The Lazarus Effect is a term that everyone from doctors, nurses, teachers, pastors, politicians, businessman and even footballers use to describe what happens when people dying from AIDS get access to life-saving treatments for as little as $0.40 cents a day. What happens? Life happens again. People who were once dying from AIDS bounce back from death's door and are able to go back to work and school within 40 days. And the ripple effect is enormous: families and communities are transformed. A sort of resurrection happens. The story of Jesus raising Lazarus of Bethany from the dead in the Gospel of John, a miracle, is where we find the words to begin to describe what is happening in cities and villages across Africa. In our day, the Lazarus Effect is not simply a miracle; it's a matter of smart decisions, leadership, treatment, and policy. In 2002 only 50,000 people on the continent of Africa were on life-saving anti-retroviral treatments, what we call ARVs.

Today nearly 4 million Africans are on ARVs. Through investments in programs like the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, the US has led the way, directly supporting treatment for more than 3.2 million of these men, women, and children - our global neighbors.

Read a reflection by  Princess Kasune Zulu, noted AIDS activist and speaker from Chicago by way of Zambia.

For more information and resources head to the one.org website.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

We welcome special gifts to provide flowers for our Easter celebration.  Please designate:
1.  Either 'In Memory of...', 'In Honor of...', or 'In Thanksgiving for...'
2.  Amount, gifts of any amount from $20 - $500 are welcome.
3.  Send or bring a check to Holy Trinity with the above information, or give online now from our website.  Thank you for your generosity!  

Stations of the Cross - April 13, 7:00 p.m.
Our Wednesday Lenten service on April 13 will be Stations of the Cross. This year Holy Trinity artist Richard Bough has prepared 14 new pictorial representations of each station. The liturgy includes a brief scripture reading and reflective prayer at each station and connects Jesus' suffering to the needs of the world. A special Stations of the Cross for families will be offered during the Sunday School hour on Palm/Passion Sunday, April 17 at 9:30 a.m. 

Second Wednesday Event - April 13

7:30 p.m. (following the 7:00 p.m service)  Photography - Seminarian Cuttino Alexander
Photography is a great way to capture a moment in time, but can it also convey something spiritual? Photographers of all styles and skill levels will be invited to share their favorite photos that they have taken. The group will discuss ways in which photography can move beyond just Facebook and Flickr and become a deeply meaningful spiritual practice.

Our elegant champagne reception will follow the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 23 at 9:30 p.m. in Passavant Hall. It's a major event at Holy Trinity! The Easter hospitality team needs volunteers for the following:

• Set-up - 2 hours Saturday afternoon
• Clean-up - following the reception
• Meatballs - about 100 from each volunteer
• Cheese and Crackers - 2 boxes of crackers, 16" cheese tray
• Veggies - variety for a 12" tray
• Fruit Skewers - 50 skewers
• Brownies - 48 bite-sized pieces
• Lemon Bars - 48 bite-sized pieces
• Specialty Treats (mini cupcakes, petit fours) - 48 bite-sized pieces
• You may also provide financial assistance for the reception 

For more information please contact Kara Grimme. To sign up, check the sheet in the back of the church or email Josh in the church office.  Thank you for volunteering and sharing in this wonderful event!

Holy Week Schedule
April 17 - Palm/Passion Sunday Liturgy - 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
     Stations of the Cross for Families - 9:30 a.m.
April 21 - Maundy Thursday Liturgy - 7:30 p.m.
April 22 - Good Friday Liturgy - 7:30 p.m.
April 23 - Great Vigil of Easter - 7:30 p.m.
     Champagne reception to follow
     Parking available at the McDonald's lot (for $10.00) beginning at 7:00 p.m.
     Neighborhood 383 parking permits will be provided as well.
April 24 - Easter Day - Festival Eucharists at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
   NOTE: Cubs 1:20 p.m. home game, plan accordingly  

Saturday April 23, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Families with young children are invited to join us for a fun gathering at Holy Trinity. Children and their parent(s) will enjoy the craft activities, decorating Easter eggs, and searching for treasures in the garden. Please e-mail Pastor Michelle Miller if you plan to attend.  

