Updates From Pastor Justin

Moving Forward Together 

This morning I received an Easter card from our new family life intern who will be working with Andrew and Allison for the whole year.  Inside her Easter card was a sticker with a picture of a mountain that said, “I know you got mountains to climb, but always stay humble and kind.”  As I looked at that sticker and let the words soak in I could not help but be encouraged once again.  As a staff we have been talking a lot about this upcoming year of ministry and how it feels like we are in a valley right now, and that next year we will be climbing up a mountain.  We have come to an understanding that prayer is going to be our most effective tool as we climb together, not just as a staff, but as a congregation.

As your pastor I have witnessed in this past year incredible stories of faith, hope, and love as you have faced so many different trials.  I have witnessed the power of resilience and simple acts of kindness as we have moved forward together.  I have seen grace upon grace being offered to one another.  I know that not one of us has handled this past year perfectly, but I also know that each of us has had our faith, hope, and love strengthened as we have seen God provide and work through grief, sorrow, and hardship.

As we continue to move forward together may God continue to teach us not just how to pray, but also how to listen to His voice so that we can climb together as He leads us.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”  – Acts 4:33

I want to begin by sharing with you that we had over 1000 individuals join us for Maundy Thursday worship, over 2000 individuals join us for Good Friday worship, and over 4000 individuals join us for Easter worship.  We did this through responsible in-person worship and online worship.  What a blessing to be able to not only worship in-person together, but also online.  We trust that God is working through the power of His Word.  May God continue to enable us to share His story with love as we continue to live out the mission He has called us into of making disciples.  He is Risen!

This upcoming weekend I want to remind you of the exciting, new worship opportunities.  We are moving from two Sunday morning options to three.  Starting this Sunday morning and continuing through August, we will have an 8 am traditional service, a 9:30 am blended service, and an 11 am contemporary service.  Each one of these services will also be online.  We are planning on bringing back a fourth Sunday morning worship service at the end of August and are still evaluating our plan for our weekday service.  Saturday at 5:30 pm will stay the same.

As part of this next step for in-person and online worship, our 11 am contemporary service will be meeting in our gym.  If we exceed our gym capacity restrictions, we will move back into the Sanctuary.  We do realize that this past year has stretched us all as we have been accustomed to more options of worship styles and worship spaces.  We thank you for your resiliency, patience, and understanding as we continue to move forward together.  This weekend will be the first time in over a year that we have utilized our gym for in-person worship.  We pray this will be received with great favor and in understanding by both our in-person worshipers and online worshipers.  We will certainly continue to evaluate our worship practice as we move forward together.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” – John 17:20-23

Moving Forward Together 

“Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening He went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear Him at the temple.”   -Luke 21:37-38

It is Wednesday of Holy Week, and although the Gospel writer’s a little bit unclear as to what Jesus did on Wednesday, we do know that Jesus continued His authoritative teaching ministry.  Today I want to invite you to listen in on the ‘”Pause, Ponder, and Pray” video devotional which is attached, and also to continue with our Fresh Start devotional, Day 38 from Acts 26 as written by Pastor Chris.  May we continue to be students of the story of God so that we can live it out and share it with others:

“We change how we tell stories depending on the audience. When I was a kid, if my siblings and I caused trouble, we told the story of what happened differently to each parent. Why? Because we knew mom would react one way, dad would react a different way.  Even the times we told the truth (what?? Kids lie???), we still changed how we told the story depending on who was listening.
In Acts 26 Paul shares his story of Jesus all over again. He does this to explain why some voices in his own religion (Christianity was considered another part within Jewish faith, like the Pharisees or Saducees) 1 rose up against him. He also does this to testify about the power of God in his life, to bring that power to bear in King Agrippa’s life. With King Agrippa hearing his case, Paul not only has a fresh opportunity to show his innocence, but also a new chance for the Spirit to work through him in the lives of others in that room. Paul may not share some different details that Luke previously recorded and leave out some others that Luke included, but these minor changes all point to the one truth: Jesus rose from the dead, and he called Paul to be a witness. He calls you, too. As you grow in learning all the pieces and parts of Jesus’ story, your story, and the story of others, may God also help you discern and trust the Spirit as he prompts you to share those stories to provide others what they need from Him.”

Trinity, may we share Christ’s story with love, not just this week but every day of every week.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-19

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.  Posterity will serve Him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim His righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: 
He has done it!” – Psalm 22:29-31

Holy Week
Your pastoral staff is really excited as we have been working hard to craft our messages for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. We hope you are able to join us for each day, whether online or in-person.  On Good Friday, please note that there are three unique services with different messages and styles.

Register for In-person Easter Worship
As a way to be faithful and responsible, I want to remind you that if you would like to come for our in-person worship on Easter weekend, we do need you to register.  Please click here to register for Easter. Our 9 am and 10:30 am registrations are closed as we have reached our capacity limit, but we still have room at our Saturday 5:30 pm, Sunday 7:30 am and noon services.  If you have registered, you will be receiving a confirmation email.  It would be helpful for us that when you arrive you either have your email printed out or have it open on your phone.   HE IS RISEN!

April 10 and 11 Weekend
As we move forward together, we moving to three Sunday morning services instead of two.  The weekend after Easter we will have an 8 am traditional service in the Sanctuary, a 9:30 am blended service in the Sanctuary and an 11 am contemporary service in our gym.  All three will be streamed online.  As stated previously, it us our plan to have a fourth option come this fall of having a contemporary service back in the Sanctuary.  However, if attendance rises past our responsible capacity limitations in the gym we will be back in the Sanctuary prior to the fall with our late contemporary service option.

As you know we have been very prayerfully diligent in our decisions regarding our weekend worship service options.  For decades Trinity has been able to offer different style worship services.  We understand this can bring tension, but we also know that we are blessed to be able to offer different styles of Word & Sacrament worship.  After a year of not gathering for worship in our gym, we do feel this is a good time to open the gym back up while being responsible with our resources and being sensitive to preferred places of worship.  We pray that this is not offensive for anyone, and that we all can continue to have patience as we move forward in faith, hope, and love.  We pray that God blesses this worship service for both in-person worship and online worship.  We will continue to move forward together one day at a time as we seek to be faithful in our mission.

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…”  – 1 Corinthians 15:14-20

Moving Forward Together 

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

As we move forward together, we do so with our Day 32 devotion based on Acts 22:30-23:11 written by Josh Britton:

“Paul was someone well acquainted with suffering and very familiar with having his back against the wall from being in many sticky situations. Oftentimes, especially when we find ourselves in scenarios such as Paul did, it can be really hard to endure. It can be really hard to stand up and do the right thing, to speak the truth in love. Paul had everyone against him as the people that were supposed to be in his corner were literally abusing him both verbally and physically. Yet, Paul stayed faithful.
Often, when God brings us to really tough situations or into seasons with difficult people, we forget to see that it is so that His grace might abound, His will be done, and people come away knowing the saving truth of Jesus Christ. It is not always fun, but enduring by the power of the Holy Spirit is key. We see Paul hanging in there to the point where it says in verse 11 that the Lord came and stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” God might be desiring to use you right now where you find yourself, no matter how hard the situation might be. May you endure by His promised Spirit’s power and endurance so that people hear the saving news of Jesus Christ!”

Amen, Josh!  May we clearly hear the voice of Jesus today saying, “Take courage.”

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.” – 2 Timothy 1:7

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:1-3

Holy Week:  God is certainly on the move when we have been gathering in our homes for online worship or in our Sanctuary.   Each weekend we continue to see not only new people join us, but also familiar faces.  May God continue to bless you through our online worship and our in-person worship services. This weekend starts Holy Week for us, a week that starts with reflecting on Palm Sunday and moves into Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and ultimately Easter.  We hope you will be able to journey with us this week whether it is in-person or online.

Also, if you have not already, please register for our in-person Easter weekend services.  Here is the link.

Beginning April 11 through August:  The weekend after Easter we are happy to announce that we will be offering four unique worship services instead of three.  Each of these services will not only be in-person but they will also be online.

• Saturday 5:30 pm blended
• Sunday 8 am traditional
• Sunday 9:30 am blended
• Sunday 11 am Contemporary in the gym

Sanctuary Renovation Question and Answer:

As I look at the four pictures dating back over 100 years ago of Trinity’s Sanctuary I am reminded that although the look of the Sanctuary has changed, the Gospel has not. From generation to generation Trinity has continued to share Christ’s story with love.  Our Sanctuary has been a sacred place, and I have no doubt that it will continue to be.

The following is a response to commonly asked questions about the upcoming sanctuary renovations that were solicited from the congregation following a presentation at a voter’s meeting on February 7, 2021 and online video link published in February 2021.  If you have not viewed the video presentation here is the link.

Q: What will be the process to determine which renovations will take place and who will make the final decisions?
A: The process to engage the congregation with Sanctuary renovations began in the fall of 2019 when the Sanctuary Renovation Committee presented multiple ideas to understand the congregation’s opinions and help steer the design process. In the spring of 2020, due to COVID related obstacles, the progression of designs and communication with the congregation was slow due to the inability to meet in person and exchange feedback. The committee continued to refine design ideas based on comments received in the 2019 fall meetings. The Sanctuary design presentations and the congregation feedback received in February/March 2021, have been very favorable to the concepts presented. The next steps will be to further refine the details of the designs and present them to the congregation for approval before finalized drawings or contracts can be awarded. Following that approval, the Board of Properties will take over the awarding of contracts and overseeing the renovations.

Q: What will Trinity do with the $1.2M that has been given if it is not all spent on the Sanctuary renovations?
A: In 2020 Trinity embarked on a campaign to raise $1M to renovate the sanctuary. At that time the dollar amount was an estimate without knowing the full scope of the renovations. In the same way as the previous campaign “Our Father’s House…a Beacon of Hope,” we knew there were more repairs and renovations that would follow. Also, in the same manner as the previous campaign, the congregation of Trinity has given “Immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine, according to HIS power that is at work within us.” This outpouring of your generosity has once again shocked the committee for your outpouring of gifts to Trinity. Thank you! At this time we are not clear as to what the cost of the Sanctuary renovations will be since we do not yet have the final drawings nor have we begun the process of obtaining bids for contracts or pricing of materials. Just as your elected Board of Properties has done with the renovations of other parts of our facilities in recent years, we trust they will continue to do an outstanding job in securing reputable contractors with valuable pricing. In the event the full raised amount is not spent on the sanctuary, there are still a couple more big projects that remain to get Our Father’s House back in order. Any unspent Sanctuary monies will be applied to the projects that were published in 2016 which have not yet been completed. Barring any unexpected surprises, the next major project will be the restoration of all Trinity parking lots, exterior lighting and signage.

Q: Why is the color blue and stone work being introduced into the Sanctuary?
A: In 2016 the church Narthex was renovated due to torn carpeting and water-damaged walls. As a part of that renovation, additional gifts and an aesthetic improvement grant enabled us to freshen up more than just the flooring and paint. Among other items in the narthex, the stone accent wall was added as a result of these unexpected gifts. The addition of this stone really emphasized the presence of stained glass in the narthex which is predominately blue in color. The new narthex carpet also has shades of blue in it tying it all together. This renovation received much praise for highlighting the stained glass and the stone accent wall introduced a more updated feel to the space. It was decided at that time to continue the “feel of the Narthex décor” further into the building when we perform other renovation projects. In 2017 the Gym Lobby was renovated; it too included the same stone wall feature and began to make our facilities look cohesive from one end of the building to the other. In 2018, thanks to a generous donation, the Church Lobby and Children’s Garden were renovated. The stone accent wall was again used as the connecting element to tie in the décor throughout our facilities. The blue accent walls were introduced to pair with the narthex stained glass and again received much praise and favor from the congregation. During the promotions of the sanctuary campaign, it was communicated that it was our intent to continue the “flavor of décor” of the narthex and the church lobby into the Sanctuary. This included the possible addition of stone work, the color blue and possibly a shade darker stain in the Sanctuary. These announcements generated positive feedback from the congregation to proceed in this direction.

Q: Why is the Chancel height being raised and extended?
A: During the committee’s study of how the Sanctuary is being used, we came to realize there are many large groups that use the Sanctuary chancel to host choir concerts, band/symphony concerts, and school related presentations. A larger and higher chancel would allow for fewer obstacles, better assembly for performers and better viewing for those in the pew. The committee also recognized Trinity’s desire to begin streaming worship services online. An unanticipated benefit from the 2020 COVID-related gathering restrictions which forced us to quickly accelerate our online worship, brought to light multiple characteristics of the Sanctuary that we may not have otherwise thought about. One of the major observations that was revealed to us when we began streaming our worship services during COVID was; when the congregation would stand, the camera view of the pastor and/or worship leaders was obstructed by the congregation standing. The pastor and/or worship leaders were simply too low for the online viewers to see. Shortly after this discovery the temporary chancel staging was installed to raise up those leading our worship so they would be seen online.

Q: What will be on the back wall of the Chancel/Reredos?
A: During the initial design concepts we were introduced to the word “Reredos.” A reredos is the ornamental artwork covering the wall behind the altar. Several ideas for the chancel and reredos were introduced early in the committee’s presentations. The purpose of this was to see if the congregation was in favor replacing the reredos. While the new design ideas were attractive, it became clear that the congregation felt the current reredos is a unique characteristic of Trinity and should remain. There was positive feedback supporting the idea of freshening it up to revive its beauty and heritage. While the final design has not been determined, the main features of the existing reredos will be preserved with possible additional accents surrounding it (wall paint color, woodwork, lighting, etc.).

Q: It was mentioned that the Chancel furnishings (Altar, Pulpit, Lectern, Baptismal Font) would be portable. Why are they portable and who will be responsible for moving these items between services?
A: Not many people realize our existing altar; baptismal font and lectern are movable and have been moved for special events. We are planning to add the pulpit to the list of movable altar furniture. This will allow the Sanctuary to continue to be versatile for many different events. The altar furnishings would be used for normal worship services. When the altar furnishings do get moved for a special event, it will be the responsibility of the event host to coordinate the moving of furnishings and returning them after the event. Also, the addition of a concealed access door on the back wall of the chancel (Reredos wall), would allow for easy access to a large storage area which currently exists for the temporary storage of altar furnishings during an event as well as movement of seasonal decorations from storage in and out of the sanctuary (Christmas trees, flower stands, wedding kneeler, etc.).

