R.E.A.L. Faith in a Real World: What Defines You

Greetings from the blessedly cool offices of Holy Trinity! In recent days, with temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, it’s been hard for our geothermal system to keep pace, given it was operating at half capacity (see past e-news). Thankfully, we were able to install a new heat pump and air coils on Monday, which restored and even improved the system. It cost a staggering $23,000 to install, but it was a necessary repair/replacement to make our facility habitable. Stay tuned for information next month on what you might do to help us offset this unanticipated expense.

I’d like to offer a huge word of thanks for all those who made an effort to advocate for greater gun safety over the past two weeks. Thankfully, your voices appear to have been heard as our legislators work to break the ice on establishing sensible boundaries and limits. As Lisa and I participated in Saturday’s “March for our Lives” in Cedar Rapids, we again heard stories from those who had been victimized by this epidemic of gun violence. I am thankful for movement, no matter how seemingly small.

In worship this Sunday and Wednesday, we are going to continue our “R.E.A.L.” series by digging into a rather bizarre story found in three different gospels (see Luke 8:26-39). At first glance, it might appear to be describing a scene that is light years away from our own lives, I believe that it still resonates. How so? Well, it seems that the “demon-possessed” man in the Gospels had quite literally been defined by his affliction. His entire identity had been subsumed by that which bound him. And how many of us have been defined by our failures or limits? Don’t we often tend to identify ourselves in terms of our deficiencies and our disappointments? Perhaps not always, of course, but often enough to rob us of the abundant life God hopes that we experience and share.

Truth be told, there are so many voices and cultural forces trying to discourage us that we might still call them Legion – for they are loud and plentiful indeed! Yet against all of them stands the still, small, but oh, so mighty voice of the one who still crosses oceans and boundaries to tell us of God’s love and call us back to grace-filled awareness and our forever identity as God’s beloved. Join us in worship this week as we recall how! And while you’re at it, register for Vacation Bible School or join us on Wednesday for worship and ice cream, starting at 6:30pm. Let’s celebrate summer TOGETHER!

Peace,

Pastor Tim

R.E.A.L. Faith in a Real World: Holy Trinity Sunday

Dear Friends,

The days of spring 2022 have brought news of joy and sorrow, triumphs, and

great heartbreak. How are you doing? In your household, your neighborhood,

or maybe the place you work, how is everyone doing? What are they doing?

And is whatever we are all doing, does it bring forth *hope?*

This week we lean into several scriptures that will not only nudge us to

think and act – but to experience *hope *in the Triune God — creator,

savior, and spirit – three in one! It is our celebration of the Holy

Trinity, the namesake of our congregation.

*“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this

grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of

God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that

suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and

character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s

love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been

given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)*

Throughout this summer we will dig deeper into a collective understanding

of what it means to say that here at Holy Trinity – we are the R.E.A.L.

church in a real world.

We need your input in the attached survey to help with feedback, direction,

and inspiration! Please take the 5-10 minutes right now and complete the

questions in the survey

<https://holytrinityNL.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=686cdca46931e3e290af7a8ae&id=9db6fc7678&e=87142a5265>

.

See you in worship and fellowship on Sundays or Wednesdays.

Blessings to you always,

Pastor Katie

Let the Church Arise: Pentecost

It’s hard to believe, but June and summer are suddenly already upon us! I’ve enjoyed the new seasonal worship services at 9:00 a.m. Sunday, and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and certainly encourage you to do the same! In fact, next Wednesday (6/8), we will celebrate “Red Carpet Night” and formally offer thanks to all of the worship assistants who have helped to make Sundays and Wednesdays possible this year! Come join in offering them our gift of gratitude with worship at 6:30 and an ice cream social following.

This week, we will be highlighting “Pentecost Sunday,” that often mysterious occasion when the newborn church was given the empowering gift of the Holy Spirit. While some years it might seem hard to appreciate this highlight of the liturgical year, that doesn’t appear to be the case this year. There is plenty of power both to claim and to exercise humbly on behalf of those whose voices have been silenced.

Even before I had a chance to remove our chair display in the front yard (created in memory of the 21 children and adults who were killed in Uvalde last week), we arose today to news of yet another mass shooting. Over Memorial Day, there 14 more mass shootings. There have been 27 school shootings and 229 mass shootings (four or more victims) in the US since January 1, 2022. Yet because of our differences over guns, we find ourselves paralyzed by gridlock and nothing seems to change.

One of the words in Scripture used to define the Holy Spirit is “advocate,” which I understand to be one who give support to the marginalized and voice to the voiceless; an advocate is one who is at our side in times of trial. This certainly seems to be one of those times.

If you have not done so already, I encourage you to claim the power of the Spirit within you and, within the presence of the community as a whole, to be voices of advocacy. In other words, I ask you to sit down today and write your state and federal legislators to act on the issue of gun violence. I won’t speak for you or tell you what to say, but I will share what I am saying. It is a letter that I wrote based on a letter that another pastor shared with me. You are welcome to borrow or edit anything you feel expresses your own impatience with change on this chronic and tragic issue of public safety.

Meanwhile, if you have children within your own home who are asking questions about these issues, I would refer you to the information sent out by the Grant Wood AEA to parents last week; it contains some helpful guidelines regarding when, what, and how to share conversations on these issues with children when appropriate. This resource from the National Association of School Psychologists is available. In addition, Grant Wood AEA has resources on the Critical Incident Stress Management Page under Handouts, Parents, and Additional Resources.

I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is given to us for just such purposes. In the wake of the horrific month behind us, we can choose to throw up our hands and change nothing. Or we can hold our legislators accountable and ask that they work together both to address the complex root causes of such senseless violence and to develop better strategies to minimize frequency of all gun violence.

I hope that you will join me in claiming the power of the Spirit today.

Pastor Tim