Easter Party Volunteers
4 - 6 more volunteers are needed to host the Easter Party. We need craft helpers, egg fillers and hiders, and snack preparers. Having non-parents participate in the celebration enables parents to be with their own children and fully enjoy the party. E-mail Pastor Michelle Miller to volunteer.

Two Easter Sunday Services this Year 
After a standing-room only crowd of nearly 370 last Easter, we are offering two Easter Sunday morning services this year--at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Both services will feature music by our choir and a brass ensemble. Please note Easter Day is also Cubs home game this year. Please consider taking public transportation or car-pooling. If you drive, you may want to consider the 9:00 a.m. service and to leave time for parking. It is usually easier to find parking west of Southport and to walk the 5 - 10 minutes to the church. Due to the schedule change, there will not be an Easter breakfast this year. 

The Property Committee is in need of additional volunteers who would be willing to mow the church lawn one week a month this growing season - May-Sept. Easily accessible, battery-operated mower - with FREE lesson. Please notify Josh in the office if you can help - even as a substitute.

Fun and Games for a Good Cause

Mark your calendars for Friday, May 20th! That night from 7-11 p.m., Holy Trinity will be hosting "Yahtzee Night" in Passavant Hall. Tickets for the evening will include food, drinks, and fun. All proceeds will benefit local charities. More information to come--watch future editions of HTLC's eNews and the Sunday bulletin for more information.

Maybe you've attended Holy Trinity a few times or many. Maybe you are looking for a church home. Maybe you have mixed feelings about church and whether it is for you. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome at Holy Trinity! Here is a special invitation to learn more about Holy Trinity, what makes Lutheranism unique, meet some other folks, and find out more about our mission and ministry. Orientation sessions are held four times a year. The next session is Sunday, May 1. We will meet from 9:00 - 10:20 a.m., followed by the 10:30 a.m. worship service. We continue upstairs in Passavant Hall over a light lunch, concluding before 1:00 p.m. To sign up email the office or indicate on a yellow slip in the pew rack.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent
April 3, 2011
Pr. Michelle L. Miller 

As a hospice chaplain I often hear the question, "Why me?" It's both heartfelt.... and unanswerable. And it's not always the dying patient who asks it. More often it's the spouse, children or friends who ask, "Why did she get cancer? She is such a good person full of life and love for those around her. What did she do to deserve this? Nothing!"

It's a completely natural question, one that we humans have asked throughout the ages when trying to make sense of natural disasters and personal tragedy. "Who or what caused this? Why did this happen? How could it have been prevented?" It might be an illness or accident, a job loss or painful breakup, an earthquake or tornado, an injustice or war. We may not ask what sounds to us like a ridiculous question that the disciples ask ("Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?") but we ask similar questions in our own way.

Read the rest of the sermon here
Listen to this sermon here
Listen to the entire service here 

COMMEMORATIONS FOR THE WEEK

Wednesday, April 6 - 

Albrecht Dürer, died 1528; Matthias Grünewald, died 1529; Lucas Cranach, died 1553; artists

These great artists revealed through their work the mystery of salvation and the wonder of creation. Dürer's work reflected the apocalyptic spirit of his time. Though he remained a Roman Catholic, he was sympathetic to Martin Luther's reforming work. Grünewald's paintings are known for their dramatic forms, vivid colors, and depiction of light. Cranach's work includes many fine religious examples and several portraits of Martin Luther. Cranach was also widely known for his woodcuts.

Saturday, April 9 - 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian, died 1945

Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who wrote profoundly, yet in an accessible manner. In the Second World War, he became a leader of the Confessing Church in Germany that resisted the Nazi movement. Linked to a plot to kill Hitler, he was hanged shortly before the end of the war.

Sunday, April 10 - 

Mikael Agricola, Bishop of Turku, died 1557

Consecrated bishop of Turku, Finland, without the approval of the pope, Agricola began a reform along Lutheran lines. In only three years, he translated the New Testament and worship texts into Finnish, in the process establishing the rules of Finnish writing that are still used today.

From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2010 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26481.

MOVIE MUST-SEE
OF GODS AND MEN

Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay... come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996.

This is one of the best films ever made about the Christian life. It is a deeply human and spiritually enlightening film .... (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat) 

Currently at Pipers Alley Theater in Chicago.