After lots of positive recommendations, Carol and I finally rented the film "The Tree of Life." Somehow this unusual film quickly made me stop being analytical, stop trying to figure out rationally what it "meant."

For me, that's a big feat. By personality and academic training, I am a very analytical person. Watching a film that screamed to be analyzed and interpreted, I realized that I was doing neither. I was being reflective about the images and slivers of narrative without trying to figure them out. I was extracting meaning without intellectualizing.

We hear the word "mystery" a lot in church. In every communion service, for example, we together "proclaim the mystery of faith." Being "open to the mystery" is part of our congregational purpose statement. Etymologically, the word "mystery" comes from Greek that probably meant "keeping your mouth shut."

Perhaps this is how we might best deal with theological mysteries: not always trying to put them into words, but letting them roll around inside us where we eventually intuit their true meaning. This could be what Luke's gospel means when it describes Mary as keeping experiences and "pondering them in her heart."

Much of our worship practice falls into the category of mystery, I think. As I experience worship at Holy Trinity and look at the others around me, I have often been struck by the variety of people in our assembly, especially the diversity of ages. Given the great diversity of tastes we no doubt have in cultural things, I have questioned how it is that we all find our style of worship meaningful.

In some sense that is the underlying question of "Sects and the City," the worship conference that Holy Trinity will sponsor this coming Saturday. The conference will involve attendees in a mix of analysis and reflection, thought and experience. However the discussions go and whatever conclusions we reach, I expect that the conference will remind us that our worship together every Sunday is an experience of mystery about which we must ultimately stand silent.

~Ryan LaHurd

NEXT SUNDAY    

The leper is confident in Jesus' power to heal. Naaman, on the other hand, is comically hard to convince that he can be healed by such an unlikely foreigner as Elisha, who directs him to wash in such a sorry excuse for a river as the Jordan. Jesus' healing power is here among us in the ordinary water of the font, in the ordinary bread, in the ordinary people who make up the body of Christ. We would be well-advised to take the advice of the least powerful among us (like the servant girl in Naaman's household) if we want to find the one who will heal us.

• 8:30 a.m. - Eucharist (about 45 minutes)
• NO CHOIR
• 9:30 a.m. - Sunday School and Sunday Forum (below)
• 10:30 a.m. - Sung Eucharist and Welcome to New Members 
• 11:45 a.m. - Seminarian Committee Meeting (St. Mark's)
• 11:45 a.m. - Anti-Racism Forum (Passavant)

Sunday Forum - Paul and Community

9:30 a.m. - Passavant Hall
Join us for a two week Bible Study that will explore the "community" that the Apostle Paul envisioned when he was establishing churches across the Roman Empire. This Bible Study will look at several of the letters Paul wrote and highlight some of the key words Paul used in the Greek, which we have lost in our own translation today. Together we will discuss what implications this has for our contemporary society as well as the community at Holy Trinity, and how this informs our ministry. Led by Seminarian Chris Brown (the study will be his project for his Ministry in Context participation at Holy Trinity). 

Antiracism Discussion Opportunity

You are invited to join other HT members in week 5 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.

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. 

Mom's Night Out - February 10

Join us for Mom's Night Out. Not only do we learn and grow in faith, we also have a lot of fun with new friends. Please join us on the 2nd Friday of the month, February 10 from 7:30-9:00 p.m., at the home of Beth Mankowski. If you can make it, please RSVP to Beth (elizabeth.mankowski@gmail.com) and she will send you her address and directions.
If you can't make it this week, please mark your calendar for the second Friday of each month and join us in the future.

Love in a Ziplock©

Last year the Sunday School children loved the service service project we called Love in a Glovebox, and many of them are still talking about the bags they gave away. This year we'll do the same project, but with a different name, Love in a Ziploc.

The children are collecting items to put in bags that will be given to the homeless. The bags will be blessed at worship and given back to you, to keep in your car or carry in your backpack or briefcase. When you come across someone who looks like he or she could use a lift, hand them a gift bag of necessities.

Bring any of these items no later than February 19th to the office or place in the designated box in the back of the church:

• Gloves, mittens, hats or headbands
• Boxes of raisins
• Granola or protein bars
• Cough drops
• Lip balm
• Travel size tissues
• toothpaste/toothbrush combos
• Small bottles of lotion and sanitizer
• Gifts cards ($5 each) for grocery stores of fast food.

