NEXT SUNDAY    

Stories of the call to discipleship continue as the Time after Epiphany plays out the implications of our baptismal calling to show Christ to the world. Jesus begins proclaiming the good news and calling people to repentance right after John the Baptist is arrested for preaching in a similar way. Knowing that John was later executed, we see at the very outset the cost of discipleship. Still, the two sets of fisherman brothers leave everything they have known and worked for all their lives to follow Jesus and fish for people.

• 8:30 a.m. - Eucharist (about 45 minutes)
• 9:00 a.m. - New Member Orientation (St. Mark's Room)
• 9:15 a.m - Choir Rehearsal
• 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School and Sunday Forum (below)
• 10:30 a.m. - Sung Eucharist and Welcome to New Members (November class)  
• 11:45 a.m. - Anti-Racism Forum (St. Mark's Room)
• 11:45 a.m. - New Member, Cont... (Passavant Hall)

Sunday Forum - The Immigration "Issue"

9:30 a.m. - Passavant Hall
We as Americans are confronted with the illegal immigration issue wherever we are-where we eat and where we live. They are our neighbors, our children's friends, our co-workers, our workforce, our clients or students. The complexity of this issue makes it daunting to understand and to work for change. Our legal expert, Anne G. Relais, will discuss some of the current political climate surrounding this issue with a focus on the Dream Act.

Antiracism Discussion Opportunity

You are invited to join other HT members in week 3 of a 6-week study of racism and white privilege. We're using a workbook called "The White Elephant" to explore this subject. We'll meet from 11:45 to 12:30 in St. Mark's Room. While each lesson will build on the one before, you can come for one, two, or all sessions. Please see Karen Andersen Moran, Ken Duckmann or Barbara Wahler for more information. You can get your own copy of the workbook for $15, speak to Ken or Barbara; there will also be some common copies to share.

Weekly readings 

Contemplative Eucharist - Tonight, 6:00 P.M.

Take a break from the busy city life, and join us for this simple, contemplative eucharist.
Tonight we commemorate the festival of the Confession of Saint Peter, which is today.   

Support The Lutheran Magazine

Each January we seek special donations to cover the costs of providing The Lutheran magazine to Holy Trinity members. A gift of $10 would pay for one subscription but larger gifts are welcome as well! We are proud of our own Julie Sevig who is a writer/editor on the staff. Write a check to Holy Trinity or donate now online.

We did it!

We're buying a farm! We'll two actually...and some extra goats and chickens, too. The Sunday School kids took on the challenge to raise enough money (only $715) to buy a farm through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. One farm includes enough animals for a family in another country to be able to become self sufficient in their community. Well, thanks to a all the generous people of Holy Trinity, and a baptismal gift for a whole farm from a guest, HTLC raised enough money for 2 farms and some extra animals, too. THANK YOU so much to everyone who participated and helped us to collect a grand total of $1,707.

Pastor Sevig

Ch-ch-ch-changes...no more confusing Pastors Miller and Mueller...no more people thinking that Craig and Michelle are a clergy couple. Now the paperwork is complete and Pastor Michelle L. Miller is now Michelle L.M. Sevig. Even though it may take a while to get used to the name Pastor Sevig, for both the people of HTLC and Michelle who thinks of Julie's dad each time it is referenced, she and her family are excited for the change. Now the whole family has the same name. Thanks be to God for the new Illinois law that allows for same sex unions, and for a legal and easy name change.

Dream Group Meeting

The Holy Trinity Dream Group meets monthly and welcomes everyone. Better understanding one's inner/spiritual life is a goal for us all. Dreamwork can be a helpful tool in accomplishing that task. Please consider joining us tomorrow, January 19th, 7 -9 p.m. at the church. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact Karol Weigelt, koldfront@msn.com.

Movie Night - Departures

Saturday, January 21, 3:30 p.m. - Passavant Hall
Departures examine the rituals surrounding death in Japan with this tale of an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as a encoffineer (the Japanese equivalent of an undertaker) in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Departures received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2008. Japanese director Yojiro Takita has created a cinematic masterpiece that is both funny and sad and all the emotions in between. The movie allows us to reflect on the ways ritual is used to honor the body after death. Since the movie is 130 minutes long, we are beginning at 3:30 p.m. and there will be a very brief intermission. Please bring snacks or side dishes to share.

Read a review of the movie here. 

Annual Meeting Of The Congregation

Sunday, January 29, following the 10:30 a.m. service
Please bring a main dish, salad, or dessert to share.
The annual meeting will follow the potluck and will include brief reports and elections of officers. The printed annual report will be available online by January 25.

Back from Costa Rica!

Pastor Mueller and Ernest Vasseur returned Saturday evening from their two-week honeymoon in Costa Rica. Click here to read the Top 10 Highlights of their trip.  Click here to view 25 favorite pictures. 