Q: Will there still be an option to have kneelers on the pews and have a communion rail in the Chancel area?
A: The Sanctuary Renovation Committee agrees with these requests and has committed to restoring the kneelers on the pews. The committee also agrees it is desirable to have some form of a communion rail for a variety of events and worship services. There are challenges with the location of a communion rail as a result of raising up the height of the chancel. We wish to avoid any trip hazards while still making for an intimate communion experience.  The committee is still exploring communion rail options and has not yet determined the best solution for this item.

Q: Why would we add pew cushions and how will they be cleaned?
A: For many years the congregation has been requesting padded pews. During the committee’s studies it was realized that there are many benefits to having traditional pews in the sanctuary and therefore has decided to keep the pews. The pews are also in need of refinishing.  As previously mentioned, in 2020 the effects of COVID brought to light yet another element that we otherwise may not have considered. That being cleaning and sanitizing of frequently touched surfaces. While we have not yet extensively explored all pew padding options, we are planning to make our pews more comfortable and easy to clean. The committee is looking forward to narrowing down these options and presenting them to the congregation.

Q: Why are we moving the sound console from the Balcony to the Sanctuary floor?
A: For many years it has been a challenge for the sound technician to properly “mix” the sanctuary sound. Simply put, the current balcony location is tucked into a corner where sound bounces, making it difficult to know what the rest of the congregation is hearing. Moving the sound mixing console to the main floor of the Sanctuary will resolve frustrations the sound technicians often deal with. The proposed location and access into the sound console area would be off the east aisle of the nave. In this same area would be the main floor video camera partially hidden behind an existing balcony support column. The proposed location of these two components will be somewhat concealed by the balcony support column and not intended to be the first thing you see when you enter the Sanctuary. Both of these components lend to a higher quality of in person and online viewing experience and work well with the proposed location of a cry room.

Q: Is the Sanctuary handicap accessible?
A: Yes, the Sanctuary is handicap accessible. Could it be more handicap accessible? Yes. However, there are strict regulations surrounding the incline of ramps, width of aisles and open spaces for maneuvering which many people do not realize. The committee has examined several options to increase handicap aisles and add incline ramps. Unfortunately, the widening of aisles and the addition of incline ramps will significantly reduce seating capacities in the sanctuary. The committee did feel it was necessary to remove a half pew along the east aisle in front of the sound console, closer to the existing elevator to accommodate additional handicap seating and the removal of some pews under the balcony will also lend to better mobility space.

Q: What is being done for those with hearing impairments?
A: We will be installing a “hearing loop” in the floor of the Sanctuary to allow those with hearing devices to tune into this system and use their personal hearing devices to aid in their worship experience.

Q: Is a cry room necessary in the Sanctuary?
A: The idea of a cry room in the sanctuary has come up on different occasions. Since the Sanctuary renovations will be impacting large items in the Sanctuary (pews, flooring, lighting, sound, etc.), it seems logical to exercise this option now. The opinions of a cry room vary depending on the demographic of people you are asking. Younger families with children like the idea, while some older folks who wouldn’t use it feel we can do without. So it is hard to answer the question “is it necessary?” Trinity is clear in its mission to spread the Gospel message to all people, through whatever means necessary. The committee feels the addition of a cry room in the Sanctuary offers an option for younger families to attend worship services in person, making our Sanctuary more family-friendly.

Q: How long will the renovations take? And when will they start?
A: This is perhaps the hardest one to answer. The past year of COVID related obstacles has raised questions and caused hesitations in everyone’s life. This renovation project is no different. In addition to local manufacturing and delivery obstacles, the effects of COVID have caused worldwide delays in the manufacturing of products. We are hearing of manufacturing delays of up to 12 weeks for some products; labor pricing and contractor availability have unpredictable expectations as well. It is our desire to keep the sanctuary renovations moving forward, but the kickoff and duration of the project are unknown at this time. Please join us in asking for God’s will to be done; for He only knows when we are ready to begin our renovations.

Summary:
As we look back on Trinity’s history, approximately every 25-35 years Trinity took on major construction projects to either expand her school and/or worship environment. The last time any measurable work had been done in the Sanctuary was more than 30 years ago. Those previous construction projects were a result of an expanding community of believers coming to our facilities. It’s likely that the timing of those projects were also supported by failing building components and the need to introduce new technologies. We understand the Sanctuary is the most sensitive and emotional space Trinity has to offer. We understand there have been generations of families that have called Trinity home for 139 years, and we hope that our children will be able to say the same. It is understandable that when we hear of changes to our favorite places it can stir our emotions. Please understand the renovations to the Sanctuary that we have been discussing are not meant to dismiss your fond memories or preferences, but rather to prepare our facilities for the next generation of believers.

Through our communications we hope you will agree that the Sanctuary is in need of many repairs, the failing carpeting and tile, broken pews and kneelers, poor lighting, failing organ equipment, etc. are just a few examples. The repair/replacement of these components alone will cause major disruption in our worship activities.  It stands to reason that since we need to address significant repairs/replacements in the sanctuary, that we should consider freshening up this glorious space where so many established and new believers can come to worship our Lord. This logic is really what is driving all the discussions and ideas about what renovations to make; knowing that major components of the Sanctuary need to be repaired or replaced. This is also an opportunity to address the topics that have surfaced over the years (cry room, lighting, online streaming, pew comfort, etc.). So we look to take this opportunity to freshen up the Sanctuary so that it can welcome all believers. If you are feeling uneasy about some of the Sanctuary ideas or alterations, please understand they are not meant to distract you from worship, but it is our intention to freshen up this sacred space and make it welcoming for all to enjoy. It is our constant prayer that Trinity will stand for future generations as a place for everyone to meet Jesus.

We appreciate all the feedback we have received as it helps guide the committee in the right direction.

“For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” – Isaiah 56:7

Moving Forward Together 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  – Hebrews 12:1

We are on Day 24 of our Lenten devotional journey together through the book of Acts.  We have been praying that God will give us all a fresh start and fill us with His Spirit in this season.  Today Allie Carr reflects on Acts 18 and the mission that God has called us all to and the promise of His presence.  May God give you a fresh start in your mission to share Christ’s story with love today!

“Paul was a man on a mission!  Actually, many missions, but each with the same goal, to share the Gospel with both Jews and Gentiles. Paul also faced constant adversity as he devoted himself to testify to the work of Jesus, the Messiah. As Paul is wrapping up his second missionary journey he was constantly going to the synagogues on the Sabbath. I’m not sure about you, but if I were trying to share the greatest news and was constantly being shut down, cast away, and attacked, I would be left discouraged and defeated. That seed of doubt would creep in and I’d have to wonder if all my trials were worth it. But in the middle of Acts 18, Paul gets a pep talk from the Lord, “Do not be afraid: keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city (v.9-10).
Jesus’ promise recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 holds true for Paul, “I am with you always.” Although Paul is on a mission, he has not gone alone. The Lord was with Paul, but we also get a glimpse of the many voices like Paul testifying to the truth and proclaiming Jesus on mission together! Silas and Timothy return from carrying out the same mission in Thessalonica. Priscilla and Aquila traveled with Paul and as they parted ways, the couple met Apollos and invited him into a relationship with them so that he might learn more fully of the mission at hand. Eventually they encouraged him to go out on his own mission to Achaia to prove and proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah.
Paul, Timothy, Silas, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos understood the gravity of the situation. They understood the magnitude of the message they were sharing and that Jesus’ promises held true, just as they do today. As Christians, we are still on the same mission as Paul, taking many trips or opportunities to show and share the Good News that Jesus is Lord through all of our words and actions! We cannot be silent and need not be afraid as our everyday lives are mission fields. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave is living within each of us, so let us take every opportunity to shine Jesus’ light and share the grace he has so richly poured down to us.”

May God fill you with more of His Spirit today as you seek to share His story with love!

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:11-13

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth.”- Job 19:25

Easter weekend is almost here. Registration for our four weekend in-person Easter services has begun. Please click here to register.  We are offering worship on Saturday, April 3 at 5:30 pm and Sunday, April 4 at 7:30 am, 9 am, and 10:30 am.  Please note that the 10:30 am is a contemporary service.

The following weekend please note our Sunday morning new online and in-person worship opportunities and times.  Beginning Sunday, April 11 we are bringing back our traditional 8 am service, our blended 9:30 am service and our contemporary worship in our gym at 11 am.  As we communicated last week, our plan is to bring back our fourth Sunday morning worship service, which is our contemporary worship, in late August.  However, if we reach our in-person capacity for our gym we will move back into the Sanctuary sooner than that.  Our weekday service that was Monday night before the pandemic is having much discussion.  It is our plan to bring back a weekday service in the fall, but we are wrestling with which evening to have it on and its format.

We do believe this post-Easter worship plan of offering three Sunday morning options online and in-person is a huge step forward.  Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to move forward together.  Each weekend we are seeing more and more people coming back to our in-person services and many new faces coming in.  Each weekend we know more and more people are also being blessed by our online opportunities.  Please stay faithful.

“Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness…”   – Psalm 96:9

Moving Forward Together 

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

In today’s Fresh Start devotion, Jenny Jaroneski, our Social Ministry Associate, gives us a fresh look at Acts 13 and the mission to which God has called each of us.  We are blessed at Trinity to have women missionaries on our ministry team: Jenny Jaroneski, Jane Strybis, Carla Hudgens, Allison Carr, Michele Grupe, Cyndi Carpenter, Tammy Mizerski, and actually many more.  May God bless you on Day 17 of our 40-day journey.

“A Christian’s mission is to go and make disciples who share Christ’s story with love. We have a fresh opportunity every day to do this in our own homes, at work or even in the grocery store. We don’t have to travel to faraway lands as a missionary – we can make disciples anywhere, even in our own community. Our mission can be in our children, in our hobbies or in our everyday life.
When Paul and Barnabas preach in the synagogue, I think about what it’s like to be a teacher. As teachers, parents or mentors we have the opportunity to show someone something new. When our students finally take their first steps, ride a bike, solve a math problem or truly understand that Jesus died for our sins it is a shared moment of pure joy and accomplishment! There is joy in helping someone else reach their potential or realize their worth.
But isn’t it frustrating when we try to teach someone something and they just don’t get it? No matter how hard we try, it just doesn’t click. We simply are not the right teacher for the job. God tells us to go and share the news of Jesus – He doesn’t tell us to get a hammer and hit people in the kneecaps until they agree to listen! We are charged to be disciples on a mission to share Christ’s Story and if that mission fails its okay, another will follow closely behind.
Jesus preaches about “shaking the dust off your feet” as a command to do what you can and move on so we too can be filled with JOY and with the Holy Spirit that follows. As missionaries we need to “shake the dust from our feet” as Paul and Barnabas did so we can start fresh without carrying the emotional weight of those who might not have heard our message but take with us JOY of those who did!”

Amen, Jenny!  It is so hard when people reject the Gospel of Jesus, but we trust that His Word does not return void and that God will bring others to share His Story with Love.  May God continue to lead us into fruitful kingdom relationships and keep teaching us through the trials.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart.  I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.  I will be glad and rejoice in you;   I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. “– Psalm 9:1-2

Last night your Elders met and have put a weekend worship service plan together for April 10 & 11 through August 21 & 22.  This plan is based on current in-person worship attendance, responsible capacity for our worship spaces, our resources with both staff and volunteers, our online worship presence, and our hope to continue to reach more people with the Gospel of Jesus through our worship services both in-person and on-line.

Weekend Worship Schedule Plan:  April 10 & 11 through August 21 & 22:

• Saturday 5:30 pm: Blended in-person only
• Sunday 8 am: Traditional in-person and online
• Sunday 9:30 am: Blended in person and online with children’s message
• Sunday 11 am: Contemporary in person and online with children’s message in the GYM.
  • The gym will have 250 seats available.  Its capacity is 671.
  • If at any point through the spring and summer the gym reaches our capacity limitations, the following weekend we will move back into the Sanctuary which has 43 pews available.
  • All Covid-19 policies are remaining in place until advised otherwise.  This means masks will be worn as you enter our worship spaces, exit our worship spaces, during songs, and if you are not socially distanced from non-family while seated.  Offerings will not be passed, and our current communion practice will stay in effect.

• Maundy Thursday:  11 am in-person and online and 7 pm in-person only
• Good Friday:  1 pm in-person and online, 5:30 pm contemporary online only, and 7 pm tenebrae in-person and online.
• Easter: Saturday Blended at 5:30 pm, Sunday traditional at 7:30 am, blended at 9 am, and contemporary at 10:30 am.

Registration for Easter will open up next Wednesday March 16, and with the new restriction guidelines for fixed seating gathering venues, we will register up to 300 individuals for each service while still using every other pew.  We feel that this is faithful, safe, and responsible.

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.   And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!” – Job 19:25-27

Moving Forward Together 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

Today is Day 10 of our 40-day Lenten devotional series based on the book of Acts.  If you have not done so already, please read Acts 8 to prepare for Carla Hudgens’ devotion:

As Saul persecutes the early Christian church, men of God scattered to preach the Word of the Lord. (Saul later has a “come to Jesus” moment and is re-named Paul, who shared the Good News of Jesus with many people during his lifetime). After Stephen’s execution, the church is forced to do what it had been reluctant to do – get the Gospel out to the surrounding regions. Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word: The end result is for the glory of God, because the persecution simply serves to spread the message. We shouldn’t think that those who left as formal preachers. Most were “accidental missionaries” who talked about Jesus wherever they went.

We can be just like these early Christians! We can share the Good News of what Jesus has done in our lives. Most people don’t come to Jesus through a professional preacher or evangelist; they come to Jesus through people just like us. If we are good examples of Jesus’ love, in word and deed, we can be witnesses. Even though the early church was being persecuted – the word of the Lord spread. Do you see a parallel to today’s world? There is so much evil, hatred, selfishness and misery in our daily lives. We have to believe that Jesus knows what’s going on – He is in total control and He will be glorified above all else.

Amen, Carla!  My prayer for each of us today is that we will not only pray for someone who does not know Jesus, but also look for a moment to share our faith with someone with words just like Paul and Philip.

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” – 1 Peter 3:15

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice…” – Philippians 4:8

There is good news with new state recommendations in regards to where we are with Covid-19 and in working with the health department. We are able to open up the capacity for more of our ministries.  This certainly includes our luncheons through our Social Ministry and our Ladies Ministry and much more, but also our worship service capacity.  Each weekend we continue to see more and more people come back to one of our three in-person worship services, and we still have space for more as we head into Easter and beyond.

