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Reverent
Relevant
Real |
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eNews
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
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| Greetings! | |
 In preparing to write the opener for this issue of the eNews, I found myself overwhelmed by a wall of noise. Every website, news site, blog and social network I turned to for inspiration presented me with nothing less than the overpowering static of global news. Debt ceiling. Shuttle launches. Trouble in the middle east, politicians, celebrities, sports, global economic trouble... The list is endless, and the amount of commentary seemingly infinite. Nothing but noise. Sure many of these topics are important, and merit discussion and conversation. But I found myself uninterested in any of it as a result of the vast amounts information being thrown at me with every click of the mouse.
The question I was asking quickly shifted from "What can I talk about that is interesting?" to "What is actually relevant or meaningful to me?" This led me to wonder: how can we, in the midst of all this noise, discern that which is relevant and meaningful to us? How do we parse the wall of noise and extract that which really matters? I'm not sure I have the answer to these questions; I struggle each day with these very issues. I do know, however, that we have many tools at our disposal which can help. For me, I find that the best way to filter the outside world is to have conversations with those I care for most: my parents, siblings, wife, close friends and colleagues. Together, through conversations with one another, we can parse that information which we encounter on our own and extract the relevant and meaningful bits which directly apply to us. Thus it is important to balance the intake of the information of the world which is so easily served by 24-hour news networks and the internet with personal and relevant conversations with those around us.
Don't be disheartened by the wall of noise in your life. Instead, take a moment to talk with someone about something that interests you.
Joshua Judd-Herzfeldt
Parish Administrator
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NEXT TWO SUNDAYS
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July 17 - Lectionary 16
 It is an age-old question: why is there evil in the world? In the parable of the wheat and the weeds Jesus suggests that both grow together until the harvest. With Paul, we long for the day that all creation will be set free from bondage and suffering. Having both weeds and wheat within us, we humbly place our hope in the promises of God, and from the Lord's table we go forth to bear the fruit of justice and mercy.
July 17 Schedule:
- 9:30 a.m. - Eucharist
- Music: Cantor - Brian VonRueden
- 10:30 a.m. - Coffee Fellowship in Garden (Weather Permitting)
Prayer of the Day
Faithful God, most merciful judge,
you care for your children with firmness and compassion.
By your Spirit nurture us who live in your kingdom,
that we may be rooted in the way of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Cubs Home Game July 17!!
Parking can be difficult
Arrive early, carpool or take public transit.
July 24 - Lectionary 17
 As Solomon prays for wisdom, we seek to more deeply know the treasures of faith. In today's gospel Jesus offers everyday images that reveal to us the reign of God: a tree that becomes a sheltering home, yeast that penetrates and expands, a treasured pearl, a net that gains a great catch. Even as we seek the riches of God's reign, the great surprise is that God's grace finds us first!
July 24 Schedule:
- 9:30 a.m. - Eucharist
- Music: Cantors - Natalie Ford
- 10:30 a.m. - Coffee Fellowship in Garden (Weather Permitting)
Prayer of the Day
Beloved and sovereign God,
through the death and resurrection of your Son
you bring us into your kingdom of justice and mercy.
By your Spirit, give us your wisdom,
that we may treasure the life that comes from Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord.
Weekly readings |
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| Purpose & Principles | Purpose Statement
Open to the Mystery...
Connect, Strengthen, and Serve with Joy!
