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eNews
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
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| Greetings! | |
San Francisco is a beautiful city! I missed the big snowstorm of 2011, because I was enjoying the sunshine in California. This was my first trip to San Francisco and it was a real treat to walk along Fisherman's Wharf--listening to the sea lions and watching them sun bathe, eating freshly baked sourdough bread, enjoying a glass of wine from Napa Valley.  One afternoon we rented bikes and made our way across the Golden Gate Bridge, a difficult uphill journey, but an awesome experience. And on the last day, while meandering through Chinatown, we stumbled upon a holy experience with a group of Buddhist monks who welcomed us as they chanted their new year repentance mantra.
Even more memorable than these awesome travel experiences was the conference which drew Carol Schickel, Josh Judd-Herzfeldt and me to San Francisco in the first place. Holy Trinity received a grant from the Lutheran Community Foundation to attend an educational conference called Safe and Healthy Congregations. We learned much about family violence and the religious roadblocks that keep us from having safe and healthy congregations, and heard about resources for creating and keeping our members safe. We listened to stories from women, men and children whose lives are affected by abuse. We are empowered to share their stores, hear your stories and work toward the prevention of violence in our homes and in this church.
You will be hearing more from us in the coming months as we develop a strategy for assisting Holy Trinity to become a safe and healthy community for everyone--both at home and in church. Although we would love to think domestic violence is not an issue for our church community, we learned that one in three women in America experience abuse. Domestic violence happens to people regardless of economic background, education level, religious/spiritual affiliation, or sexual orientation, and yes men suffer from abuse, too. We will no longer be silent.
Plan now to join Josh, Carol and me at the Adult Forum on May 1st and 8th for an introduction to domestic violence and what people of faith can do to respond to and prevent abuse.
~Pr. Michelle L. Miller
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UPCOMING SUNDAY
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 In today's reading from Deuteronomy we are called to choose life by loving and obeying God. Much of today's gospel reading echoes portions of the Ten Commandments. Jesus' instructions to the crowd reveal a pattern of behavior that honors both God and the neighbor, resulting in life and health for the whole community. We, too, are invited to embrace these commandments, not out of fear of retribution, but because God has promised that to do so means life for us. Schedule this Sunday:- 8:30 a.m. - Simple Eucharist
- 9:15 a.m. - Choir Rehearsal
- 9:30 a.m. - Adult Forum and Sunday School
- 10:30 a.m. - Sung Eucharist
- 11:45 a.m. - Seminarian Committee Meeting
Sunday ForumHow to View a Movie from a Religious Perspective
9:30 a.m. (St. Mark's Room - upstairs) - Ryan LaHurd
It is obvious that films like The Ten Commandments or The Last Temptation of Christ invite us to pay attention to their religious aspects. But what about films that have no overtly religious characters or story line? How might we experience them better by examining them using our religious sensibility? In this forum we will watch a short, award-winning film together and discuss its religious implications. Lessons for Next Sunday Prayer of the Day O God, the strength of all who hope in you,
because we are weak mortals
we accomplish nothing good without you.
Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do,
and give us grace and power to do them,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. |
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| CELEBRATIONS | BIRTHDAYS:
Elvina Moen 2/9
Gregg Band 2/10
Amanda Fanale 2/11
Drew Knobloch 2/12
Paul Reineck 2/12
Nitza Rosario 2/14
Carolina Glauster 2/15
Andrew Van Bergen 2/16
BAPTISMS:
Ed Beach 2/13
Thomas Coddington 2/15
ANNIVERSARIES:
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NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
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Attendance Last Sunday 8:30 - 19; 10:30 - 112THANKS FOR THE GENEROUS SOUPER BOWL DONATION TO THE LAKEVIEW PANTRY OF $438! Tonight - February 9: 7 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
Second Wednesday Event: 7:30 p.m.Drawing as a Way to Self-discoveryRichard Bough Wednesday, February 9, 7:30 p.m. (following the 7:00 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist)
Drawing is a way to visually record not only what one sees externally but also what one experiences internally. We will have the opportunity to learn about and experiment with some drawing techniques and then share with others our response in a safe and nonjudgmental environment. Everyone is welcome, and no previous drawing experience is required. All drawing materials provided. Books Available: Rediscovering ValuesEach year Holy Trinity designates a book for our community to read together in Lent. Lent is still a month away, but we want you to get a head start on reading this wonderful book! Through a special sale we were able to get the hardbound books for $10. They are available at the back of the church! There will be several discussion options offered during Lent.
 Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street and Your Street.
By Jim Wallis, bestselling author, public theologian, and international commentator on religion and public life.
Wallis invites us to use our economic uncertainty to find moral clarity. Too often we have been ruled by the maxims that greed is good, it's all about me, and I want it now. Those can be challenged only with some of our oldest and best values-enough is enough, we are in it together, and thinking not just for tomorrow but for future generations. Wallis challenges us to wrestle with the questions of values together: as families, friends, churches, mosques, synagogues, and entire communities. Winter 2011 Dinner Groups Always popular here at Holy Trinity, these groups meet in a home for dinner in which the host provides the main course and others provide the side dishes. Sign-up as a couple, with a friend, or by yourself at the back of the church or by emailing the office by Wednesday, February 23. Let us know if you are willing to host 8 - 10 people and if you request a location near an el stop. After that we will divide the participants into groups; the host will contact you by e-mail and your group will set a weekend date in late March or early April. Over 50 people participate in dinner groups at Holy Trinity; it's a great way to meet new folks in our community!
Love In A GloveboxHoly Trinity's Sunday school children are excited about a new service project called Love in a Glovebox. Bags full of necessary and helpful items for the homeless will be assembled by the children, blessed by us all and distributed to Holy Trinity members. Keep one in your glovebox or backpack and when you come across someone who looks like he/she could use a lift, hand them a bag of necessities. Please help by donating any of the following items. Bring them to the church office or place in the designated box in the back of the church: - Gloves (scarf, hat or headbands also welcome)
- Boxes of raisins
- Granola bars
- Cough drops
- Lip balm
- Travel Kleenex
- Combs
- Gallon Ziplock bags
- Small bottles of lotion and hand sanitizer
- CTA passes
- $5 Gift Cards for Jewel, Dominicks, Burger King or McDonalds
If you have any questions, please contact Julie Sevig VOICES Initiative: Purpose & PrinciplesAfter five months of conversations and listening, see the results of our hard work! Read through our Purpose Statement, Guiding Principles, and Strategic Directives here. Scroll down this e-news to read a reflection by our outgoing council President, Thomas Braham.
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FOOD 4 THOUGHT
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food4thought.................................
Sunday, February 27, 11:45 (following the 10:30 a.m. service)
Economy of the Kingdom: Jesus on the Practice of Grace
Led by Ray Pickett, professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
The current economic crisis provides an opportunity to look at the market economy as a totalizing system that defines value and deforms desire. In this session we will discuss practical wisdom from the teachings of Jesus about how the practices that release us from captivity to an economic system that keeps us beholden can improve the quality of our life together.
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Meet some of the great people of Holy Trinity
Enjoy a healthy, delicious meal
Engage a stimulating topic
The meals prepared for food4thought support local farmers, educate volunteers from the congregation in healthful cooking, and help us care for creation through organic and sustainable food systems.
Ways You Can Help With the Meals:
1. Bake and bring bread (3 - 4 loaves to serve about 40).
2. Bake and bring dessert (3 persons)
3. Help clean-up from 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. (4 persons)
Sign-up for one of the above by emailing the office.
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| VOICES Remarks | |
Tom Braham
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
February 6, 2011
[Download this talk]
Salt of the earth
Light of the world
In today's gospel the disciples are searching for their purpose, their identity, their calling. Jesus tells the disciples of their responsibility in society, that the focus of God's action is the world. In Jesus' words the disciples hear their distinct calling: You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world.