As we see more and more people come back to our facility for ministry, we want to remind you that we are not changing our mask restrictions.  We do want you to wear a mask as you enter our building and leave our building.  During worship we ask that you wear the mask during our singing portions of worship, or if you are unable to be socially distanced from people who are not part of your household.  We are still using every other pew in the Sanctuary and disinfecting the pews between our services.

This weekend I am very excited to share what Jesus taught about joy and what His first disciples taught about joy.  In this season of Lent, we recognize that it was the joy set before Jesus that caused Him to endure the cross.  Certainly there are many sins that we need to confess that rob us of the joy of the Lord, but my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will fill us with joy as we gather for worship, whether it is online or in-person.

Next Tuesday your Pastors and Elders will be meeting to solidify in-person worship changes that will be taking place after Easter in regards to opening up the gym and offering a blended and traditional service on Sunday morning.

Be blessed, and don’t forget to join us for our midweek Lent service today online or in-person at 11 am or 7 pm.  Remember that there is a Lenten lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the 11 am service.

If you have not been able to view the Sanctuary Renovation Committee presentation please click on this link to get caught up.  Also, please e-mail us at src@trinityutica.com with your questions and comments in regards to the Sanctuary renovations.

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” – Psalm 95:1

Moving Forward Together 

“Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13

March 2 will be the one year anniversary of these weekly e-mails with a devotion and update about worship life here at Trinity.  As I take a moment and reflect on this, I am even more excited about our current devotional series that takes us through the book of Acts, our current mid-week Lent series, and our weekend messages all centered on the truth that our God is the God of Fresh Starts.

I pray that you know that God did not work just then, but that He is working now.  He is giving people hope and love as we proclaim His Gospel everyday through all of our ministries of Trinity which produces faith in Jesus. I pray you are experiencing hope and love today that comes from your faith in Jesus.   Please remember that God does not tell us to worry about tomorrow, but to have hope for tomorrow.

“Stand firm, and hold unto the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”  – 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and the perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and scorned and its shame.” – Hebrews 12:2

Today at 11 am and 7 pm we have our mid-week Lent services.  These services are both in–person and our 11 am is streamed live here and available on Trinity’s YouTube channel.  You are also invited to our prayer chapel if you would like to spend time in prayer with others from 6:30 pm-7 pm.  If you have any prayer requests, please email me at jkrupsky@trinityutica.com and I will lift up your prayers then.

This past weekend we began our new sermon series called, “A Fresh Start – A Spirit-filled Life.”  We dug deep into Corinthians and received the truth that called us to repentance and is filling us to be more like our crucified and risen Lord Jesus.  This upcoming weekend we will dig into Thessalonians for a Fresh Start and to be filled with the Spirit just as they were.

In regards to Easter weekend worship I want to remind you as you make plans that we will have four weekend services in our Sanctuary.  We will be opening up registrations for these services in a few weeks.  We will have a Saturday blended worship service at 5:30 pm on April 3, a Sunday morning traditional service at 7:30 am, a blended 9 am service, and 10:30 am contemporary service on April 4.  The three Sunday morning services will be streamed live from our Sanctuary.  As we are planning our Maundy Thursday services, our Good Friday services, and Easter services we pray that God will bless our planning so that your faith will be strengthened through our Holy Week services.

One more thing, please take note that in this week’s e-news you will receive a link to the Sanctuary Renovation video presentation which will be on Trinity’s YouTube channel.

“For my house will be called a house of prayer for all people.” – Isaiah 56:7

Moving Forward Together 

Snow Day

“He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.” – Job 37:6

I know it is Ash Wednesday today, and we will get into that in a moment, but as I am writing this devotion I am icing my back.  Why?  I just shoveled snow for the last two hours.  I shoveled driveway snow and backyard snow to create a puppy village.   The funny thing is, my kids have been hoping for a snow day for the last six weeks, and on the day it would have happened they already were on winter break.   I do love snow.  I love snowboarding, sledding, igloos, tackle football in the snow, and a good snowman build.

As we come into the season of Lent together, it is a time when we remember the sufferings of Christ.  A time when we are called to repentance and a time when we ask God to make us more like Jesus.  I am reminded of what God said through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 1 verse 18, “Although your sins are as scarlet they will be as white as snow.”  May we remember that we are forgiven this Lenten season, as we shovel snow, drive through the snow, and perhaps play in the snow.  Jesus suffered to forgive us, and He rose from the dead to prove the profound truth that we absolutely and undoubtedly are forgiven!   Let it snow!

“If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” – 1 John 1:9

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Today is Ash Wednesday. Please join us for either on-site worship service at 11 am or 7 pm.  Our 11 am service will be livestreamed and available on our YouTube channel.  We pray you are blessed this Ash Wednesday.   We hope you are able to join us each of the next six Wednesdays for our midweek Lent services at 11 am and 7 pm on-site and 11 am online. There will be Lenten lunches in the Fellowship Hall after the 11 am services. Also, each Wednesday from 6:30 pm-7 pm you are welcome to join us for in-person prayer in our prayer chapel or send in prayer requests by going to our website to fill out the prayer requests form.

This weekend we will begin our new sermon series and 40-day devotional based on the book of Acts that will culminate on Easter Sunday.  This series is called, “A Fresh Start:  A Spirit-filled Life.”  We pray that as we do these daily devotions together and gather for worship that the Holy Spirit draws you closer to Him and forms you more into the image of Jesus. We pray you will be blessed through all of our worship services.  Please be confident that we are being responsible as a community for our in-person worship and that we are committed to making online worship available to all.  Please continue to share the links for our online worship, and when you are ready we look forward to seeing you at one of our in-person services.

May God’s Spirit breathe on us anew for the next 40 days through all of our in-person and online worship services!

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  – Acts 2:42-47

Moving Forward Together Email

As I continue to do my best to communicate with you through this email with a weekly devotion and worship updates, I want you to know that in the next few weeks I will be pivoting to sharing the worship updates through our Friday e-news and will be developing a weekly video devotional.  It has almost been one year since this “Moving Forward Together” weekly email began.  I know hundreds of you are being blessed by it. I pray the new weekly video devotional will be a blessing to you and many more.  I trust that our e-news will provide you with all of our pertinent information in regards to our in-person and online worship updates.

Moving Forward Together 

I Love Sundays

 “On the first day of the week, they met together to break bread.” – Acts 20:7

Today I finished reading through the Gospel of Matthew.  The last chapter of Matthew, if you recall, is about the first day of the week, Sunday, the day Jesus rose again from the dead, the day that defines everything, the Gospel day.  I love Sundays.  It was the fall of 2015 when Trinity went through a six-week sermon series called, “I Love Sundays.”  Through it the value of gathering for worship was strengthened.  We saw how corporate worship makes better Mondays, makes better families, makes us better both as individuals and together, changes the world, and changes eternity.

Today I am being reminded of why we gather for corporate worship, yes mostly on Sundays, but any day counts.  Now I know the word “gather” is a bit different as we are still seeking to be responsible in such a time as this.  “Gather” does mean gather together at Trinity and gather does mean gather online with us from your home for worship.  We gather together to worship the One who rose from the dead, to hear His word, to receive His Hope, His love, His courage, His peace, and to sit at His crucified, but resurrected feet.

I love Sundays because I love Jesus.  Yes, by the way I do love ice cream sundaes too; the weather just needs to be a little warmer. I pray that you continue to blessed by our worship opportunities during these times.  Below is the latest update about worship here at Trinity.

“At dawn, on the 1st day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb… suddenly Jesus met them.  ‘Peace,’ He said.  They fell at His feet and worshiped Him.” – Matthew 28:1 & 9

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – Colossians 3:16

Your leadership continues to be faithfully wise with worship times, spaces, styles, and capacities.  As we patiently move forward together, we continue to celebrate what God is doing at both our in-person worship services and our online worship services.  This past weekend we had over 38 families with young children gather at our 10:30 am in-person service, along with several others.  We had over 170 at this service.  As we continue to see more and more people not only engage in our online worship but also our in-person worship, we pray we make wise decisions moving forward that enable us to meet you where you are in these times and meet the needs of our neighbors who do not know Jesus yet.

Your Pastors and Elders met last night to make decisions about Lent worship, Holy Week worship, Easter weekend worship, and what worship might look like after Easter weekend.

Here is the layout that we agreed upon last night:

• Each Wednesday through Lent we will offer an 11 am and a 7 pm in-person worship service.  The 11 am will be online and will also have a lunch following.  The in-person services and luncheon will follow our Covid policies.  Ash Wednesday, February 17, which starts our mid-week Lenten services will not have the imposition of ashes, but will have communion.

• During Holy Week we will have two in-person services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  Maundy Thursday services will be at 11 am and 7 pm.  Good Friday will be at 1 pm and 7 pm.  On Maundy Thursday we will stream the 11 am, and on Good Friday we will stream both services along with a contemporary online service only from the gym at 5:30 pm.

• Easter weekend we will have four in-person services with a 225 person capacity.  We will be launching a registration like we did for Christmas in a few weeks.  We will have three traditional services, one on Saturday at 5:30 pm, one at 7:30 am and another at 9 am on Sunday morning.  We will also have a contemporary service in our Sanctuary at 10:30 am.  If these services fill up through registration we will add a noon service. Each of the Sunday morning services will be streamed online.

The following weekend we are considering offering four Sunday morning services and utilizing the gym once again.  Your Elders, Pastors and worship team are still praying through and considering many different factors in making decisions as it pertains to our in-person worship services following Easter.  We are hopeful to make a decision that has more in-person options that will begin the weekend after Easter at our March 9 meeting.

We do hope and pray that you know we are being responsible and faithful in providing worship services during this time for both in-person and online.  At this time we still have plenty of space at our three in-person services for you to come and join us when you are ready.

“Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”  – Matthew 11:28

Voters’ Meeting Recap

This past Sunday we met and voted to call Jennifer Smith as a teacher in our day school, and we nominated Josh Britton to the Specific Ministry Pastor Seminary program to become an Associate Pastor of Worship here at Trinity.  We also looked at 3-D renderings presented by our Sanctuary renovation committee which were very well-received.  Currently those who were at the presentations are sending more questions and comments into the committee to consider as we move forward.  The next step for the Sanctuary Renovations is to do a video presentation of the renderings and to make it available to those who were unable to attend the meeting with the hope to receive more comments and questions.  I want to thank you again for giving above and beyond toward not just the Sanctuary Renovations, but also the continued needs that we have coming with our amazing property and the new properties which we purchased this past year.  To God be the Glory!

“These three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13

A Sanctuary of Faith, Hope, and Love

“Praise the LORD. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.” – Psalm 150:1

With our upcoming Sanctuary renovation presentation I have been thinking a lot about what God has done, is doing, and will do in the future through our Sanctuary space at Trinity.  Here is what I know is true.  Our Sanctuary is a place where we are able to set our eyes on Jesus.  I love our focal point that calls us to think upon Jesus.  No matter where people are in their faith or what ministry they are participating in, in our Sanctuary they see the cross. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Fix your eyes upon Jesus, who is the Author and the Perfecter of your faith…”  I do not believe that anyone has entered the Sanctuary and has not thought about Jesus. Through weekend worship services, funerals, weddings, school chapel, presentations and concerts, the symbol of the cross front and center has called people to faith in Jesus.

Romans 15:4 says, “Whatever was writing in the former days was written to give us hope…”  Hope is alive in and through our Sanctuary ministries. Why? Because there is faith, but even more than that the scriptures are opened up, read, and taught.  His promises give hope.  What takes place in our Sanctuary is a beacon of hope.  There is hope for tomorrow!

Not only is our Sanctuary marked with faith and hope, but it is also a place of love.  “Come as you are” is the invitation to our ministries in our Sanctuary because the One we have faith in and the One who gives us hope is full of love.  He is inviting all to come to Him.  His love is a love that knows no bounds.  His is proclaimed through the Gospel.  For God so loved the world that He gave.  We speak the truth in love yes, but the message of the forgiveness of sins is a message of love.

We welcome all to our Sanctuary ministries to engage their faith, receive hope, and to be wrapped up in His love.  Let’s keep moving forward together in faith, hope, and love and may God bless our Sanctuary renovations and ministries.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”  – Acts 2:46

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Hold fast to the word of life…” – Philippians 2:16

Last week Pastor Chad shared with us how the mission of God is holding on to us.  Very specifically that we are called to the fruitful labor of holding on to one another.  This week Pastor Chris is going to share with us how joy holds us together and how we can hold on to joy in our lives.  We hope you are able to join us this weekend, and if you missed last weekend’s service you can watch it here.

I do want to let you know that we are continuing to make plans for Easter weekend and planning to offer more in-person options on Sunday morning.  Thank you for your feedback regarding our 8 am Sunday morning worship and our 7 pm Monday night worship.  Next Tuesday evening, February 9, your Elders will be meeting with the hopes to make wise decisions not only for Holy Week and Easter, but also for the spring.  Please continue to keep our leadership in your prayers.

Also, on Wednesday, February 17, we will begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday in-person services at 11 am and 7 pm.  Our 11 am service will be online as well.   Mid-week Lenten worship services will continue with in-person and online at 11 am and in-person only at 7 pm.  Our Ladies Aid ministry will be serving Lenten Luncheons following our Covid-policies for meals at Trinity in our Fellowship Hall following our 11 am services.

Encouraging you in your faith is certainly our priority as we continue to responsible and faithful to moving forward together in faith, hope, and love.  I know many of you are waiting to be vaccinated before returning to our campus for Christian community, but please know that you are welcome here.  We are being responsible.  God has created us for Christian community so we hope to see you all soon.

“Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing.” – Hebrews 10:25

Congregational Voters’ Meeting this Sunday

A few people recently asked me how they can become eligible to be able to vote, so let me share with you what Trinity’s constitution states.  “The communicant member shall make known their intention to become part of the voters’ assembly by registering a voter one week prior to attending the first voters’ meeting at which they intent to vote.  Any registered voter who fails to attend at least one regularly scheduled meeting in a period of two consecutive years shall be removed from the active voting membership.  They may be reinstated by registering as a voter.”  So, yes all are welcome to attend our congregation meetings, but not all are able to vote.  If you are wondering if you are eligible to vote, please reach out to the church office or when you show up to a congregational meeting you can find out at the check-in table.  Here is the link to register to vote.

