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March 2016 Newsletter Trinity Lutheran Church Fairhaven, Massachusetts

Dear Friends in Christ,

Holy Week and the Resurrection of our Lord arrive early this year. Yet, I believe it is never too early for us to immerse ourselves in the whole experience of Holy Week and Easter. Beginning with Palm/Passion Sunday to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and then Easter morning, we enter into the crux of our Christian faith. It is a powerful week of love and sacrifice, of sadness and anguish, and of joy and hope. The events of the week speak to the ‘why’ of our faith. I invite you then to eagerly pursue the whole of Holy Week and enter into our worship opportunities during that week. A list of the worship services are contained on another page of this newsletter. I would like, though, to share with you an explanation of one worship opportunity in particular – our Palm/Passion Sunday celebration on March 20th and our changes that day.

For a number of years our Family Worship service on that day has incorporated the whole of the Passion Week in a physical and emotional journey that takes us from Palm Sunday to the Upper Room, Garden of Gethsemane, and Trial of Jesus on Thursday/Friday morning to the Crucifixion. Moving about the church space we encounter each piece of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and his suffering and death through word, song, and active participation of the whole people of God. Through all of our senses we actively experience the Passion of our Lord.

At February’s worship and music committee meeting, we decided to offer this service to the whole community on Palm/Passion Sunday. To make this occur and to accommodate the whole community, we decided to hold two worship services on March 20th at 8:15 AM and 10:00 AM. Please mark your calendars accordingly for this day and plan on attending one or the other. I believe this worship experience will benefit our heart and head knowledge of why God sent us God’s Son to suffer and die for us and the world.

In the name of Christ crucified,

Pastor Paul

FOOD FOR THE POOR AND OUR CHANGE

This is our ninth year in which we have participated in the “Operation Starfish” ministry of Food for the Poor. As in past years we will place an aquarium in the greeting area of the church during the season of Lent. We invite children and adults to bring in their coins to fill our aquarium. “I know I have coins in all sorts of places to throw into the aquarium,” one person has related. The coins will then be counted during Holy Week and the total funds raised will be given to the ongoing ministries of Food for the Poor. Last year your pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters totaled over $700. We thank you for your past support and look forward to seeing the levels rise on this year’s aquarium. As we did last year for the first time, this Lent we are joining Lutheran World Relief’s Baskets of Promise campaign. Each week, we will collect a different item that we will use to assemble Personal Care Kits that give people around the world tools to stay healthy in life’s most challenging situations.

Our goal is to assemble 50 LWR Personal care Kits during Lent.

Here is our collection schedule:

February 14: Bars of soap (4 to 5 oz., any brand, in original wrapping.

February 21: Bath Towels (light weight, maximum 52” x 27”, dark color recommended)

February 28: Toothbrushes (adult size, in original packaging)

March 6: Combs & Nail Clippers

March 13: Assembling of the items following Family Worship

Midweek Lenten Services

During the season of Lent we will offer an opportunity for the community to gather and worship on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM. Based on the covenant and promises we make in affirming our baptisms, the services will incorporate these specific themes:

February 17 To Live among God’s Faithful People

February 24 To Hear the Word of God and Share in the Lord’s Supper

March 2 To Proclaim the Good News of God in Christ through Word and Deed

March 9 To Serve All People, Following the Example of Jesus

March 16 To Strive for Justice and Peace in All the Earth

Newsletter via email

We invite and encourage members of the congregation to let us know if they would prefer receiving the monthly newsletter as an email attachment. If so, contact the church office with your email address and we will send it you. The benefit to you is you will receive it sooner and the benefit to the church is we will save on mailing costs. High School Seniors

Trinity Lutheran Church offers two scholarship opportunities to high school seniors who will continue their education. Applications for both scholarship offerings are available through the church office. Deadline to apply is April 15.

Plants for Easter

A sign up sheet has been posted at the church for those who wish to purchase plants for our Easter celebration on March 27. We will use our florist, the Potting Bench, and will offer the choice of daffodils, hyacinths, or Easter lilies. Prices and other information will be included on the sign up sheet on one of the bulletin boards in the hallway. Or you may also call the church office for more information. The last day to order plants will be March 18.

The Pretzel

The pretzel is a very ancient bakery item, which was traditionally eaten only during Lent. It appeared each year on Ash Wednesday and disappeared on Good Friday. It goes back at least to the fifth century: there is a Roman manuscript in the Vatican Library dating from that period which shows a Lenten pretzel. As to the shape: It is made in the form of two arms crossed in prayer. The word bracellae, “little arms,” became in German Bretzel, then Pretzel. These early Christians ate no dairy products in Lent, so the pretzel was made only of flour, salt, and water. It was as simple as it could be.

1 tablespoon honey 11/2 cups lukewarm water (100-110 degrees) 1 envelope active dry yeast 1 teaspoon salt 4 cups flour 1 egg, beaten Coarse or kosher salt

Add the honey to the water; sprinkle in the yeast and stir until dissolved. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Blend in the flour and knead the dough until smooth. Cut the dough into pieces. Roll them into ropes and twist into pretzel shaped. You can make small pretzels with thin ropes or large ones with fat ropes, but remember that to cook at the same rate, your pretzels need to be close to the same size. Place pretzels on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush them with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until the pretzels are golden brown.

