Trinity Lutheran Church | Owatonna, Minnesota MESSENGER A monthly ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church FEBRUARY 2018 Living a “God Soaked Life” I’ve often said that “you can tell my level of stress based on how messy my office is.” I love it when my office is well- organized. I really do. I love unlocking my door in the morning, stepping in, turning on the light and finding my desk clear of clutter, with only a few essentials on it. The conference table clear, and the piles on the credenza neatly organized and separated. My office looks this way…maybe two days out of seven. I love it when things are “in their place.” I think many of us do. We separate our work life from our home life; our family life fromin o utrh seo cidala lirfek. H umans are experts at compartmentalizing ourselves. Interestingly, I think we do the same thing with our faith lives. In our rush to separate different areas of who we are, we compartmentalize our faith to Sunday mornings…or to when we’re at church. I’ve spoken with people who talk about their own sense of separation between the “Sunday me” and the “Monday-Friday me.” They feel like there is a disconnect. They feel like there is an artificial barrier between their faith and the rest of their lives. We create these barriers within ourselves. For God, however, there are no barriers. For God, our faith and the “rest of our lives” are completely blended…they are the same. We live a “God Soaked Life.” In the waters of Holy Baptism, God’s presence; God’s very Holy Spirit, was infused into the DNA of our hearts in a way that cannot be separated from our identity. We are beloved children of God, loved completely, and nothing can change that. I think when we find ourselves trying to separate and compartmentalize our lives, God must smile at our efforts, because God knows that try as we might, we cannot divide ourselves that way. God’s presence is with us at school, at work, in our cars, at home, when we’re doing things we should be doing and when we’re doing things that we shouldn’t. God’s presence is with us when we want it and when we don’t. We cannot separate ourselves from the love and grace of God. We simply don’t have that kind of power. This Lent, we are going to discover this “God Soaked Life” that we all live. We’ll do this in worship, in our book studies and as we live our lives every day. God’s blessings! Pastor Todd Ash Wednesday Worship: Palm Sunday: March 25 February 14 Worship: 8:15, 9:30 & 10:45 am, Sanctuary 12:00 pm (lunch to follow) Brunch: 9:00 am - 11:00 am, Fellowship Hall 6:00 pm (dinner, 4:45 pm – 6:30 pm) Weekday Wednesday Worship: March 28, 6:00 pm, Sanctuary Maundy Thursday: March 29 Lenten Book Study Sessions: Worship: 12:00pm (lunch to follow) Th, February 15 – Wed, March 21 6:00pm (dinner, 4:45 pm - 6:30 pm) Good Friday Children’s Worship: March 30, 11:00 am Wednesday Lenten Worship: Good Friday Tenebrae Worship: March 30, 7:00 pm February 21, 28, March 7, 14 & 21 Easter Vigil Worship: Saturday, March 31, 5:00 pm *Worsh1i2p :D0a0y ps/mTi m(leusn ch to follow) Easter Sunrise Worship: Sunday, April 1, 6:00 am, Sanctuary Satu6rd:a0y0s ,p 5m:0 0(d pinmn er, 4:45 pm – 6:30 pm) Easter Festival Worship: Sundays, 8:15, 9:30 & 10:45 am Sunday, April 1, 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00 am, Sanctuary Wednesdays, 6:00 pm Sunday, April 1, 10:00 am, Fellowship Hall - Contemporary 609 Lincoln Avenue | Owatonna, MN 55060 507-451-4520 tlcowatonna.org Ministry Moments triple banded FUN with tripleFUN bandedwith Ministry of Inclusion Update FRIENDS Trinity’s Ministry of Inclusion is going to launch in March! FRIENDS We are excited to begin moving on this important As a church committed to the ministry that has been in the works for almost two years. Gospel of Jesus Christ, Allll of God’’s peoplle are wellcome to partiiciipate iin allll off Trinity is called to welcome all people in our miiniisttrriies,, rregarrdlless off cogniittiive orr physiicall abiilliitty.. all its ministries and into full participation as members of the body of Christ. To make tthiis happen,, Trriiniitty wiillll need a crrew off ttrraiined 11 CCoorriinntthhiiaannss 1122::1144--2266. ““bbuuddddiieess,,”” wwhhoo ccaann bbee ppaaiirred with individuals who have special needs, walking alongside them as they For 12 years, Fun wiith Friiends has been experience Trinity’s ministry. proviidiing a saffe and cariing recreatiionall enviironment iin whiich iindiiviidualls can There will be a “Buddy Training Session” on esttablliish meaniingffull sociiall connecttiions iin Saturday, February 10, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. tthe communiitty,, allll whiille haviing ffun.. (sessiion wiillll concllude wiith llunch at noon). ) Fun with Friends supports people with IIf you’’re