign up to make some soup to share (last year, everyone brought their own crockpots with preheated soup – setup begins around 5:45pm).
From the Events Coordinator: Two upcoming events are on the horizon! The Helping Hands Spring Penny Party will be on April 19 at 7pm. Doors will open at 5. We will be collecting nonperishable food items and raffle prizes starting on March 24. If you would like to donate, please place your item in the bin found in the fellowship hallway. We are also requesting baked goods. We will begin collecting for the Social Ministry Committee’s Annual Rummage Sale on Sunday, April 21. The sale will take place on Friday afternoon, May 3, and Saturday morning, May 4. More details will be forthcoming.
Thrivent News: Just a reminder that, if you are a Thrivent member, and you receive Thrivent Choice Dollars, you have until March 29 to direct any dollars you have from 2023. If you do not direct the dollars to your organization of choice, Thrivent will have the opportunity to direct those dollars to organizations themselves. You can call Thrivent Customer Service at 800-847-4836, go to Thrivent’s website thrivent.com or reach out to your Financial Advisor to complete. Whether by phone or on-line, you will need the name of the organization AND the address. Thrivent Choice gives eligible Thrivent members the power to recommend where some of Thrivent’s charitable outreach funds are distributed, using a program called Choice Dollars. Since the program’s inception in 2010, Thrivent has provided more than $550 million in charitable outreach funds through Thrivent Choice to help support initiatives of churches, educational institutions, and nonprofits. Thank you for living generously!
Stewardship Story: Joy
“Lord, help me be grateful for what I have, remember that I don’t need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity.” -Adam Hamilton
March Joyful Giving: Food for the Poor is one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States that ministers to the poorest of the poor in primarily 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. By providing lifesaving food, secure housing, clean water, healthcare, emergency relief, micro-enterprise projects and education opportunities, they are giving the poor a chance at a better future, and showing them God’s love. You can learn more about Food for the Poor by clicking here.
Photographed above are the Gelin Family, of Bas Vaudreuil, Haiti, who are standing in front of the new house built with funds donated by Trinity to Food for the Poor in 2018.
Please note that we’ll have a Joyful Giving offering at the beginning of the services on Sunday, March 17. You may also give in the basket in the Narthex, on the Vanco app or on the giving page of our website.
From the Wider Church: Here are two interesting articles from Living Lutheran that you might enjoy reading, as well as the weekly news from the Synod.
The Good News of Reconciling Love
Lectionary Blog: Almost Laughable
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