“Father, may they be one as we are one so that the world will know our love…” – John 17:21

Moving Forward Together 

“Behold, one greater than Solomon is here.”  – Matthew 12:42

I am guest preaching at local church this weekend because they have a vacancy at this time, and I was asked to preach on the truth that “God is wise,” and what this means.  My answer is based on the Scriptures: “He has the skills to pay the bills.”

Think about this.  God shows us through His creation that He has the skills in Jesus. He certainly showed us over and over again in multiple ways how skilled He is, and since Jesus has ascended into heaven He has certainly continued to show the world His skills through the wisdom of His Word and how it brings life when listened to and received.

He pays the bills in that He does provide.  His provision certainly includes wisdom which is revealed in children through their skills.   God is wise.  I love that in His wisdom He taught in Jesus and through His Scriptures.  The book of Proverbs is full of His wisdom.  Wisdom as it pertains to choosing friends, choosing a spouse, choosing how to spend money, choosing how to work, choosing what words we speak, choosing how we parent, and so many other areas of our life.  God is wise.  His words are pearls of wisdom that bring life.

As we move forward together it is my prayer that each of us go to God for wisdom, and that He pours His wisdom into our hearts and minds.  Where there is wisdom there is life.    He does have the skills to pay the bills.  What area in your life do you need His wisdom?  Pray for it and search for it in His Word.

“How many are Your works, Lord!  In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.” – Psalm 104:24

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Praise the LORD. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.” – Psalm 150:1

I do believe that God’s wisdom has been pouring down on us for the last twelve months through the decisions that we have been making in all of our areas of ministries.  We have been praying for it as we seek it out, and I know we are going to continue to as we have for over 138 years at Trinity.

In last week’s worship update I shared the blessing of where Trinity is at with “Our Father’s House: Raise the Praise” campaign for Sanctuary Renovations.  This week I want to let you know that our goal is to share possible designs  on Sunday, February 7 at noon during our congregational meeting.  If you are unable to make it, please note that we will be putting together a video presentation that will be shared with our whole congregation as we seek to move forward together.

Also, in the past weeks I gave an update about utilizing our gym for Sunday worship. Well, this week, I want to ask for feedback from you in regards to Monday night worship at Trinity and Sunday morning 8 am worship.  Specifically, if you have attended those worship services in the past what are your thoughts on Trinity offering these options again?  Your feedback is very important as we make decisions moving forward.  Please e-mail me at jkrupsky@trinityutica.com.  Thank you!

This upcoming weekend Pastor Chad is going to be delivering a message within our Philippians series about how we hold on to each other and let others know they are being held by God.  He will be highlighting a Christian Care ministry here at Trinity called “Stephen Ministry.”  I pray you are able to either attend one of our three in-person worship services or join us for one of our two online services.

“Let us not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:25

Moving Forward Together 

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”   – 1 Peter 2:9

Today the United States of America is inaugurating our 46th President. Certainly this political election and all the politics involved with it have received much attention, but as I consider this day, trusting in God that He is sovereign over all, I am reminded of Jesus’ Inauguration Day.  In fact, this came up in the sermon this past week.  It was the day Jesus was baptized.

Nobody knows what tomorrow will look like with the new President of the United States, and nobody knows what the next four years will like under President Biden’s leadership, but what we do know is that Jesus is holding tomorrow and the next four years of His creation.  Jesus is the Anointed One.  Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is the Son of God with whom He is well pleased.  Even in a climate of political change, our faith does not change.  I hope that you will continue to lift up our government and honor our government that God Himself has ordained for such a time as this.

Let me also remind you once again that you have been inaugurated.  God our Father has anointed you and set you apart to influence this world by His kingdom, His work.  You are the light of the world.  May you continue to [RE]FOCUS and may we move forward together in faith, hope, and love as you take a moment to remember your own inauguration day.
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Moving Forward Together in Worship:

“For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” – Isaiah 56:7

Each week for the past ten months I have been giving updates for weekend worship, but this week I want to pause just for a second and talk about something pretty amazing as we seek to move forward together in worship.  I want to talk about the campaign that we started in  January 2020 called “Our Father’s House: Raise the Praise.”

It was five years ago when Trinity’s leadership identified over $7 million worth of renovations and upkeep to our building and property.  Four years ago we launched a three-year campaign where we were blessed to raise $2.7 million called “Our Father’s House: A Beacon of Hope,” which was completed at the end of 2019.  All the property renovations were paid by cash with no debt.  Just this past year we launched part two of what was identified in a campaign called “Our Father’s House: Raise the Praise,” in an effort to raise $1 million for Sanctuary renovations.

In this pandemic time we are certainly prayerfully discerning all our ministries at Trinity and certainly our worship styles and spaces.  As you know before the pandemic hit our Sanctuary housed thousands of worshipers every year from children to seniors.  The Gospel was proclaimed through traditional worship to contemporary worship, in midweek worship, in weddings, funerals, school chapel, and in many other ministries.  During the pandemic our Sanctuary has continued to be a place of worship, celebration, and comfort through worship services, funerals, weddings, and school chapels.

The Sanctuary has a rich history.  It was built in 1956 and dedicated to the glory of God.  In 1987 the Sanctuary, chancel, and narthex were expanded.  In 2016 the church narthex was updated and in 2018 the church lobby was updated thanks to a generous donation.  Our hope is still to carry the fresh look of the church narthex and lobby through the Sanctuary.
The renovations that we are considering have to do with:

• Altar area: bringing a freshened up look resembling the church lobby and narthex
• Flooring: replacement of tile and carpet throughout the Sanctuary and possibly elevating the chancel
• Pews: reconditioned, including possible addition of cushions
• Sound system/tech: upgraded to feature a hearing assistance device, enhance in-person worship, and online video streaming
• Lighting: upgraded to eliminate dark spots and shadows to enhance worship services
• Organ: reconditioned
• Family Friendly: possible addition of a cry room

2020 was certainly a year that we will remember, but it was also a year where your above and beyond giving continued to generously overflow for the Sanctuary Renovation Campaign.  The good news that I want to share with you is that you sacrificially gave over $850,000 toward this effort.  At the same time we received a $125,000 grant from the Michigan District Lutheran Church Missouri Synod toward the audio, visual, and lighting component of the Sanctuary renovations to move our on-ine streaming initiative forward.  So, it is right for me to take a moment and say thank you, thank you, and thank you!

At this time your Sanctuary Renovation Committee continues to work with our architect and designer with the hopes to present possible renovation options to you as a congregation very soon.  It is our hope that renovations and repairs will begin to take place in our Sanctuary starting this summer.

As we celebrate your above and beyond financial giving for our Sanctuary and wait eagerly for the renovations and repairs to begin, we do so by continuing to move forward.

This past year Trinity has been blessed to purchase three new adjacent properties to our existing property.  These three properties were purchased with congregational approval.  The first property we were able to pay in full through a trust that we had. The second two, you as a congregation, approved to purchase through our existing cash reserve with the intent to pay back through above and beyond giving in a total of $330,000 to our church building fund.

Your Church Council is in process of starting up a committee called “Long Range Planning” once again with the intent that this committee will develop ideas for our new properties, re-assess our still-existing property needs that were identified over five years ago, and ultimately come up with a recommendations for a phase three of “Our Father’s House,” to begin in 2022.

As we are wrapping our Sanctuary renovation campaign, we still have needs that we committed to this past year and have major property needs coming to care for our campus (one being our parking lots which is estimated to be around $2 million).

Again I want to thank you for your commitment throughout 2020 in giving toward the Sanctuary, and it is my hope as we move forward together that you will prayerfully consider giving above and beyond toward the property purchases we made this year and our future “Our Father’s House” phase three campaign.  You can do so by giving to our church building fund.

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion.  For God loves a cheerful giver.”  – 2 Corinthians 9:7

What about the gym?

This is a question that has come up almost every day for the past ten months.  As mentioned last week, it is our intent to begin to utilize the gym once again beginning Easter Sunday.  It was 30 years ago when Trinity launched its first contemporary service in the Sanctuary, and it was 15 years ago when Trinity launched a second contemporary service in the gym.  It was two years ago when Trinity combined our existing contemporary service in the Sanctuary at 11 am and our existing contemporary service in our gym at 11 am for the purposes of reaching more people, unifying our congregation, and being good stewards of our resources.

Before the pandemic we had four worship services on Sunday morning at Trinity.  An 8 am traditional, a 9:30 am blended, a 9:45 am contemporary in the gym, and a 11:15 am contemporary in the Sanctuary.  We all are certainly blessed to have the worship opportunities that we have right now on Sunday morning, and certainly we all are hoping to see more people come back to our in-person worship services in this time.  As we wait we do so faithfully, prayerfully, and patiently.

This weekend in worship:

As we continue both in-person and online worship to honor Jesus, I want to update you that mask wearing is still a thing.  Please follow the direction of your Pastoral staff and the ushers.  At this time we are asking that you wear a mask as you enter the Sanctuary, leave the Sanctuary, and when you sing.  Thus far we have not had any real issues with our mask wearing policy, so please continue to respect our policy in an effort to love our neighbors.

I do look forward to singing at the top of my lungs to Jesus and about Him, and I do look forward to seeing all your smiling faces as we gather for worship, but for now we wait patiently and persevere.  Thank you all for making our in-person worship a safe and responsible place to gather for worship for the past nine months.

This weekend I am looking forward to sharing a message with all you entitled, “Held by His Voice.”

“Speak, for Your servant is listening.” – 1 Samuel 3:10

Moving Forward Together 

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  – Proverbs 9:10

“Ay yi yi,” is a phrase that I find myself repeating in my head over and over again.  It is a phrase that maybe you are familiar with, a phrase that is echoed during a time of distress to infer a sense of dismay, confusion, or frustration.   Now certainly it is phrase that I express in regards to parenting, to leading others, about myself, and yes, when it comes to our government and in so many other situations.  Say it with me, “Ay yi yi.”

This past week I have been praying for more wisdom, because I honestly believe that when wisdom prevails, God prevails, and that dismay, confusion, and frustration will fade away.  Where there is God-inspired wisdom there is clarity, there is resolve, and there is peace.

I do not know what might be causing you stress or perhaps just simply what decisions you have to make, but my hope and prayer is that you would ask God for wisdom, and that as you ask, He guides you to His Word which is wisdom, His treasure of pearls which give life.

Now certainly it would be easy to take this devotional thought and apply it to others, but I know this is a message for us as individuals because it starts with us.  Certainly we need to keep praying for our medical professionals, our government leadership, business owners, the media and so on, but please remember that it starts with us.

“‘So give Your servant a wise heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?’  The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.” – 1 Kings 3:9-10

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Yes, LORD, walking the way of Your Word; we wait eagerly for You; for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our hearts.”  – Isaiah 26:8

Well, it is January 13, 2021 and just like you, my desire to have a stronger sense that we are moving forward with worship at Trinity grows stronger every week.  Almost a year ago now our worship life changed at Trinity.  We went to online only, to online with registered in-person worship, to online with mini-worship services, and currently for the last six months to online worship and three in-person worship services with Covid-protocols.  Now, please do not get me wrong, I know we are blessed, and I know with great confidence that God is reaching more people every weekend than in the history of Trinity through our online worship services.  I know we are blessed with our Sanctuary space to hold our three in-person worship services in a faithful and responsible way.  I also know that God has been working, and that He will continue to work through all these pivots that we continue to make.  I also know it is right to say thank you to all for staying faithful, understanding and resilient during these times.

I share these thoughts because as you know your Elders, your Pastors and your worship team are eager to make changes, but that at this time we are going to maintain our three in-person worship services and our two online services.  We want you to know that we do have space for you and your family to come to our in-person services.  Currently we have space for around 75 additional people at each of our three services before we reach capacity.  The prayerful decision that we have made is based on the room that we do have still for more people at our three in-person services, all that is still going on with the pandemic and the resources it takes for us to add additional services, specifically to utilize our gym.

Our hope is that on Easter Sunday we will begin to utilize our gym once again.  The tentative plan for Easter Sunday at this time would be to have three traditional Easter morning services in our Sanctuary at 7 am, 8:30 am, and 10 am along with two contemporary services in our gym at 9 am and 10:30 am.  It is highly likely that we will still be responsible with our capacity, and that we would do what we did for our Christmas services.   If we would open up our gym for worship at this time, our capacity would be 100 people.  It is our tentative plan following the weekend of Easter to begin to utilize our gym for Sunday morning in-person worship.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

At this time I also want to let you know that we continue to talk through our pandemic communion practice, mask wearing in worship, and many other elements of worship in our sanctuary.  We are going to continue with our current practice of communion.  Communion will continue to take place at each of our in-person services with our current Covid-safe practice.  Masks are still required to enter our building and to be worn as directed by the pastor during worship.  On behalf of your neighbors in the Sanctuary, thank you for wearing your masks and staying home if you have any symptoms or have been exposed.

I hope to see you all either online or in-person this weekend at worship.  If you desire communion and are not yet comfortable coming up to Trinity for our in-person worship, please contact one of your pastors and we will set up a time to safely give you communion.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

“Do you now believe?” Jesus asked. – John 16:31
I still believe.

This past Monday as I let the reality of 2021 settle into my heart and mind, this statement captivated my heart and mind: “I still believe.”

I still believe that we have a Creator and that our Creator has a purpose for His creation.  I still believe I am His child, that we are His children.  I still believe that He loves you and me with an everlasting, sacrificial love that knows no bounds.  I still believe that Christmas happened.  He fulfilled His promise of love by coming to not only show us the way to live, but to clarify who He is.  I still believe that He came to save us from our sin and therefore sacrificed Himself on the cross to reconcile us to Himself.  I still believe that He rose again from the dead verifying and proving not only who He was, but that death does not have the final say.  I still believe that we will all meet Him face to face someday.  I still believe that His Spirit is among us and in us.  That His Spirit is working through us to shine His light into the darkness and that the darkness will never overcome it.  I still believe that those who have gone before us bear a testimony for us to learn from, and that we have a testimony not only for the next generation, but those who live among us.  I still believe that the main thing is the main thing because the main thing is the main thing.  Forgiving one another is the way.  I still believe that death is only the beginning of the great adventure of life, and eternity awaits us.

I still believe. My belief is what makes me who I am.  Justin Krupsky, still a believer.