Together as the people of Holy Trinity, we have been listening for our distinct calling, through our discernment initiative, Voices. For the last five months we've been listening. We've listened in dinner groups and family groups, in the newer member brunch and food for thought. We've listened through the member survey and through conversations with our neighbors out in the community. If you've been involved in any one of those conversations would you stand up?
The number of people who have been involved, who have made their voices heard is amazing! And we've captured all those conversations so that we could listen together in our retreat for our purpose, our identity, our calling.
We are excited this morning to share with all of you the "Umbrella Strategy" that has emerged. The strategy is comprised of three parts: a Purpose Statement, Guiding Principles and Strategic Directives.
PURPOSE
Open to the Mystery...
Connect, Strengthen, and Serve with Joy!
PRINCIPLES
- Act with courage
- Be radically inclusive
- Cultivate empowering relationships
- Delight in God's beauty
- Engage with intention
STRATEGIC DIRECTIVES
- Increase support and programming for children, youth, and families
- Develop networks through which we support and delight in one another
- Engage together in service addressing unmet needs.
We believe these statements--these words--express the unique place that is Holy Trinity--the distinct character of our community. This Umbrella strategy will provide focus and guidance for our work together both in this place and in the world. As the term umbrella implies, this is an over-arching strategy to provide guidance for the council, the staff and all of us--right here and right now. It's not a 5-year plan, and there's no binder to go on a shelf to collect dust.
Listen for references to the themes expressed in the strategy throughout the service this morning: in the readings, in the prayers and in the homily. We invite you to join us at our annual meeting immediately following the service and to have a conversation over lunch about the Umbrella Strategy. What are you hearing? What does it mean? And, what are we going to do about it? It is only the beginning of what will be an on-going conversation in the midst of an on-going process as we live into our distinct calling.
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| LAST SUNDAY'S SERMON | |
February 6, 2011
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Matthew 5:13-20
Pr. Craig M. Mueller
Three-million dollars. That's the estimated cost for a thirty-second commercial at tonight's Super Bowl game. Using all kinds of strategies, marketers will try to convince us that their product is distinct. And that we should buy it. Imagine all the money invested over the past decades to persuade us that the taste of Coke is distinct from Pepsi. In essence: taste the difference.
 In the Sermon on the Mount, of which today's gospel is a part, Jesus is challenging us to go public. You are light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. Let people see your good works. In other words, be distinct. Be different.
Read the rest of the sermon here
Listen to this sermon here
Listen to the entire service here
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FURTHER UPCOMING EVENTS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND NEWS
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New Weekday Bible StudyBeginning Tomorrow, Thursday, February 10 the Thursday Bible Study will begin a brief unit on the Sermon on the Mount, focusing on texts read in worship this month. All are welcome. Holy Trinity Chosen for Yale Congregations ProjectHoly Trinity is one of seven congregations of various denominations nationwide chosen for the Congregations Project of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Read more about it here "Team Trinity"Please consider joining Team Trinity today! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Check the 'Team Trinity' site for upcoming opportunites. It is Holy Trinity's goal to register as many members on-line to assist in helping with our ministry projects within the community. Simply log-in now and sign-up online to volunteer today: http://holytrinity.volunteerhub.com. Let's serve those in need together! Dates to Remember: New Members: View pictures/bios of new members from 2010: January here, May here, October here, and December here. Next Baptism Dates: May 15, June 26, August 21, October 23, December 4. More info.Next New Member Orientation Dates: May 1, 2011. More info.Office Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Wed., 1:00-8:00 p.m.; and Sun., 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
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CALENDAR
| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
7:00 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
7:30 p.m. Second Wednesday Event - Drawing
7:30 p.m. AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10
10:00 a.m. Weekly Bible Study
7:00 p.m. Congregational Council Meeting
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13
8:30 a.m. Simple Eucharist
9:15 a.m. Choir Rehearsal
9:30 a.m. Adult Forum and Sunday School
10:30 a.m. Sung Eucharist
11:45 a.m. Seminarian Committee Meeting
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16
7:00 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
7:30 p.m. AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall)
COMMEMORATIONS FOR THE WEEK Monday, February 14 - Cyril, monk, died 869; Methodius, bishop, died 885; missionaries to the Slavs
These two brothers from Thessalonika, Greece, were monks and were sent to bring Christianity to the Slavic people. In the course of their work they created a written language, inventing the Cyrillic alphabet for it, and translated the Bible and the liturgy.