Book Group Meeting

The February book group meeting will be Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Julius Meinl, 3601 N. Southport. We'll be discussing the hilarious book Bossypants by Tina Fey. For those who like to read ahead, we'll be discussing In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson in March. Please join us whether you've read the book or not!

food4thought - February 26 - Stories: Faith and Work 

Mark your calendar for the Feb. 26 Food4thought. Hear from three Holy Trinity members about how their faith informs/shapes their fascinating careers. Food4thought meets after the 10:30 a.m. worship service in Passavant Hall and this "quarter" features not only a delicious meal, but faith stories from three faithful members: Chris Bender, a physician; Scott Johnson, a teacher and coach; Rebecca Pallmeyer, a federal judge. Mark your calendars, you won't want to miss it! 

Operating & Capital Reserve Initiative

A special congregational meeting will be held in a couple months from now. During this special congregational meeting, members will be voting on amended bylaws to the constitution and the allocation of money between the Mission Endowment Fund, Expansive Faith capital campaign loan, and a proposed Operating & Capital Reserve. To prepare for this vote we will be holding a forum immediately following the 10:30 service on Sunday, March 4th. A light lunch will be served, and the forum will include time for questions, discussion, and a presentation of our Congregation Council's recommended plan of action regarding paying off the capital campaign loan and starting an Operating & Capital Reserve. Materials outlining these items will be made available in subsequent enews mailings to review before the forum.

Knit and Pray, Crochet and Bless

During the last year I have asked my sister, who is active in a Shawl Ministry, for two shawls: a blanket for a preemie who weighed 1 pound 6 ounces and one for our own Claire Evans. It felt like a powerful and faith-filled gift to give someone. These shawls are hand-knit or crocheted by members of a faith community, then blessed and given away in faith and hope.

Patrice Macken and Barbara Wahler are interested in starting this type of ministry here at Holy Trinity. If you have an interest, let's meet and discuss it. It is open to all ages and skill levels, men and women, who want to pray and knit, bless and crochet. Contact Patrice or Barbara for more information.

To learn more about this important ministry go to WWW.SHAWLMINISTRY.COM.
Shawls ... made for centuries: universal and embracing,symbolic of an inclusive, unconditionally loving God. They wrap, enfold, comfort, cover, give solace, mother, hug, shelter and beautify.

Ash Wednesday

February 22, 2012
7:30 p.m. - The Liturgy of Ash Wednesday and Imposition of Ashes

LENTEN BOOKS

Two books will be available to Holy Trinity members this Lent at no cost, thanks to the Worship Renewal Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc.
--40 Days and 40 Nights is a series of daily meditations on biblical images for the Lenten season.
--A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth's Ecology is by Holy Trinity member Ben Stewart.

LENTEN DISCUSSION

Join us on Lenten Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. in Passavant Hall to discuss the book A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth's Ecology. The author is Ben Stewart, Holy Trinity member and professor of worship at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. We are delighted to announce that Ben will be present to share in the conversation. The book makes connections between worship and care for creation. Using ancient images, contemporary science, medieval mystics, and cosmic symbols, A Watered Garden calls us to care for the ground on which God has planted us--local communities and global home.

YOUNG ADULT BIBLE STUDY

We are excited to announce a Lenten bible study for young adults that will be led by Holy Trinity member, Kyle Severson. Please e-mail the church office to know if you are interested as we are currently trying to schedule the study, either for Thursday evenings or Sundays after worship. The study book is written by Barbara Rossing, a professor at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and is engaging, accessible and colorful!

Attendance Last Sunday 

8:30 - 20; 10:30 - 142   

Cookbooks still available!

Thanks to you, we sold over two-thirds of our copies of HTLC's cookbooks, Cook with Joy, this holiday season. For those who still do not have a copy or who would like a few extras, we have about 60 copies available. But...when they're gone, they're gone! You can pick up extra copies at the back of the church for $15 per book (cash or check made to Holy Trinity) while supplies last.

Children of Abraham 2012

All are invited to register now for Children of Abraham 2012: Exploring Bible and Qur'an Texts, to be held Tuesday evenings 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., March 6 - 27, 2012, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1004 Greenwood St, Evanston, IL 60201. The course will begin with an overview of the main points from the Fall 2011 Children of Abraham series, making it possible for new people to join the group. Participants will learn about Qur'anic interpretation methods, while comparing texts on such topics as Moses and the Exodus, sin and forgiveness, and heaven and hell. The course will require about one hour of preparation time each week.