May God continue to strengthen our belief in Him in this New Year and fulfill His purpose through us to light up the darkness as we share His story with love.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”   – Philippians 3:12-14

This weekend I am pumped to start a new six-week sermon series from the book of Philippians called “Holding On.”  Each week we are going to dig into a truth that was certainly relevant almost 2,000 years ago, but perhaps is even more relevant for us living in 2021.  I hope you will join us either in-person or online.

I do want you to know that we have two major goals right now in regards to worship.  The first is in regards to our online worship through YouTube.  Currently we have 950 subscribers to our YouTube channel.  Our goal is to reach 1,000 subscribers, because when we do so it opens up a whole new opportunity of reaching more people with the message of Jesus through YouTube.  So, if you are not subscribed to our YouTube channel please do so by clicking on this link. 

The second goal is to reach more people with our in-person worship.  Yes, even in the midst of the pandemic that we are still facing, we do believe our facility is a safe place to gather with others for worship.  As mentioned before we are planning on opening up more Sunday morning services in February.  In February we are hoping to open more space for more people by adding either one or two additional Sunday morning services.  Please stay tuned as we are still prayerfully considering these additional in-person options.

Christmas Worship Recap

1. We shared the good news of Christmas with thousands of people online with our three online worship options.
2. We had over 1,000 people attend our in-person services celebrating Jesus’ birth through our responsible registration process.
3. We did not turn anyone away who desired to worship with us in-person.
4. During our candlelight services we did not start the church on fire nor anyone’s hair!
5. Christmas happened!

Moving Forward Together in all of our Ministries

As you know over the last ten months we have made many adjustments in our ministries here at Trinity.  As we move into this New Year I know we will continue our ministries with more adjustments.  Please know that we are committed to our Day School ministry, our Bible Study ministries, our Social ministries, our Christian Care ministries, our Children’s, Youth, Men’s, Women’s, Family and Seniors’ ministries, along with all the other ways we share Christ’s story with love.  We are committed to you and to our neighbors.   Your staff, your boards, and you all are called to make disciples.  May God’s promise that the gates of hell will not overcome us continue to give us confidence and creativity as we move forward together with faith, hope, and love.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:8-9

Merry Christmas

”While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” – Luke 2:6-7

Is Jesus part of the Christmas story or is Christmas part of the Jesus story?   Go ahead, read that again and let the question settle in.  The correct answer is that Christmas is part of Jesus’ story, not the other way around.  I love the Christmas part of Jesus’ story for so many reasons, but perhaps the biggest reason right now is that babies always get our focus.  The other day in fact we were celebrating Christmas with my wife’s family via Zoom.  Two of her five brothers had babies recently, and guess what everyone was focused on during the Zoom call?  Babies are attention grabbers and rightfully so.  They bring life and hope.

My prayer for each of this Christmas is that we focus in on Jesus, and that as we focus in on Him, the promise of peace takes holds of our hearts and minds as we enter into the New Year.  Peace with God, peace with others, and peace with life.

I am really excited that tomorrow I am able to share the good news of Christmas with you all and thousands more through our online worship services.  Your Pastoral team is hoping and praying that you and many others will be able to participate in one of our online worship options which will be live tomorrow at 2 pm, 4 pm, and 6 pm.  Our 2 pm is contemporary, our 4 pm is blended, and our 6 pm will be a traditional service.  If you are unable to participate live, please note that you can participate with them at any time after on Trinity’s YouTube channel.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” – Luke 2:10-14

Moving Forward Together in Worship

^“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:9-11

As mentioned above, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we will be streaming three unique Christmas Eve worship services.  Our in-person Christmas Day service at 10 am still has space if you would like to come and gather with others in a safely social distanced space.

Please note that we will not have in-person worship this Saturday or next, but that Sunday, December 27 and Sunday, January 3 we will have 9 am and 10:30 am in-person worship services, and they will be streamed live. Also, on New Year’s Eve our 5:30pm in-person worship service will be streamed live.

We have been blessed over the last ten months with amazing, skilled volunteers and staff to make our online worship happen each weekend and on many occasions during the week.  They have been blessed with great health, and we are thanking God for them and their health.

We are also blessed with great staff and an amazing facility to ensure that our in-person worship services have taking place in a responsible way.  Thank you, Jesus for the safety of our building and the health of our staff.

This Christmas may God bless us with His grace, His godly wisdom, and His hand of health as we celebrate His birth!

May the Light continue to shine in the darkness!

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

Moving Forward Together 

Birthday Celebration

“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.” – Isaiah 9:6-7a

As we get ready to celebrate the birthday of our Savior Jesus I want to take a moment to bring up some birthday party essentials.  Now I know this past year birthday celebrations have looked much different for most of us, and certainly Jesus’ birthday is going to look different, but nonetheless we have the most important birthday to celebrate.

The first thing we need to do to get ready for His birthday celebration is to make the plan of how, when, and where we are going to celebrate.  My daughter Chloe’s birthday is this upcoming Monday on December 21.  Our plan is to celebrate Saturday with part of our extended family, then Sunday with another part of our extended family, and Monday night with just myself, my wife, and Chloe’s three brothers.   How are you going to celebrate Jesus’ birthday – when, and where?  I do hope that you will include participating in a worship service celebrating His birth.  This most likely will be online using your smart TV, maybe your computer, or maybe an iPad.  I also hope that you will be able to be with others at some point this Christmas season to celebrate His birth.  Maybe it will be with some of your family in a different way than last year or maybe some co-workers, or maybe with a care giver.  Certainly celebrate His birthday on more than one occasion.

The second thing we need to remember is that when we celebrate a birthday we sing happy birthday or maybe even other songs in honor of the person that we are celebrating along with lighting and blowing out candles.  I am excited to sing to my daughter Chloe at least five times in the week to come.   I pray you sing to Jesus and about Jesus this Christmas.  I also hope you take a moment either by yourself or with others to light a candle.  Lighting a candle is certainly symbolic of life, but when it comes to Jesus it is so much more.   He is the Light of the world!

The third thing we need to do for a birthday party is pick out a gift to give the one to whom we are celebrating.  Chloe has her gift hiding in our garage under a blanket.  Please do not tell her as she will be opening it up on Monday and has no idea that it is behind all my hunting gear underneath a blanket.  What gift are we going to give Jesus?  The great truth of celebrating Jesus’ birth is that He is the gift.  He just asks that we show up, all are invited.   He brings His gifts of forgiveness, peace, hope, joy, love, purpose, truth, and so much more.

So, may we celebrate His birthday this year!  If there has ever been a year to celebrate it, this is the year!  Merry Christmas!

^“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:10-11

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My name, and a pure offering. For My name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.” —Malachi 1:11

As we live in the truth of Christmas Possibilities, I cannot help but think of Worship Possibilities.  Since we have started streaming our worship services each weekend thousands of people are blessed with the ability to be able to join us in worshiping from their homes.

This Christmas it is our hope that the Christmas message of peace will reach more people globally than ever before.   His name is and will be great among the nations.  We are blessed at Trinity to have many resources to be able to part of this global online movement of God.   On December 24 we are going to stream and launch three different styles Christmas worship services on https://www.trinityutica.com/live.  They will be aired at 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm and will remain online for individuals, families, and friends to participate in and share in the days and months to come.

We are going to be finishing up our December weekend sermon series called, “A [RE]FOCUSED Christmas” in which we received the truths of Christmas Promises, Christmas Possibilities, Christmas Presents (this upcoming Sunday) and on Christmas Eve and Day Christmas Peace.  Jesus has not just been our peace, but is our peace, and certainly is the true peace for all mankind for all time into eternity.  I pray that you will be blessed with Christmas Peace this Christmas!

Along with our exciting online Christmas services we are wrapping up our midweek Advent services today at 11 am in our Sanctuary and which is also online at https://www.trinityutica.com/live. “The Way to the Manger,” our children’s and family worship online service also wraps up today. This Friday we have a great in-person only Woman’s Christmas Worship service in our Sanctuary at 2:30 pm called, “Worship, Breathe, and Receive.”

New Year’s Eve worship will also be in-person and online along with Sunday, December 27 and January 3 at 9am and 10:30am.  Please note there is no Saturday in-person worship these two weekends.  Saturday in-person worship will resume Saturday, January 9 as we begin a new series based on Philippians called, “Holding On.”  The Holding On weekend sermon series will go through February 14 and then beginning February 21 through Easter weekend, we will enter into a 40-day series called, “New Beginnings” which is based on the book of Acts.  This 40-day series will also have daily devotions and a reading plan along with a midweek Lenten service based on the book of Acts.  May our Father continue to show His love for us through our worship services, may the Gospel of Jesus be our focus, and may the Holy Spirit continue to strengthen our faith each time we gather to worship whether we are in person or online.

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise! Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You. All the earth worships You and sings praises to You; they sing praises to Your name.”” —Psalm 66:1–4

Moving Forward Together 

“The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”– Zephaniah 3:17

The little man did it!  Oliver Krupsky set out to hunt a white tail deer, and behold we have meat in our freezer.  As a dad I find myself telling my kids almost weekly how proud I am of them.  I say this: “I have never been more proud of you than I am right now.”  To be honest, as a dad as often as I intentionally say this to them, I know I need to say it more.

As I consider how I feel about my children, I cannot help but hear our Heavenly Father speaking these words over each of us.  “I am so proud of you!”  “I am so proud of you of how you have kept the faith, focused in on your hope, and shared love like never before during these last nine months.”  Do you hear His voice?  “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  “You are my child with whom I am well pleased.”

He knows we are not perfect, but from what Jesus has shown us He takes notice of His children and cannot help but be proud of us.  For how we love our neighbor, our spouse, our children, our grandchildren, our co-workers, for how we look for practical ways to serve one another, for how much we pray, and so much more.  May we all pause and hear our Heavenly Father speaking over us!

“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.” – Deuteronomy 32:10

Moving Forward Together in Worship

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” – Luke 2:11-14

Christmas is coming in case you did not know.  We were able to open up in-person worship services with social distancing capacities last week, and as I write this e-mail all six Christmas Eve services are at capacity through our registration process.  As I write this e-mail we still have spots for our Christmas Day worship service.   I am extremely grateful for the staff and all the volunteers who are committed to making this happen.   May God give us all good health as we get ready for these services.

As exciting as it is that our Christmas Eve services are full, I cannot help but to still feel the weight of everyone who is not able to worship with us in-person, not just on Christmas Eve but each weekend.  However, as our current reality settles in I am reminded of what a blessing we have to be able to offer online worship.  Specifically for Christmas Eve we have a 2 pm, 4 pm, and 6 pm online service so thousands of households will be able to worship with us.

We are committed to worshipping our God each weekend here at Trinity.  We are committed to having a safe and responsible space for each worshiper who desires to worship in-person, and we are committed to offering online worship.   May we continue to receive forgiveness, strength, and wisdom each time we gather for worship.

This weekend I am really excited about sharing a Christmas message proclaiming the truth that with God all things are possible.  I hope you are able to join us for this weekend’s worship service, whether it is in person or online.

Today, Pastor Chad is taking us into our midweek Advent service which is in person at 11 am, streamed live (and available for you in your homes anytime after on our YouTube Channel).

Also, Allison Carr has put together a great kid-friendly service that I believe will bless you as a family and also as an individual.

If you have questions or ideas about the current worship life at Trinity please do not hesitate to reach out to me at jkrupsky@trinityutica.com.

If you are unable to attend our in-person worship at this time to receive Holy Communion please reach out to your Pastors, and we will set up a time to give you communion in a safe and responsible way.

“For to us a Child is born,  to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” – Isaiah 9:6-7

Moving Forward Together 

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:1-5

I need Christmas.  We need Christmas.  We just didn’t need it in the past, but we need it in the present. You might recall these Christmas song lyrics: “Haul out the holly, Put up the tree before my spirit falls again, Fill up the stocking, I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now…For I’ve grown a little leaner, Grown a little colder, Grown a little sadder, Grown a little older, And I need a little angel, Sitting on my shoulder, Need a little Christmas now….”

As I write this email today my house is all decorated for Christmas on the inside and the outside. Stockings are hung.  (Thank you, Mrs. Krupsky.)  Trinity is also decorated for Christmas on the inside and the outside.  (Thank you to all who helped!)  The questions that I am asking myself right now are, “Am I decorated for Christmas on the inside and the outside?  Are the truths of Christmas being lived out in my actions from the overflow of my heart?”

The truth of Christmas is that we have peace with God.  He has reconciled us to Himself.  Jesus has come and saved us from our sin.  There is nothing to fear.  The truth of Christmas is that God is with us.  We are never alone and have His strength ever present in our lives.  The truth of Christmas is that there is Hope.  The light has shined in the darkness.  He came once, and He is coming again.  The truth of Christmas is that we are loved.  We are precious in His sight. He has a plan for us, is always present to comfort us, and has shown us how to live our lives not just being loved, but loving.

Christmas started in a mess.  It is coming again into a mess.  He is with us in this mess.  I pray that as we celebrate Christmas this month that His light of peace, love, hope, and joy will help untangle our messes and cause His light to shine through us!

We need not just a little Christmas this year, we need a lot of Christmas, His world needs Christmas!

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:10-11

This past weekend in worship we opened up God’s Word together and received His truths that enable us to persevere and endure through fatigue.  If you missed this weekend’s message, please click here to watch it.

This upcoming weekend we are starting a series called “A [RE]FOCUSED Christmas,” and we will be looking at how God fulfilled His promise and how He is still fulfilling His promises.  I hope you will be able to join us either online or in-person.

Today we begin our mid-week Advent worship services at 11 am in our Sanctuary.  Here is the link if you would like to participate live online or  head to our YouTube channel to watch later in the day or anytime.

Today Allison Carr is also starting a mid-week family devotional time called “The Way to the Manger.”   The video above is the devotional.  We pray you and your family are blessed by it.

We also opened up registration for our in-person Christmas services on December 24 and 25.  As I am writing this three of the services are full, and two services still have room.  Here is the link if you have questions or need to register.   Next Tuesday your worship team and Elders will meet to make a decision about opening up a noon service and an 8 pm service on December 24.  If you are unable to register online please contact the church office at 586.731.4490. Also, please do not forget that three of our Christmas services will be streamed live on Christmas Eve and will be available online to watch at any time after they stream live.