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2010 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26481. |
AMONG OUR COMMUNITY
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Bob and Erin Cullen are pleased to announce the birth of their first child, Jack James Cullen, born January 30, 2011. Everyone is healthy and adjusting well. Congratulations!
Please send news about awards, new positions, life passages and other important events in your lives for this section of our e-news. |
| IN OUR PRAYERS |
Those ill or in special need: Paul Hanson; Tish Depner, friend of Greg Zinkl; Liam Anderson; Victims of the shooting in Tuscon, Arizona and their families; our political leaders and our country; Bob & Carol Stoher; Sam Zangri; Paul Geist III; Christine, friend of Susan Twetten; Mary Cannon; Sam Patitucci; Patti Ann Smith; James Emery; Brent Vicknair; Sam Horcher; Colin and Veronica Fiegel; Sam and Ang Zangri; Mark Sauer; Barbara Wahler's friend, Jim Haring; Bill Glawe, Garrett Glawe's grandfather; The Levine family; Alan Stang, Jeff Stang's father; Paul Weber; Scott Johnson's mother, Virginia Johnson; Chris Stelter's grandmother; Rick Boyum's mother; Victor Jimenez; Vivian Carter; Marji Shannon's sister; Ken Duckmann's nephew, Anthony Drago.
Those in leadership: President Barack Obama, congress and judges; Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and Metropolitan Chicago Synod Bishop Wayne Miller; the pastors, staff and congregation council at Holy Trinity.
Serving in the Military: Benjamin Brackley, in Afghanistan.
Metropolitan Chicago Synod Prayer Rotation:
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Luke, Chicago IL
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Archbishop Jukka Paarma
- Greater Milwaukee Synod, Bishop Jeffrey S. Barrow
Ministries Supported by Holy Trinity: ELCA World Hunger Appeal; RefugeeOne; Lakeview Action Coalition; Lakeview Pantry; The Crib; Lutherans Concerned; The Night Ministry; Christian Peacemaker Teams; Arise Chicago; Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches; The Lutheran Volunteer Corps; Anti-Racism Team of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod; Holy Family Lutheran Ministries; Lutheran Youth on the Northside (LYONS).
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 CHECK IT OUT!
| HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIE:
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
(available on DVD) A spiritually rich movie!
 This heartwarming true story is an American adaptation of a Japanese tale about a loyal dog named Hachi. This very... special friend would accompany his master to the train station every day and return each afternoon to greet him. Sadly his master departs one day, passes away and never returns. Hachi faithfully returns to the same spot at the station the very next day, and every day for the next nine years to wait for his master. During his visits, Hachi touches the lives of many who work near and commute through the town square. He teaches the local people love, compassion and loyalty. Today, a bronze statue of Hachiko sits in his waiting spot outside the Shibuya station in Japan as a permanent reminder of his devotion and love.
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HOLY TRINITY E-NEWS is the weekly electronic newsletter of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chicago. To unsubscribe click on "safeUnsubscribe" below. E-newsletter submissions and prayer requests should be sent to office@htchicago.org by Monday at 4:00 p.m.
Website: www.holytrinitychicago.org
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Josh Judd-Herzfeldt and Craig M. Mueller
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
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