Sects and the City
Feb. 11 Worship Conference

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church will host a one-day worship conference on February 11, 2012. Sects and the City: Gen X | Y and Mainline Protestant Worship will explore this question: "While many mainline Protestant congregations are aging, what are young adults finding meaningful in the worship services of urban congregations with a high percentage of Generation X and Y?" The conference moderator will be Benjamin Stewart, a professor of liturgy at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. There will also be responses from three young adult leaders with connections to Gen X | Y as well as informal reflections by several dozen young adults from neighboring congregations. Costs: single $20; $30 at the door; $50 for three or more from one congregation, free for Holy Trinity Members and Pilgrimage Project participants. The conference website includes much more information and online registration. Lunch and refreshment are provided. The conference is funded by a grant Holy Trinity received from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. 

Attendance Last Sunday 

8:30 - 34; 10:30 - 130   

New Member Orientation

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, January 22. 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 (office@htchicago.org).

January Book Club

The first book group meeting of the new year will be Tuesday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Becky Sims, 1702 W. Barry, 773-388-3590. We'll be reading A Book of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers by Michael Holroyd. Intrigued? Please join us whether you have time to read the book or not!

Baptism Seminar-It's for Life!

Thursday, February 2, 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
This seminar is offered for expectant parents, parents with newborns, those planning a baptism in the coming months, parents or others who would like a refresher on the meaning and theology of baptism. All parents planning to have a newborn baptized are asked to attend this seminar at some point before or after the birth of their firstborn child.

Baptism isn't a one-time event--it's for life! Topics of the seminar will include baptismal theology, the role of parents and sponsors, and scheduling a baptism. For more information talk to Pastor Michelle Sevig or e-mail her.

"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

--The Crib

The Night Ministry has reopened their youth/young adult homeless shelter, The Crib. Holy Trinity will be preparing and serving a meal once per month. On the third Saturday of each month, volunteers will meet at Holy Trinity at 7 p.m. to prepare the meal, then will head to The Crib to serve the meal. For more information, speak with or email Ken Duckmann.

--The Night Ministry Outreach Van

Holy Trinity will be assembling and distributing 'meals in a bag' with the Night Ministry in Rogers Park on a quarterly basis. Stay tuned for more information and how to help out.

Next Baptism Dates: February 12. More info.

Next New Member Orientation Date: January 22, April 15.  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. 

January 15, 2012
Epiphany 2b
Pr. Nitza Rosario

There is something about a darkened room that quiets the heart and calms the spirit. And so singing lullabies in the dark to my daughter after I tucked her into bed was as much for me as it was for her. That tradition ended abruptly when she proclaimed, at the ripe age of 6, "Mom, I'm too old for this."

So you might imagine my delight when I found that in my work with hospice, singing lullabies or hymns to my hospice patients can have that same calming effect, for them AND for me. I've made sure to tell my daughter that. She's 24 now. But I gloat, "See? You're NEVER too old to be sung to!" Probably my favorite lullaby on earth is "Silent Night," though it has a limited application. I keep telling myself I should make up some alternate lyrics that would allow me to sing it to any patient-any faith background, at any time of the year. Because there is something about a darkened room that calms the spirit and opens the heart to the "intrusion" of the Holy.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18  

    6:00 p.m.  Contemplative Eucharist

    7:00 p.m.  Endowment Committee Meeting (Choir Room) 

    7:30 p.m.  AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall) 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19  

    10:00 a.m.  Weekly Bible Study (chapter 14) 

    6:00 p.m.  HTLC Volunteers at Lakeview Pantry

    7:15 p.m.  Congregation Council Meeting 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 

    5:00 p.m.  Film/Spirituality Series

    7:00 p.m.  HTLC Serves at The Crib Shelter  

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22

    8:30 a.m.  Eucharist

    9:00 a.m.  New Member Orientation (St. Mark's Room)  

    9:15 a.m.  Choir Rehearsal

    9:30 a.m.  Sunday Forum (Passavant Hall) and Sunday School

    10:30 a.m.  Sung Eucharist

    11:45 a.m.  Anti-racism Discussion (St. Mark's Room)

    11:45 a.m.  New Member Orientation cont... (Passavant)  

MONDAY, JANUARY 23  

    7:00 p.m.  Meditation Group  

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25

    6:00 p.m.  Contemplative Eucharist

    7:30 p.m.  AA & SAA (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall)   

Full Calendar of Events 

COMMEMORATIONS FOR THE WEEK

Wednesday, January 18 - Confession of Peter 

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

Please send news about awards, new positions, life passages and other important events in your lives for this section of our e-news.

Your prayers and well wishes for Holy Trinity member, Claire Evans, have been much appreciated during her recent illness. She has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and begins treatment this week. Please continue to pray for her and all those who are ill and in need of healing.

The Joy of Quiet 

A few months later, I read an interview with the perennially cutting-edge designer Philippe Starck. What allowed him to remain so consistently ahead of the curve? "I never read any magazines or watch TV," he said, perhaps a little hyperbolically. "Nor do I go to cocktail parties, dinners or anything like that." He lived outside conventional ideas, he implied, because "I live alone mostly, in the middle of nowhere."

Around the same time, I noticed that those who part with $2,285 a night to stay in a cliff-top room at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur pay partly for the privilege of not having a TV in their rooms; the future of travel, I'm reliably told, lies in "black-hole resorts," which charge high prices precisely because you can't get online in their rooms.

Read the entire article.