Guiding Principles
--Act with courage
--Be radically inclusive
--Cultivate empowering relationships
--Delight in God's beauty
--Engage with intention |
| CELEBRATIONS | BIRTHDAYS:
Dana H. Johnson 7/13
John Nordwall 7/13
Adam Boin 7/15
Eric Breese 7/20
Austin Johnson 7/20
Kim Duffy 7/21
Abigail Egan 7/25
Elizabeth Mankowski (Beth) 7/25
Michael Musgrave 7/25
Joel Klaff 7/26
Carolyn Pirotte 7/26
BAPTISMS:
Ethan Fiegel 7/18
Carol Schickel 7/19
Bryce Band 7/20
Mitchell Kittlaus 7/22
Kelly Duncombe 7/26
ANNIVERSARIES:
Carrie Egan 7/16
Justin & Alison Sjovall 7/16
Caroline & Pete Nero 7/17
Raymond Pickett 7/18
Mike & Rita Schnell 7/18
Erica & Michael Moriarty 7/22
Jeff & Megan Whitaker 7/22
Ray & Melissa Temple 7/27
Jason & Samantha Pagels 7/28
Kristy & Ben Whipple 7/28
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SOCIAL MINISTRY NEWS - REFUGEE FAMILY
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Let us welcome another refugee family to Chicago.
RefugeeOne needs Holy Trinity's help!
Holy Trinity will once again be co-sponsoring and immigrant refugee family who will be moving to Chicago very soon. While we wait for the specifics on who the family is and where they are from, we need to pull together all the items needed to furnish and supply an apartment for them once they arrive! We have only a few weeks to help the family out. No small task but we have done it before and can do it again!
This Sunday, please take a moment and grab an item, or multiple items if
you are able to, off the refugee family display at the back of the church. You can't miss the display as it is a large cardboard house with paper tags all over it! Simply pull a tag, or multiple tags, off the display for the item listed that you are willing and able to donate. Simply bring back and place your donated items around the house at the back of the church by Sunday August 7th. Newly purchased items are preferred, however gently used items will also be welcomed and accepted. Thank you for joining our church's cause to help!
Once we receive more information about our family and their arrival date, we will provide updates as well as coordinate needed volunteers for the family arrival and actual apartment set-up. If you have any questions about donating items for the immigrant family's home or about helping to volunteer, please contact Pete Hillman - email or (773) 459-4093. Recap:
ˇ Holy Trinity will be sponsoring a refugee family
ˇ Choose items from display in back of church and bring back by August 7
ˇ Be ready to help by picking the family up, setting up the apartment, or showing them around the city About Refugee One:
On a daily basis, refugees and immigrants are quietly making progress throughout the Chicago region. There are over 11 million refugees in the world. Each has experienced the terror of war and suffered immeasurable losses--loved ones, home, job, security, and a sense of hope for the future. Uprooted and torn from the communities that sustained them, they are haunted by their past and bewildered by their future--their lives are forever changed. Everyday, RefugeeOne is involved in welcoming people to Chicago who are fleeing destruction and despair. An affiliate of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, RefugeeOne's services address the social, emotional and material needs of refugees and immigrants. Holy Trinity Lutheran has worked closely with RefugeeOne by co-sponsoring a refugee family arrival each summer / early fall. |
UPCOMING EVENTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND NEWS
| Past Attendance
July 3, 9:30 - 77
July 10, 9:30 - 136 Financial Update Through June
| Actual offering (June 30): | $135,626 | | Budgeted offering (June 30): | $143,650 | | Difference: | ($8,024) - behind | | Offering through June 2010: | $140,901 |
Contemplative Eucharist - Tonight, 6:00 P.M.
Take a break from the busy city life, and join us for this simple, contemplative eucharist. Lakeview Churches VBS 2011
August 22-26 @ Lakeview Lutheran Church, 9 a.m. - noon
- For children age 4-12
- Held at Lakeview Lutheran Church (835 Addison)
- Pre-register by August 12
- $15 per child
- Register on-line now. Meditation Group at Holy Trinity
Mondays at 7:00 p.m. You are welcome as a beginner or as an experienced meditator trained in a specific method. This is a drop-in group and you can attend as you are able. For more information, and to RSVP for each session, click here
"Team Trinity" Volunteer Opportunities
Please consider joining Team Trinity today! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Check out Volunteer website 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
--PAWS Chicago - Family EventPAWS is assisting at the Fleet Feet Women's 5k and 10k on Sunday, July 17th on behalf of Team PAWS. Everyone is welcome to help, including children who are accompanied by parents, and both men and women are welcome as well. PAWS is looking for about 40 volunteers to be at Montrose Harbor at 5:30 a.m. on the 17th to either 1) set up a water station and pass out water to the runners while cheering them on; or 2) work the gear check. The latest the morning will go is noon, although people tend to get dismissed earlier than that. To sign up, head to Holy Trinity's volunteer site. For more information, speak to Beth Morris or email her. --The Night Ministry Outreach VanDescription
Next Baptism Dates: August 21, October 23, December 4. More info.