Thank you again for being faithful in worship with us and being responsible both at Trinity and from your home.  I know wearing masks in our public worship services is uncomfortable for many, but we need to stay diligent and responsible.  Remember, you might be comfortable not wearing a mask but your neighbor greatly appreciates you wearing yours.

Again as we move forward together, remember “we” includes you.  Please do not hesitate to let me know your thoughts or answer any questions you might have about worshiping together, whether it is in person or from our homes. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” – Psalm 103:1-5

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, God’s Word speaks and encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances.  All circumstances certainly include the circumstance that we are in right now.  Give thanks for what? Psalm 103 gives five gifts that we can be thankful for.

1. The fact that our sins are forgiven.  Our guilt and shame have been removed for eternity!
2. The fact that all our diseases will be healed.  Heaven is for real!
3. The fact that our lives are valuable; each day of our life matters.  We have a purpose!
4. The fact that we are loved by God.  He is with us and for us!
5. The fact that He renews our strength.  With Him all things are possible!

Moving Forward Together 

Over the last two days I have had to make many decisions as your Senior Pastor at Trinity, and yesterday when I pulled into my driveway in the early evening I felt emotionally and physically fatigued.   In that moment I was able to slow down and listen to God’s voice.  I hope and pray that what I am about to share with you blesses you today, and that if you are feeling fatigued that these truths enable you to keep pressing on.

Faithful – God reminded me that He is trustworthy once again, and all He is simply asking me to do is to be “faith full,” to trust in Him.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5

Attitude – God reminded me of all that He has done, not just in the last eight months, or my entire life, but also for the past 6,000+ years in the midst of storms.  There is hope.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. – Hebrews 6:19

Thanksgiving – God reminded me that there is so much to be thankful for, and that I can even be thankful for the extra stress as I know it is increasing my faith in Him.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Integrity – God reminded me that He is calling me not to conform to the pattern of the world, but to be transformed by renewing of my mind through His Word.  Temptations are stronger in the storm, but His light shines even brighter through me in the storm.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  –Romans 12:2

Grace – God reminded me that as He continues to give grace to me, that I need to continue to give grace to others, which includes myself.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8

Understanding – God reminded me that patience towards others or even the situation we are in comes through understanding. Understanding that people have their own stories, and also that this world is broken.
Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. – Proverbs 14:29

Eternal perspective – God reminded me that Heaven is for real.  Someday, someday; there will not be any more trials or stress or fatigue.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. – 2 Corinthians 4:17

These 7 truths that yes, are an acrostic for fatigue, have helped me when tempted to give into the fatigue.  May they bless you also!

Moving Forward Together in Worship

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. – Psalm 100

In receiving guidance from the Michigan District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod we are continuing with our in-person worship.  With our protocols in place we have not experienced any Covid-19 spreads.

Here are three tightened protocols in light of the current wave of Covid-19:

1.  Masks will be recommended for the full in-person service even when we are social distanced.  Thank you for your compliance thus far with wearing masks as you come into worship and leave worship and also during our songs.  Now that we are experiencing more people in worship, we feel that it is responsible for us to keep our masks on for the duration of our worship time.  We know that this will make some of us uncomfortable, but that it will bring more comfort to many more of us knowing that we have our masks on even with proper recommended social distancing in place.  Please note that if you are unable to wear a mask, check in with an usher or a Pastor and they will guide you to the designated section to sit for worship.

2.  After worship you will be encouraged to go directly out of the Sanctuary using the Van Dyke side doors.  Fellowship is great, but we do need to go back to our beginning procedure with not encouraging fellowship in the narthex or lobby at this time.   Again thank you for being gracious knowing that many people will be entering through our main lobby doors.  Please feel free to fellowship with your church family once you are outside of our building.

3.  We will now have individual sign-in cards in each pew so that we are being more responsible if we were to have someone worship with us who unknowingly has Covid-19.  These sign cards will have your pew number on it so that we can easily identify where each person was sitting.

• Please note that all in-person gatherings at Trinity that exceed the recommended 10 person limit from two or more households are being postponed for the next three weeks.
• Our food ministries SSS and Delivering Disciples will continue in compliance with the Health Department  as they are designated to be a warming shelter and a soup kitchen.
• Our day school ministries are continuing to meet in-person in compliance with the State of Michigan and CDC recommendations for a safe learning environment.
• Funerals, weddings, private baptisms, this Sunday’s Voters’ Meeting and pastoral care will continue, following our campus Covid-19 safety procedures during the next three weeks.

Moving Forward Together 

“We wait in hope for the Lord;   He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord,  even as we put our hope in You.” – Psalm 30:20-22

Today is Veteran’s Day, and I don’t know about you, but even though we are still in heightened political unrest as American citizens, I am still extremely grateful to have the freedoms and opportunities as an American Citizen.  I am extremely grateful for all those men and women have served in the military and who serve in the military today.

Today may we all [RE]FOCUS as people of faith, hope, and love and be grateful to our God for military veterans and their families.

As we seek to move forward together in these trying times I am also reminded of this word: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:6

Grace.  Grace is the word for this season that we find ourselves in.  As we make holiday decisions, discern our political climate, and make a whole slew of other decisions, we need to offer grace to one another more than ever. This will be true not only for us as a church community, but for each of us in all of our existing and new relationships.  Grace.

There is no doubt in my mind that one of the ways the enemy seeks to isolate us even more than we are right now is to cause us to judge each other.

We need to offer an attitude of grace.  More than ever we need to seek to understand, before we are understood.  More than ever we need to not assume the worst in others.

We are going to be different, and it’s okay to be different.  God has showed us that to have a healthy community there must be room for different opinions and experiences.  Differences stretch us and help us to grow together.  We still need to respect and recognize that everyone is navigating a new frontier.  We are all in this together only by and with grace.

Back in May I shared this thought and I want to share it again; “Grace-filled people live in the truth that optimistic people keep us hopeful about the future and enable us to embrace uncertainty as an opportunity.  Just as much, grace-filled people live in the truth that cautious people keep us sensitive to the needs and concerns of others and ultimately lead us to wise decisions that foster unity and life.  Grace-filled people are not full of pride.  They truly listen and value the opinions of others.  Grace-filled people know that people matter more than opinions.  Grace-filled people choose love and know that relationships are more important than winning arguments.  Grace-filled people are people of faith.  May God’s Spirit enable this to be true of us as we move forward together sharing Christ’s story with love.”

Marinate yourself today with Grace so that you can live it out in your relationships as we approach the holidays.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

This past weekend we began a new series called “A [REF]FOCUSED Life.”  We are answering the question of what faith, hope, and love practically look like in our relationships, finances, and work life.  If you missed this past week’s message or would like to share it here is the link.

Here is the link that I mentioned for our marriage devotional series called, “Not for the Weak.”

For our in-person worship services we still have room for 50 more people on average for each service before we reach our 20% capacity limit.  Please know if you come, there will be space for you.

Thanksgiving Worship:
As you make you prayerfully make your plans for Thanksgiving this year please know that I hope worshiping with us will be part of your plans.  We have two in-person services and two online options.

• Online option #1 is a family and kid friendly service that will be great for all.  It will be about 20 minutes long led by Allison Carr, our Family Life Minister, and Andrew Brazeal, our Youth Minister.   Please consider taking 20 minutes with your family during your Thanksgiving gathering or whatever time works best for you.  It will be a great way to [RE]FOCUS on God’s blessings.
• Online option #2 is a livestream of our 7 pm Thanksgiving Eve service from our Sanctuary.  You can watch this live as a family or on Thanksgiving Day as a family.
• Our in-person services are Wednesday at 7 pm and Thursday morning at 9 am.

Communion:
If you desire communion but are unable to attend to our in-person worship services please contact our Pastors and we would love to set up a time to give you communion either at Trinity or at your home.

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” – Colossians 3:14-17

Moving Forward Together 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.” – John 17:20-21

I am reminded today that our church’s name is “Trinity.”  I love this name that describes our three in one God.  Our God is One.  Since Covid-19 struck we have been doing everything we can at Trinity to move forward together, that is as one, even though we have been distanced from one another.  I pray every day that our church family stays united.  We live in a country called the United States of America, and today is the day after our Presidential election, but yet we do not know who our President is yet.  Thankfully as Pastor Chad shared in his [RE]FOCUS devotion today, we do know who our King is.  Our King is Jesus.  It is our faith in Him that unites us as His church.  May we remember this today and always. He writes:

Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” – John 18:35-37

Are there moments in your life that you wish you could redo? Are there choices that you wish you could undo – choices that led you to a dark place? I have often wondered if Pontius Pilate thought of this moment in time with such consideration. Pontius Pilate by the world’s standards was pretty great. He was a governor. He had power. He had wealth. He could tell people what to do and they would do it. He had financial security. He looked very kingly. Before him stood Jesus Christ, beaten and spat upon, on the morning of Good Friday. Jesus did not look kingly. But when he spoke, there was definitely more to the man that met the eyes. “My kingdom is not of this world.” His kingdom is not about decorative palaces or mansions, or motorcades with security guards. His kingdom is not about money and military. He has no address where you will find his throne on this earth. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting,” Jesus said. He is the Lord of the angels! There are millions of them and they are incredibly powerful beings! Just think, one angel has enough power to destroy the entire military of our country in an instant. Imagine millions of those angels. Jesus is their King. “My kingdom, he says, is not from the world.” His kingdom is heaven, a place that is more beautiful, more enjoyable, safer, better than any place on this earth. Jesus is the King of that place.

Yesterday, voters chose a leader for the next four years. It gets pretty intense this time of the year, with everyone talking pretty emotionally about who should be in charge, who should be the next president. The different policies, the different leadership styles. Every election year, there is a big debate about which candidate is telling the truth – who can you trust? Who has your best interests in mind? Who will help you? I am not going to wade into politics. But I am going to tell you who is really in charge right now, who has always been in charge, and who will always be in charge, no matter who becomes the next president. That person is Jesus Christ. Presidents come and go, but Jesus has been the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has been so for thousands of years. He is the King of the United States, the King of North America, the King of Earth, the King of Heaven, and the King of the Universe. He is everyone’s King, whether you believe in Him or not. He has been and always will be our King. Jesus is the King of Truth. You can trust Him. You can rely on Him. He never makes a promise He cannot keep. He never fails His people. Is he your King?

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:1-3

This past weekend we wrapped up our [RE]FOCUS sermon series by studying 1 Peter.  We heard about, and I believe are experiencing, how Jesus is re-establishing His kingdom of by genuine faith, living hope, and deep love.  Once again we practiced safe, responsible procedures for our three in-person worship services and were able to stream our two Sunday morning services.  We had 300 more households join us online than usual.  We also had over 1,000 households join us online and in-person for our Sunday evening pre-Presidential election prayer night.

This weekend we are continuing to [RE]FOCUS with a new four-week series called, “A [RE]FOCUSED life.”  We are going to  be looking at  the practicality of being [RE]FOCUSED in our family for the first two weeks, what it looks like to be [RE]FOCUSED with our finances the third week, and concluding with a [RE]FOCUSED “work” life.  When we are focused on Jesus, our entire life changes!

We are continuing to plan for our Thanksgiving worship services, mid-week Advent worship services, and our Christmas services.  We have great plans for both in-person services and online services.  Please look for the details as they come out.

Next Tuesday, November 10 your Elders will be meeting to discuss worship services for the first three months of 2021.  We will be discussing times, styles, and spaces.  Please pray for God’s will to be done and His kingdom to come!

The Sanctuary Renovation Committee over the last three months continues to work hard and are hoping to be able to share a presentation with you all as soon as we receive 3-D renderings from our architect.  We did have a tentative date of Sunday, November 22 but are now looking at a tentative date of December 6.  We are hoping to be able to stream the in-person gathering so we are all able to hear and see the presentation as we move forward together.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

Moving Forward Together 

“He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” – Psalm 22:24

One of our 4^th grade Day School teachers, Wendy Hawkins, has written a great devotion for us in the middle of week 7 of our [RE]FOCUS devotional series.  It is a devotion that speaks the truth about forgiving others and it also speaks the truth that sometimes it feels as if God has abandoned us, but that in fact He has not and will not.

Please enjoy her [RE]FOCUS devotion today:

Mark 14:44, 50, 72 Now the betrayer, Judas, had given them a sign…they all left him and fled… and Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And Peter broke down and wept.

Have you ever been denied something? I think that we can respond with a yes to that question.  Maybe it’s been an insurance claim, or credit, or that password that just won’t work. In this Bible reading, Peter denied Jesus, not just once but three times.

Have you ever felt betrayed? Although this is not a word that is often used today, the feelings of betrayal can be felt deeply when a close friend or relative has shared our secrets or lied about us. Judas, one of the 12 disciples, devised a plan and betrayed Jesus.

Have you ever felt abandoned? I think that many of us can admit to moments or situations in which we have, if nothing less, have felt completely alone with no support.  In this Bible reading, Jesus was abandoned by those who were closest to Him, 2 of the 12 disciples, and then eventually all of them.

There are many difficult situations that we encounter in our lives, sometimes on a daily basis. Friends, and family members can let us down. We can even feel abandoned by God when we are suffering or our prayers seem to go unanswered. Remember – Jesus has gone through it all.  He understands your situation and your feelings. And God does not abandon you. Turn to Him in prayer and know that your answer will be what He knows is best for you.
Moving Forward Together in Worship

Below in no particular order are seven truths about what takes place in our worship services that matter.  Certainly there are many elements and truths that take place in our worship services and more than just seven that matter, but for today I would like for us to focus on just seven.

Seven Truths about Worship

Moving Forward Together 

As we continue to move forward together in faith, hope, and love focused in on Jesus this week we are centering in on the reforming nature of His teachings.  In today’s devotional our Principal Bruce Volkert centers on the parable of the sower recorded in Matthew 13:3.  As you receive this teaching may God remind you to sow God’s Word to the people in your lives and to continue to allow His Spirit to take care of the weeds in your life:

Matthew 13:3 And [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow…”

Today we reflect on the Parable of the Sower in Matthew chapter 13.  You can also read this parable in the Gospels of Mark and Luke.  Few of us define ourselves as “sowers.” However, many of us do some amount of sowing – whether gardening, tending to a lawn or even actively involved in agriculture.  We can agree that growing weeds is quite simple.  You don’t have to work at it.  Do nothing and the weeds will grow and even thrive.  Weeds can grow in impossible settings and can flourish even when we do battle against them.  Apply mulch, squirt them with poison, or pluck them and the weeds can still return.  Weeds pop up in places in which we don’t care as well as taking residence in and among our beautiful flowers.