The series will be led by Dr. Carol Schersten LaHurd (Holy Trinity member), interfaith lecturer and adjunct professor at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Islamic scholar Dr. Ghulam-Haider Aasi will join the group for one session. Cost: $20.00 person includes The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics, 2008; M.A.S. Abdel Haleem translator); $10 for those who have a Qur'an they can use.

Please RSVP (with phone number and e-mail address) ASAP or by February 17 to office@stpaulevanston.org or 847.475.3403, and indicate whether we should order the Qur'an translation for you. (Late registrations will be accepted.)

"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: April 22. More info.

Next New Member Orientation Date: 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. 

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 5, 2012
Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39
Pr. Craig M. Mueller

THE FEVER OF LIFE

It's Super Bowl Sunday. But the rare occurrence of football in a sermon, well, that was last week! Today's theme: fevers. Something else I've never preached about. That's not to say some of you may work yourselves into a fever later today as you drink a beer, cheer, and check out those famous commercials!

Think of the times you get a fever. A fever certainly gets our attention. It interrupts our fast-paced lives. It may keep us in bed. We may miss work. If it's high enough, we may feel just plain miserable.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

    6:00 p.m.  Contemplative Eucharist

    7:30 p.m.  12-Step Groups (St. Mark's Room & Passavant Hall) 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9

    10:00 a.m.  Weekly Bible Study (chapter 17) 

    7:15 p.m.  Congregation Council Meeting

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10

    6:00 p.m.  Mom's Night Out

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11

    8:15 a.m.  Sects and the City Conference

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12

    8:30 a.m.  Eucharist

    NO CHOIR

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

    10:30 a.m.  Sung Eucharist

    11:45 a.m.  Anti-Racism Conversation (Passavant Hall)

    11:45 a.m.  Seminarian Committee Meeting  (St. Mark's)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13  

    7:00 p.m.  Meditation Group  

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15

    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

Tuesday, February 14 - Cyril, monk, died 869; Methodius, bishop, died 885; missionaries to the Slavs  

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

Holy Trinity member Clyde Andrew Walter recently returned to Chicago after spending a year and a half in the Quad Cities working at Augustana College (Rock Island). He has taken a new position as the Director of Stewardship at Grace Lutheran Church and School in River Forest, IL and is grateful to be back in Chicago and sharing life with his partner Kyle Severson (Associate member at Holy Trinity) - who is beginning his second semester of studies at LSTC.

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

"No Need for the Church: Ministry with Young Adults" 

Within the metro area of Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, are scores of vital mainline churches. So why are 45,000 young adults-close to a quarter of the entire population-not connected to any of them?  

In economic terms, it's not a supply-side issue; there's simply no demand for church from the young adults. In my new call as developer of young adult ministry in the Fargo-Moorhead area, I've been meeting and talking with young adults in area pubs and coffee shops. After only a dozen conversations, it became clear that what many mainline churches here offer-the worship, the programs, the intergenerational community-fails to connect with many in their twenties and thirties. Perhaps this was predictable, but for me, a 28-year-old pastor called to work with other young adults, it's been a troubling discovery. 

Continue reading here  

"How to Fight the Man" 

A few weeks ago, a 22-year-old man named Jefferson Bethke produced a video called "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus." The video shows Bethke standing in a courtyard rhyming about the purity of the teachings of Jesus and the hypocrisy of the church. Jesus preaches healing, surrender and love, he argues, but religion is rigid, phony and stale. "Jesus came to abolish religion," Bethke insists. "Religion puts you in bondage, but Jesus sets you free."  

The video went viral. As of Thursday, it had acquired more than 18 million hits on YouTube. It speaks for many young believers who feel close to God but not to the church. It represents the passionate voice of those who think their institutions lack integrity - not just the religious ones, but the political and corporate ones, too.  

Continue reading the article. 

• Living Lutheran: A Daily Blend of Stories, Culture and Community - <link>
• Spirituality and Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys - <link>
• Big Questions Online - <link>
• Religion dispatches - <link>
• Sightings (The Martin Marty Center) - <link>