Next New Member Orientation Date: September 25, November 20. More info.
Office Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs., 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Wed., 12:00-7:00 p.m.; and Sun., 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
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COUNCIL CORNER
| June Council Update
- Thank you to everyone who participated in or donated to the Yahtzee Night fundraiser. Holy Trinity's first attempt at fundraising for local benevolence was a success. Thank you also to our local sponsors and Thrivent Financial for providing a matching grant.
- Two new Bible studies have started since Voices began-one for young adults and one for moms. Contact Josh for more information at office@htchicago.org.
- Do you have a great idea for fellowship? Let us know, and we will help you advertise it to other Holy Trinity members.
- The council will not meet in July. Join us for the August 8th council meeting. The meeting will begin at 7:15 p.m. in Passavant Hall. All are welcome.
A Financial Note from Your Church Council
The figures are in for the first six months of 2011. They show that expenses have been $7,600 more than receipts for the period. Had the six month's expenses not been tightly controlled, and much less than what was budgeted, the deficit would have been more than $12,800. The congregation adopted a balanced budget for 2011 that was actually less than the 2010 budget. Please review the giving statements that were recently mailed to you and help us to keep from needing a large year-end push to meet our balanced budget. If you are not already giving through Simply Giving (automatically through your bank account), now would be a good time to consider this method which helps to keep from having peaks and valleys in our finances (sign up here). Thanks for your continued commitment to Holy Trinity's mission. |
| Sermon - July 3 | |
 July 3, 2011
Lectionary 14a
Pr. Craig Mueller
THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
Did you get a good night of rest last night?
I continue to read that Americans aren't getting enough sleep.
Maybe you are one of those people who can sleep anytime, anywhere.
Or perhaps you have a few things that keep you up at night.
Are there too many things on your mind?
Is there too much stress in your life?
Did you eat or drink too much in the evening?
Some people count sheep.
Others practice yoga or meditation.
Some may pray.
Sometimes it's hard to gently hold all our thoughts and feelings, all our worries and concerns.
Continue reading this sermon here
Listen to past sermons here
Listen to entire services here |
| Sermon - July 10 | |
 July 10, 2011
Lectionary 14a
Isaiah 55:10-13; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Pr. Craig Mueller
GET OUTSIDE
We love summer because we get to be outside! We can be in nature. Parks, yards, lakes. Picnics, recreation, sports, walks, eating al fresco, doing nothing at all.
We're looking forward to our annual vacation to Colorado, my home state. We love to bask in the mountains, to bike the trails, to marvel at the trees, to breathe in the fresh air.