The seed of faith is freely available.  The Parable of the Sower sheds light on some ways that interfere with this seed taking root.  A main culprit is the weeds around us.  The “cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke” the seed that has been planted.   It is tempting to stay in the weeds and not experience the fullness of God’s grace.  However, the weeds can be treated.  Refocusing on God’s Word, daily prayer and devotion, avoiding “the cares of the world” all prevent weeds from taking hold.   Spending time with Jesus defeats the weeds.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:25

This weekend I am pumped to have Dr. Meyer from the St. Louis Seminary delivering the message.  For the past three years on Reformation weekend, we have had guest preachers from our denomination with the hopes that we will continue to get caught up in the hope of the future of our Lutheran, Christian faith within the invisible church all around us.   I am very hopeful that we will continue to keep our eyes open by faith to what God is doing not just through Trinity, but through the church globally.  I do believe that God is stirring in the hearts of the next generation, and that there are many among us who God is calling into the professional church work.

Please join us for worship this weekend on-site Saturday at 5:30 pm, or on-site and online Sunday at 9:00 am or 10:30 am.  Join online at https://www.trinityutica.com/live.

As we wrap our [RE]FOCUS sermon series next weekend we are going to be having a special in-person and online prayer service on Sunday, November 1 in our Sanctuary at 7 pm.  Certainly it is always right to gather for prayer, but with the presidential election upon us and the seemingly political turmoil, it is the time to pray, to trust God and grow in our faith, hope, and love no matter the circumstances are that we face.

One new worship strategy that you are going to hear more about in the upcoming weeks is watch parties.  A watch party is when you have extended family or friends into your home to participate in our online worship services together.   I have heard of several of you already doing this over the past several months.  We do believe that part of worship is about having fellowship with other believers.  We do realize that many of you, although you are uncomfortable worshiping in our Sanctuary, are comfortable visiting with family and friends, so please consider tuning into our online services together from your homes.

I also want to remind you how essential communion is and that we do hope you feel safe knowing that we are being responsible in our Sanctuary for our in-person worship.  When the time is right we do hope that you will join us for in-person worship to receive Holy Communion.  Until then, please do not hesitate to reach out to us pastors to set up a time to receive communion.

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Moving Forward Together 

This week in our [RE]FOCUS series we are refocusing on the revealing of Jesus’ identity.  Today Loren Sheppard, Day School Resource Room Director, shares a devotion with us on the “True Vine.”  May we continue to abide in Jesus as He prunes us, causing us to bear more fruit. She writes:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” – John 15:1-4

When I was a little girl, I had a few opportunities to visit my Great Uncle and Aunt on their farm. Their major source of income was their vineyard. I remember listening as my Uncle would explain to my Dad how he cared for his vineyards. So much care was given to his vines in order to produce the quality and quantity of fruit needed to sell to the winery. Part of the care of the vines is the pruning process. The Vine dresser, a person who prunes the vines, has to cut out the branches that will not produce good fruit. This gives the rest of the branches an opportunity to grow stronger and to produce the needed fruit.

Our Bible passage for today talks about Jesus as our vinedresser. We need to daily abide, be with Jesus, through prayer, and reading the Bible. We may face hard times as Jesus “prunes our branches” so that we can do the tasks He wants us to do. Today’s Bible passage encourages us to be with Jesus, daily repent, and focus on the forgiveness of our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus so that we can bear the fruit that Jesus would want us to bear.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

Last night your Elders met to discuss and lay out the plan for Thanksgiving, mid-week Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve worship.

THANKSGIVING WORSHIP

Wednesday, November 25 at 12 pm: online only (contemporary, family-friendly service)

Wednesday, November 25 at 7 pm: on-site and online

Thursday, November 26 at 9 am: on-site only

We are hoping that families will gather around their TVs during your Thanksgiving parties and  view either one or both of our streamed services.

MIDWEEK ADVENT WORSHIP

Wednesday, December 2 at 11 am: on-site and online

Wednesday, December 9 at 11 am: on-site and online

Wednesday, December 16 at 11 am: on-site and online

CHRISTMAS EVE AND DAY WORSHIP

Thursday, December 24 at 12 pm: online only (contemporary, family-friendly service)

Thursday, December 24 at 2 pm: on-site only (family service)

Thursday, December 24 at 4 pm: on-site and online (family service)

Thursday, December 24 at 6 pm: on-site and online (candlelight communion service)

Thursday, December 24 at 11 pm: on-site only (candlelight communion service)

Friday, December 25 at 10 am: on-site only

In an effort to be faithful and responsible, we are asking that individuals and families pre-register to attend our Christmas services.  Pre-registration will begin on Monday, November 30. The link will be sent out via email and posted on our Facebook page.  If our five in-person services fill up through pre-registration, your worship team is willing and ready to open up more Christmas service times.

We are hopeful that families will be blessed by being able to participate in these online worship services from their homes as they gather together.

NEW YEAR’S EVE WORSHIP

Thursday, December 31 at 5:30 pm: on-site and online

There will be more details coming out for each of these services in our Weekly E-News and other Trinity communications.  May God bless our on-site and online holiday worship services!

I know God is working through our worship services and that He will give us wisdom as we make future plans.  I pray along with your Elders and Worship team that you will be blessed each weekend and certainly through the upcoming holidays as we worship together whether in-person or from your home.  Each weekend I am encouraged by many who worship from their homes and all who attend worship on-site.  Please know that we are being responsible so that you feel comfortable coming to our in-person worship services to receive Holy Communion and experience the fellowship of other believers and that we are more than  willing to bring communion to your homes.

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”” – Luke 2:9-14

Moving Forward Together 

Psalm 136 repeats the chorus, “His love endures forever” over and over again.  Why? Because His love does endure forever.  His mercies are new every morning.  It is so easy for us to forget this or to not believe this.  Today as we continue with our 56 day [RE]FOCUS devotional be blessed as Pastor Chris shares the truth that  Jesus did and is renewing us with His forgiving love.

READ:

John 8:10–11 (ESV): Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Have you ever heard a rowdy crowd silenced?  In baseball, when the stands are filled, and the home team is rallying, a person could barely hear himself think.  Forget about hearing your own voice.  What would silence a crowd like that, fomenting for blood?  A huge blunder by their team while the other team scores a power play.

The Pharisees and scribes brought a woman to be judged, but their real purpose was to stick Jesus on the horns of judgment.  A lone woman, abandoned by the man who shares her guilt, abandoned any advocate, surrounded by men who wanted to use her to prove the fraud of yet another man.  Here is how men and women have failed one another.  What these guys never expected, what the woman never thought to hope for was forgiveness.

Forgiveness is what thwarts and changes everything.  God’s law has her dead to rights.  Her sinful neighbors have her dead to rights.  Jesus has her dead to rights.  The Law’s Author who had the Law used against Him uses the same Law to confront and expose sin in the crowd.  They forgot about their own sin.  They forgot about mercy.  Jesus knows their sin, her sin, and yours.  Jesus authored the Law and the Gospel.  He gives the gospel here as only the One with authority can.  He forgives.  He liberates.  He renews.  He is faithful to this woman: as God, as a man, and as her neighbor.  His forgiveness sets you free, too.  His call gives you authority to forgive sins, too.  You are not Jesus, but don’t forget what He’s done.  Remember; bring the renewing power Jesus gives you to set someone else free, as God teaches you how to “go and sin no more.”

PRAY:

Redeemer, when my sins surround me, it is You who know my way.  You call my sin exactly what it is, but You declare me forgiven.  You call me Your child.  You give me refuge.  Guide me to show and tell others who You are as their refuge, Redeemer, the One who renews their life. Amen.

LIVE:

Where would you place yourself in this story?  How often are we the ones who forget about mercy and grace?  What helps you remember?

Moving Forward Together in Worship

“Praise the LORD. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe,  praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.”– Psalm  150:1-5

There are two exciting things happening with worship right now that I want to share with you.  The first is that our adult handbell choir is starting up again, and will soon be part of our traditional worship services again.  We are thankful for Jayne Blohm and her continued leadership in this area of worship.  The second exciting thing that is happening in worship is that our Sanctuary Renovation Committee is getting a lot  of work done and looking forward to sharing with you more of a concrete plan in early November.

God is blessing our in-person worship services and our online worship services.  This past weekend we had around 500 people join us for our 3 in-person services and over 1300 households join us online.  Pastor Chris will be preaching this week on the revealing identity of Jesus as we continue to [RE]FOCUS with faith, hope, and love.

I do want to reiterate that your Pastoral team, worship team, and Elders desire to move forward TOGETHER so please do not hesitate to share insights or ask questions about our worship life in such a time as this.

“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.” – Psalm 96:1-3

Restoration
As we move forward together, we are on Day 18 of our [RE]FOCUS devotional.  Today’s devotion, written by our Principal Bruce Volkert, centers in on the miraculous feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000 as recorded in the Gospel of Mark.  As you meditate on it today, I am reminded during the fall of 2020 that Jesus alone satisfies.  An executive order, a vaccine, a president, or even a church will never satisfy fully; only Jesus can and will.  Thank you, Jesus!

Week 3: Restoring

Day 4: Feeding

by Bruce Volkert

READ:

Mark 6:42, 8:8a “And they all ate and were satisfied.”

There are two accounts in Mark’s Gospel of Jesus feeding thousands of people through miracles.  You do not need to convince me that these were miracles.  How many of us have struggled with planning a meal for an unknown large group of guests?  Will we have enough food or too little or too much?  When will we find time to go shopping and how much will it cost?  It takes a miracle for me to calmly plan a large meal.  These are all non-issues for Jesus.  He provided full meals in a moment’s notice for tremendously larger groups than any of us have ever entertained.  And, in both cases there were baskets and baskets of leftovers.  Now, that would cause us even more anxiety – what to do with all that leftover food?  Consider that the disciples had no access to zip lock baggies or refrigeration.  These extra baskets would make me a basket case!

Imagine this experience through the  perspective of the disciples.  They knew that Jesus had been provided with meager resources and yet the fish and loaves continued to be multiplied.   Jesus used these seemingly impossible situations to demonstrate His authority.  His motivation was to show compassion for those who were hungry.  He offers the same to us today.  With unparalleled compassion, Jesus showers us with His grace through His Word to meet our needs and remove our hunger.

PRAY:

Jesus, thank You for giving us more than we could ask or imagine.  Thank You for giving Your plenty to those in need inside of Your family, and to those outside.  Your love and power never fail.  Help us to trust and believe that You are the God of the possible and impossible.  Refocus our faith that what You provide does not distract us from the fact that You provide.  Amen.

LIVE:

Jesus did this similar sign for a Jewish crowd and a crowd of Gentile-foreigners.  What does that tell you about the love and reach of God?

Moving Forward Together in Worship

It was truly a blessing once again this past weekend to worship with you all, both in-person and online as we meditated on the miracles of Jesus.  We saw how they restored faith, hope, and love, and how they are still restoring us today.  If you missed the message here is the link.  We would love to pray for you. If you have a prayer request for God to intervene in His will, please click here.

This upcoming weekend we hope you will be able to worship with us either online or in-person.  If you come to our in-person worship, please be responsible in following our policies of social distancing and wearing a mask.  I am grateful that since May we have been faithful and responsible in following our in-person worship policies.  Each weekend we continue to see more people come back to our in-person worship, and new people come for the first time.  If you have not come back yet, please know that we are committed to continuing with streaming our Sunday morning worship services and that we do have room for  you once you are comfortable returning  to our in-person worship.

Please continue to pray for wisdom for the worship team as we are making decisions about Thanksgiving worship, Advent worship, and Christmas worship.  On Tuesday, October 13 your Elders will be meeting to make the final decisions for these worship services.  On October 14 I will be sharing the holiday plans with all of you.  At our November Elders meeting the hope will be to come up with the worship service plan for the beginning of 2021.  If you have any questions, thoughts or concerns with our current worship format or upcoming plans, please do not hesitate to share them with me at jkrupsky@trinityutica.com.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”  – Acts 16:25-26

Today is Day 11 of our 56-Day devotional put together by our ministry team.  This week is about reflecting on the Hebrew Scriptures, otherwise known as the Old Testament.  I pray you are blessed as you meditate on our promise-keeping God as shared by our Youth Minister, Andrew Brazeal.  Also, don’t forget to engage in the video lesson for this week and reflecting along with the accompanying questions as we [RE]FOCUS on Jesus together.

Week 2: Reflecting

Day 4: Seed of Abraham

By Andrew Brazeal

READ:

Genesis 22:18 “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 

Hosea 11:1 and Matthew 2:15 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” 

When Abraham was promised that the coming King, the Messiah, the Savior promised to Adam and Eve was going to be born through his family line, it must have been an incredibly humbling yet exciting promise. As a parent, I wonder how much pressure he felt to really instill his faith in God in his son Isaac. And as he came to realize that it may be a few generations before this promise came to fruition, it must have required a lot of patience and trust. Trust that the God that he has been worshiping is true to His word and trust that the seeds of faith that he was planting in his own family would be tended and cared for By God Himself through the generations.

Of course, as we know, our God is true to His Word, and the promise that He made Abraham was fulfilled in the coming of the long-awaited Jesus. May we too have patience and trust beyond ourselves. Trust and patience that God is true to His word and promises in our life even when it feels that He’s forgotten. So now as we are given the promise of the return of our long-awaited King, we can have trust and patience as we declare “Come, Lord Jesus!” knowing that our God has not forgotten us.

PRAY:

Spirit, Your patience means our salvation.  Your perfect timing means we live new lives, new love, new grace.  Thank You for Your faithfulness across generations, across time and space.  Help me to believe and grow in faith that You have done, are doing, and will do all You have promised. Amen.

LIVE:

What makes trusting God difficult?  In those moments, what gives you confidence to believe?

Moving Forward Together in Worship
“Not to us, Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.”
– Psalm 115:1

This past weekend we had over 500 people between our three in-person worship services and another 50 for a baptism.  Two children were baptized, one at our 10:30 am service and one prior to our Saturday service.  We also had over 1,300 households join us for our 2 on-line services.  The best news of all was that we were able to [RE]FOCUS on Jesus by reflecting on the truth of Christmas receiving more faith, hope, and love as we continue to move forward together.