iinterested iin beiing a partt off ourr ffiirrstt tteam off intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), Miiniisttrry off IIncllusiion Buddiies,, pllease siign up fforr tthe autism spectrum disorder, and traumatic brain ttrraiiniing att ttllcowattonna..orrg//iinclluussiioonn injury. We meet monthly for one hour (taking cold winter, and hot summer months off). Duriing our tiime we pllay games,, crafft,, siing,, snack,, and we cellebrate lliiffe''s miillesttones ttogettherr.. Thiis miiniis try has bllessed baoll tpha praticrtiipcaipnatsn tass, awned To express your interest to participate in havvoelu gnotetteerns taos kwneo wh aovnee g aonttoetnh etor, kfinnodwin go noeu t FUN with FRIENDS, contact Pastor Amanda aanboothuet re, aficnhd iontgh eoru'st ainbtoeuret setasc ahn odt hgeifrts's. iWnte raerset s [email protected], 507.451.4520 anadl wgiaftyss. Wlooek ainrge faolwr naeyws lpoeookipnlge ftor c noemwe p aenodp le to comhea avned F hUaNv ew FitUh NF RwIiEthN FDRSI.E NDS . Trinity Lutheran Church 2 tlcowatonna.org Volunteer / Support / Donate Trinity’s annual Congregational Meeting will being held on Sunday, February 4, immediately following the 10:45 am worship service in the Fellowship Hall. The meeting will begin with lunch, and then will transition to the meeting agenda. This annual get-together is an important time for us to meet and check in on our shared ministry. Different topics that we are going to talk about include: Adoption of a new, Trinity mission statement Review of our budget Election of leaders Update on our staffing and Celebration Mission Statement Update At Trinity’s annual congregational meeting on Sunday, February 4, one of our important agenda items will be discussing and voting on a new mission statement for our congregation. A mission statement taskforce has been working hard over the last 18 months to examine our mission and how our mission statement reflects that. The mission statement that was crafted by our taskforce, and approved by our congregational council to be recommended to the congregation is: Through Jesus’ love, we welcome, connect, learn, and serve. Please plan on coming to the meeting and being a part of this important conversation! with gratitude, John Petersburg It is hard to believe that over 20 years have gone by since I first began as the executive assistant and then church administrator here at Trinity. This 20 year journey has been both a calling and great honor for me. It has been such a joy to see Trinity’s ministry grow over the years with our current budget growing more than threefold if you include the building fund budget. I have been blessed to have had great support from leadership, the congregation and staff as I learned the skills needed. Trinity’s leadership supported and encouraged me to use those skills and talents outside of Trinity being able to help other congregations work through administrative issues and being treasurer of the SE MN Synod and now up in St. Paul. I will certainly miss the day to day involvement in the daily life of Trinity, but I expect you will still see Susan and me hovering around on Sundays and other events. Thank you for all you have done to support Susan and me and may God bless Trinity into the future. JP Trinity Lutheran Church tlcowatonna.org 3 Children, Youth & Family Ministries UPCOMING EVENTS February is Sunday School Teacher Appreciation month! Please extend EXTRA gratitude to our awesome teachers. Variety Remix Saturday, February 17 Trinity Nursery School 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Open House and Registration Fundraiser for Trinity Youth planning to attend Monday, January 29 the National Youth Gathering in Houston and 8:30 am - 10:30 am other summer service or adventure trips. 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm tlcowatonna.org/varietyremix Wednesday, January 31 Wednesdays in February 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Lenten Book Study tlcowatonna.org/tns “God Soaked Life” by Chris Weber for Senior High and Middle School February 14, 21, 28, March 7, 14 & 21 Watch for details! No Connect or WNL during Lent Mentor & Student Events Peer Ministry (Mark Your Calendar) February 18 - Broomball, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Workshop Day March 25 - Movie Night, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Saturday, February 3, 8:45 am - 6:30 pm April 22 - Service projects, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Guest: Lyle Griner, May 13 - Bike About, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Peer Ministry Natl. Director tlcowatonna.org/mentorministry Lunch & snacks provided Summer Ministry Trips No cost to attend! tlcowatonna.org/liveonpurpose Open to all 9th-12th grade students and adults in teaching and leadership roles.