CHURCH SPRING CLEAN UP MARCH 19 BEGINNING AT 9:00 AM

The people of Trinity are invited to help with an outdoor spring clean up of the church property beginning at 9:00 am on Saturday. March 19. Bring your outdoor implements (rakes, clippers, etc.) and help us spruce up the property for Holy Week and Easter. We will spend the morning at work and then gather for an early lunch. See the sign up sheet in the greeting area of the church. A rain date will be held on April 2nd. Thanks! MARCH 5 TLC PLAY AND LEARN CAMPUS DINNER FROM 5:15 UNTIL 6:15 PM

GOSPEL CONCERT 7:00 PM

Rescheduled from January 23

Dinner served by the TLC Play & Learn Campus children under the direction of Gary Pierce and staff. Beginning at 5:15 PM Theme: Hard Rock Café Buffet Style (We will serve on a continuous basis from 5:15 until 6:15 that night. Please sign up for dinner through the church office.)

Gospel Concert to follow at 7:00 PM ALL Donations for the dinner and concert will go to support this vital after school ministry of the church.

MISSION STATEMENT TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH

In the Spirit of the Loving God We Worship Nurture Witness Serve Celebrate In the cross of Christ! MARCH 20 PALM/PASION SUNDAY Worship at 8:15 & 10:00 ONLY We journey from entering Jerusalem to the Upper Room to Gethsemane to the Trial to the Crucifixion with hearts and tears and song!

MARCH 24 MAUNDY (HOLY) THURSDAY Worship at 7:00 PM Corporate Confession, Individual Absolution, First Communion, and Stripping the Altar! A night that moves into:

MARCH 25 GOOD FRIDAY Worship at 7:00 PM Light and Darkness, Silence & Prayer, and the Words of Jesus from the Cross!

EASTER EGG HUNT SATURDAY, MARCH 26 10:00 AM Hunt for eggs, check out the Easter Bunny. Parents are invited to bring breakfast or snack food items to share.

RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD MARCH 27

FESTIVAL OF HOLY COMMUNION AT 8:15 AND 11:00 AM FAMILY WORSHIP CELEBRATION AT 9:30 AM EASTER SUNRISE AT FORT PHOENIX 6:34 AM

TLC Play and Learn Campus News (An after school ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church

This month will bring in spring and hopefully more sunshine and warm days. We plan on virtual traveling again with the children once our destination is known. The last week of February virtual travel saw the children going to China. Model ‘great walls’ were built and stir fry with chicken and vegetables and rice noodles was cooked and served by Pastor Paul as snack one day. Also, last month we physically traveled with the children during February vacation. We went to Woods hole Science Aquarium and enjoyed watching the seals, the colorful fish, red star fish and a blue lobster. We took a brief look at the ferry coming in and then we had our lunch at the Nobska Light house.

The week of St. Patrick’s Day we will have some fun crafts to make. The children have fun being creative with art supplies available. We will be open 8am to 6pm on Good Friday. I’m sure Gail will have us baking Easter treats. Then we will all enjoy the finished product. The Easter week is always busy with projects to make, things to think about and friends and family in our hearts. Gail and I want to thank all of you for your wonderful support. Knowing you keep us in your prayers helps us to nurture the children and keep them safe and loved.

With love and blessings, Ruth E. Medeiros, Director

REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS (Listings may be extended 3-12 months via the parish office) John Jansen (2/17) Jeremy Ewing (1/17) Bobby Britto (7/16) Laurie Amaral (7/16) Caleb Sawant (10/16) Nate Bouley (8/16) Zachary Hollister (7/16) Debbie Kackley (7/16) Jeanie Golden (7/16) Rick Schlak (7/16) Helen Matson (7/16) Thelma (6/16) Fred Belanger (6/16) Elizabeth Lemaire (5/16) Denna Laing (5/16) Tom Ryan (5/16) Malvin Kvilhaug (5/16) Baby Gavin (5/16) Jenna Mae (4/16) George Jennings (4/16) Kathy Fitzgerald (4/16) Joseph Gaudiello (4/16) Jaclyn (4/16) Helen Taylor (4/16) Dan (4/16) Paul Fitzgerald (4/16) Ann Ulrichsen Burge (4/16) Linda Jensen (4/16) Magnus Aadland (9/16) Steve Cambra (9/16) Liv Haines (9/16) Tom/Jack Softcheck (3/16)

Gifts to Give Service Opportunity Saturday, March 12 Meet at the church at 9:30 AM or go straight to Gifts to Give

One of our goals, as a church community, is to reach out and a serve our neighbors in need, as we grow in our own faith. “Gifts to Give” is an organization that provides us such an opportunity. We are looking for families and individuals to accompany us for a morning of serving at “Gifts to Give” at their new location in Acushnet. Even as we give we recognize that family involvement provides a chance for all us to see the needs of the other person as well as how God has blessed us. So, we invite you to join us on that day. We, also, invite you to bring along items to share with Gifts to Give as they distribute them to those in need.

We will re-purpose everything except furniture! Gently used or new children’s items will be distributed directly to local children-in-need though community agencies and schools. Here are the things most requested by community agencies for children in-need.