But isn't it interesting that for many of us-with our urban, indoor worlds-we most seem to watch nature on television. Or in movies. Or read about it in book. We aren't much connected to the earth and its rhythms. Our lives are no longer governed by the sun and moon, by the four seasons, by planting and harvesting. Electric lights are with us 24/7 and we can set our thermostats at seventy degrees, whether the outdoor temperature is one hundred, or ten below zero
Continue reading this sermon here
Listen to past sermons here
Listen to entire services here
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CALENDAR
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 13
6:00 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
7:30 p.m. AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall)
THURSDAY, JULY 14
10:00 a.m. Weekly Bible Study
7:05 p.m. Cubs Home Game
FRIDAY, JULY 15
9:00 a.m. LVC Meeting (St. Mark, Passavant Hall)
SUNDAY, JULY 17 - Cubs Home Game
9:30 a.m. Summer Eucharist
10:30 a.m. Fellowship in Garden (Weather Permitting)
1:20 p.m. Cubs Home Game
MONDAY, JULY 18
7:00 p.m. Meditation Group
7:05 p.m. Cubs Home Game
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20
1:20 p.m. Cubs Home Game
6:00 p.m. Contemplative Eucharist
7:30 p.m. AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall)
THURSDAY, JULY 21
10:00 a.m. Weekly Bible Study
6:00 p.m. HTLC Serves at Lakeview Pantry
SUNDAY, JULY 24 - Cubs Home Game
9:30 a.m. Summer Eucharist
10:30 a.m. Fellowship in Garden (Weather Permitting)
1:20 p.m. Cubs Home Game
MONDAY, JULY 25
7:00 p.m. Meditation Group
COMMEMORATIONS FOR THE WEEK Sunday, July 17 - Bartolomé de Las Casas, missionary to the Indies, died 1566
A native of Spain, Las Casas first came to the Western hemisphere while serving in the military. Granted a large estate with indigenous slaves, he freed them after he was ordained a priest. He worked in the Caribbean and Central America to improve the lives of the native peoples.
Friday, July 22 - Mary Magdalene, Apostle
Sometimes called "the apostle to the apostles" because she told them of her encounter with the risen Lord, Mary was a woman of Galilee who followed Jesus throughout his ministry. She was present at Jesus' crucifixion and his burial.
Saturday, July 23 - Birgitta of Sweden, renewer of the church, died 1373
Birgitta married at age thirteen and had four daughters. Widowed at age thirty-eight, she gave all that she owned to the poor, and founded a community of monks and nuns led by a woman. Her work is continued today by the Society of St. Birgitta.
Monday, July 25 - James, Apostle
James and his brother John were the sons of Zebedee, fishermen by trade before their call from Jesus. He was the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred, and his death is the only one recorded in scripture (Acts 12:1-2). 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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Elvina Moen is now at the Grove at Lincoln Park (2732 Hampden Ct), Rm 313. The best number to reach her on is her cell phone. The Grove's number is 773-248-6000. She is looking quite good good!
Congratulations to Scott and Molly Russell who were married at Holy Trinity last Saturday by Molly's father, the Rev. Fred Aigner.
Please send news about awards, new positions, life passages and other important events in your lives for this section of our e-news.
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| IN OUR PRAYERS |
Those ill or in special need:Elvina Moen;
Barbara Wahler;
Yoshi Saka;
Mary Lynn Brooke;
Norma Brooke;
Kay Scott;
Phyllis Zangri;
Myleen Dunleavy;
Merri Pierce;
Mary Stoner;
Carol Stoner;
Norm Andersen;
Yanan Haring;
Vivian Carter;
Marji Shannon's sister;
Ken Duckmann's nephew, Anthony Drago;
Paul Weber;
Lisa Bouzek;
Scott Johnson's mother, Virginia Johnson
Chris Stelter's grandmother;
those struggling with infertility.
Kathy Lund;
Susan Pare;
Sam Zangri;
Paul Geist III;
Christine, friend of Susan Twetten;
Mary Cannon;
Sam Patitucci;
Patti Ann Smith;
Brent Vicknair;
Mark Sauer;
Alan Stang, Jeff Stang's father;
Teah Barthalomew;
Victor Jimenez;
Rick Boyum's mother;
Serving in the Military: Benjamin Brackley, in Afghanistan. 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!
| Book Review: Eating and Drinking
 Whether fasting or feasting, whether in formal liturgy or around the family table, the practices of eating and drinking have for millennia been seen as religiously significant and even a means of participating in God's own being. Today, phenomena of anorexia and bulimia, weight control and obesity, and world hunger call us to revisit this rich source of religious reflection. -- read more about the book and spiritual reflections |
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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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