Your worship team continues to work hard in making worship the best it can be for the glory of God.  We made a few more adjustments and are really looking forward to this upcoming weekend.

If you have not subscribed to our YouTube channel where our worship services and Bible studies are posted, please take a moment and click on the “subscribe” button.  By doing so, you will be notified every time we upload a video to our YouTube channel and enable us to reach more people. As our number of subscribers goes up, so does our opportunity to share our content with those who are not connected yet with our ministry.

Also, if you are on Facebook I want to invite you to follow a new page called “Pastor Justin Krupsky.”  In the days, weeks, and months to come I am going to be uploading lots of content: studies, devotions, prayers, and sermons.  I am praying that this new social media platform for ministry will be a blessing not just for you, but also for the world.
“Pray for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” – Ephesians 6:19-20

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! – Psalm 119:103

This Wednesday I want to share the devotion for Day 4 of our [RE]FOCUS devotional series.  In week 1 of our 8 week devotions we are doing an overview of the 7 categories we have identified about Jesus.  The 7 areas that we are refocusing in on are the history that led to His birth, the restorative nature of His miracles, His renewing of the image of our loving Father, the revealing of His identity, the reforming nature of His teachings, His redeeming work, and the establishment of His kingdom to come.

The devotion below focuses in on the identity of Jesus and it is powerful.  I pray you are blessed by it.

Revealing: Unchangeable identity of Jesus

by Brenda Havers

READ:

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” John 8:58

The world around us is changing fast.  I am reminded of this every time I see an advertisement for an upcoming music award show and don’t recognize a single artist highlighted. Five years ago it was a completely different group of artists and five years from now it most likely will be an entirely new set of names.

In my life, I have seen sweeping changes in just about every aspect of life.  I started life out listening to records, then 8 tracks, then cassette tapes, then CDs, and now digital streaming.  As a teacher, I have gone from getting purple ink on my hands from “ditto machines” to using Smartboards, YouTube, Apps, and Chromebooks in the classroom.  A quote from Bruce Barton states, “When you are through changing, you are through.”  There is much truth in that statement as it relates to the material world we live in.

Change can be exciting.  Change can also be scary.  I look at so many changes happening in the world and our culture today and it’s easy to be alarmed and discouraged.  As Christians, we can find great comfort in the fact that our Savior Jesus doesn’t change.  Jesus identified Himself to the people of His day using the exact same name God used way back in Genesis – “I am”. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  His love and mercy for His creation do not change.

God’s Word doesn’t change either.  It is as true and solid today as it was when it was first spoken and written down.  Those ancient words are also still as powerful and relevant today despite the whims of changing popular culture trying to convince us otherwise.  Just as musical artists rise and fall in acclaim, so do the teachings and philosophies of man.  In this ever-changing world, true peace can only be found when you build your life on the solid, unchanging foundation of the one true God and His Word.

PRAY:

God, thank you that for every ebb and flow of life in this world and faith within me, You are constant.  Build in me a hunger for Your Word.  For in Your Word you constantly give me life, peace, and forgiveness.  Forgive me when I doubt, restore me when I wonder, and refocus my eyes on You. Amen.

LIVE:

What is one way God brings you peace through His Word?

Please visit our blog page to read each devotion on a daily basis, or you may wish to download the entire devotional book here.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

This past weekend we introduced a few new adjustments to worship.  We adjusted our Sunday morning times to 9 am and 10:30 am and we introduced a children’s message.  Both adjustments were met with great favor as we saw children engaged more and more in-person worshipers and online worshipers.

Our in-person worship increased by over 120 people for the weekend with an average of 170 people at each of our 3 services and our online worship went up by over 400 households.   We were blessed to continue to be responsible for protocols for our in-person worship and the capability to stream our 2 Sunday morning services.

Here is the link to our YouTube channel if you missed worshiping with us this past weekend or if you would like to share the message. While you are there, I would appreciate it if you would please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Your worship team is working hard each week to prayerfully consider more adjustments during this time.  In fact we have begun planning our Thanksgiving worship services, Advent worship services, and Christmas worship services.   We are committed to sending out this e-mail update each Wednesday through December as we continue to move forward in worship focusing in on Jesus with faith, hope, and love.
“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:3

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

The key word today is “Move.”  As I think about this call for us to move forward together this morning, I am fixated on this word move.  Recorded in Genesis 12:1, God says to Abraham, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you,” and in Matthew 28:19, we hear Jesus say to His disciples, “Therefore go.”  Do you hear the call of God not just to Abraham and to His first disciples, but still to us today, “Move?”

To move is to advance, that is to go.  I love giving the steal sign when I am coaching third base in baseball.  Truth be told though as I coach higher level baseball now, if a runner does not have a good lead off and shows me they are getting a good secondary lead, if I give them the steal sign it is highly likely they will be thrown out.  However if a runner is getting a good lead off and getting a good jump in their secondary lead chances are very high that they will be safe if I give them the steal sign.  Leading off and secondary leads aside, the kids have to not just know the signs but see the sign from me.

So I wonder are we seeing the sign from God, the sign that is telling us to go.  Are we ready and willing to move forward?  There are opportunities all around us to move.  To live out the calling that He has given us yes to love our families, yes to love our neighbors, but also to use our gifts to share Christ’s story with love.  Go.

I know we are in time when it feels like we should be cautious, but we must still move forward responsibly.  So, I ask you where is God calling you to go, to move?  Where is God calling us at Trinity?  Most recently He has called us to go online with all of our ministries, but what is next?  What is the next move of God for you and for Trinity?

Moving from the batter’s box to first base is very exciting, but the goal in the game of baseball is to move around the bases, not just once but time and time again.

God is still calling us even today to move.  Ephesians 5:16 says, “Make the most of every opportunity.”  1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared.”  God is not done with us.  So, let’s be like Abraham.  Let’s see the sign and let’s respond.  Let’s continue to move forward together in faith, hope, and love.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

This weekend begins our next pivot for our in-person worship and online worship options as we move forward together.

We have adjusted our Sunday morning worship times and added an in-person children’s message with the hopes to make worship the best it can be.  We are still being responsible with our Covid-19 policies and procedures for our in-person services and we are still utilizing our resources to share our dynamic worship services with you and the community at large.

• 5:30 pm in-person worship (liturgical)
• 9 am in-person worship and livestream (liturgical)
• 10:30 am in-person worship and livestream (modern)

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Matthew 19:14

It is 8:55 am on Wednesday morning, and today marks the third day of in-person education at Trinity.  What a blessing it is to welcome little people into our building.  As each child comes into our building, I am reminded of Jesus’ words, “Let the little children come to Me.”  For over 130 years we have been applying Jesus’ words by offering Christian education.  This year no doubt has many adjustments, including a virtual option, too.  We are blessed to have an outstanding faculty and staff that are being responsible in every way we can to follow all the educational guidelines for health protocols.

This weekend in worship Pastor Chad is going to lead us to meditate on Jesus’ words from Matthew 18 in which Jesus says, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  My prayer today is that, yes, God would bless our day school ministry, but even more that He would give us His spirit of humbleness as His children as we move forward together.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. -1 Peter 5:6-7

Moving Forward Together in Worship update:

If you missed the message from this past weekend’s worship please click here. This upcoming weekend as mentioned above Pastor Chad is going to be delivering an inspired and timely message on rest.

Beginning the following weekend on Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 through the month of November we have new worship times and a new online option:

• Saturday 5:30 pm in-person (Traditional/Blended)

• Sunday 9 am in-person and live online (Traditional/Blended)

• Sunday 10:30 am in-person and pre-recorded on-line (Contemporary)

Each service will have a children’s message and communion.

The pre-recorded worship online service is going to be called, “Trinity For You: Meeting You Where You Are.”  It will be a shortened service focused solely on the online viewer that we hope will be the next step in our online worship presence.   “Trinity for You” is our attempt to connect more disconnected people with Jesus through worship.  We have realized over the last 7 months that there is great value for streaming live in-person worship, but also that it is very meaningful to have the message and service delivered in a more personal way.  So, we have aligned our resources to stream live our 9 am Sunday morning service and also to pre-record a contemporary service, “Trinity for You.”   Come December our hope is to be able to utilize our resources to stream both in-person Sunday morning services and to continue our personalized “Trinity for You” online worship service.

We have seen that Trinity’s online presence is moving God’s kingdom forward in exponential ways, and it is our prayer and hope that “Trinity for You,” will continue the expansion.   Your worship team asks for your prayers as we work diligently and faithfully to lead worship services that honor God and meet people where they are to give faith and strengthen faith.

I look forward to worshiping with you all this weekend whether here at Trinity or online.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—  where does my help come from?   My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1-2

This is my 27^th weekly update and devotional for you all since the end of February when Covid-19 became a reality for us. Even though we are mostly apart, I do believe we are moving forward together.  This is also the official 14^th year of doing ministry with you all at Trinity.  It was in the summer of 2006 when I began working as a summer vicar, which led to the convertible vicarage beginning the following summer of 2007, and now here we are entering the fall of 2020.

In 2020, God has truly given us an opportunity to understand what really matters, what the essentials are. All lives matter, government matters, health care matters, families matter, friendship matters, equality matters, justice matters,  law enforcement matters, our jobs matter, voting matters, listening matters,  food matters, toilet paper really matters, washing our hands matters, the internet matters and even masks matter; but what really matters is our faith.  Faith in Jesus is why we as a community exist and the source by which we have excelled in this time.

Now I know many of you reading this have been at Trinity way longer than me, and many of you are actually newer to Trinity than me.  As we move forward together, I am hoping that we will pray together more than ever as an essential part of our faith, beginning right now.

I am not sure what you have going on as you are reading this, but I am asking for you to pray with me right now.

Our Father in heaven, we thank You that we are Your children.  We are all Your children, we have a family in one another and You are our good, good, Father.   Hallowed be Your name, You are God.  You are all powerful, ever present, and all knowing; we are not, but You are.   Your kingdom come, bring Heaven.  Not just someday for all eternity, but today in our lives and through our lives.  May we do Your work today, and may the world know that You are at work.  Your will be done, not ours.  We know Your will is to love, not just on this side of all eternity, but for all eternity.  May we choose love today, and may we not get in the way of what Your plan is for us today.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Not just nourishment for our body, but nourishment for our soul.  Please give us more of Your Holy Spirit; sacrificial commitment, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self control.  Forgive us our sins.  We repent of our sins that harm us, harm our neighbors, and harm You.  Enable us to change our way of thinking and our behavior.  Thank You for dying on the cross in our place for our sins.  Help us to forgive others.  We confess that it is hard to forgive, but love keeps no records of wrongs.  Lead us not into temptation.  Help us to fight the temptations that so easily tempt us by the power of Your word and give us wisdom of when to flee.  Deliver us from the evil one.  Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces.  Thank You that greater is He that is in me, than he that is in this world. Thank You for the power of prayer Father.  Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.  Amen. 

Can you feel the peace that surpasses all understanding?  Now is the time to pray.  It is always the time to pray.  Thank You, Jesus, for teaching us to pray and thank You that it does not stop now, but that we get to continually talk with You through our day.

As we move forward together, let’s keep praying for one another, praying for racial equality, praying for our law enforcement, praying for our government, praying for our medical professionals,  praying for our school staff, families, and children as we begin a new school year and praying for Pastor Chris as he discerns between continuing his ministry here at Trinity or at St. Mark in  Illinois.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7

Moving Forward Together in Worship

This past weekend Pastor Lew wrapped up our series on Revelation.  We learned once again that we can handle it, because Jesus did, is, and will.  Jesus is coming soon, and as we eagerly wait for Him, we do so with hope and purpose.  Once again we had around 400 people at our in-person worship services and over 1000 households join us for our online options.

This upcoming weekend I am really excited to share a message from the most famous parable of Jesus.  Through studying this text and praying through it, I have no doubt that God is going to encourage each of you and meet you where you are in such a time as this.  I am really looking forward to being with you all, whether in person or online.

This Sunday at 1 pm we have also put together a special “Back to School” online worship service for day school families. Here is the link.

Beginning the 2^nd weekend of September, the weekend after Labor Day weekend, please note the time changes for our Sunday morning worship services.  We will continue our Saturday 5:30 pm service, but our 2 Sunday morning services times are moving to 9 am and 10:30 am for both in-person and online.   All three in-person services will continue to be in our Sanctuary with communion and a children’s message.

As we move forward together in worship we are continuing to be responsible with our Covid-19 protocols for our in-person protocols, and we are continuing to do our best to make our online worship the best it can be.  Please keep your worship team in your prayers for sustained health and discernment.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.   See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24

^“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:6-9

Breathe it in again, read it again and again.  Pause after each sentence and simply receive it.  This promise from God has been on the forefront of my heart and mind for decades now.  I almost feel embarrassed for how often this word captivates me in my daily life.  Not once, but three times God speaks to Joshua.  Why?  Joshua is just like us. He needed to hear it repeated to him before he received it.

There are five truths from this scripture that I want to take a moment and share with you today as we seek to move forward together.

1^st – Jesus is the land that we are called to lead others to.  Let’s not forget this, especially right now when it seems that many of us are very tempted to become self-focused as if we are in survival mode.  We have the secret to life, and His name is Jesus.  He is the land that we are going to inherit, and we are called to share this inheritance.

2^nd – Obedience is still our responsibility, but the outcome is God’s.  Whenever we are in the wilderness (pandemic), it is much easier for us to give into temptations.  I know we are not perfect and will not be until we are in heaven, but we are still called to walk with integrity.   Obedience does not mean all will be at peace, but it is the right thing to do.  Our obedience is not a manipulation tool for us to control God with.  He is still in sovereign overall, and His plans are not always ours.

3^rd – God’s Word is living and active.  It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  It is the sword of the spirit.  It is able to make us wise to salvation in Jesus.  It does equip us and rebuke us.  It is our daily bread.  Let’s re-commit to being in God’s Word daily and corporately together.  We are so blessed to have 66 books that tell us the Good News of Jesus. We do not need to worry about not hearing the voice of God.  He has spoken and is speaking through His Word.

4^th – It is not about what we can do, but what He can do through us.  He has handled it, is handling it, and will handle it; so will we.  1,700 times in the 66 books of the Bible, God proclaims that He is with His children.  He is present with us.  We are not alone.

5^th – Strength and courage vs. fear and discouragement is still a real battle that we all face daily.  We are not alone in this battle, and God does not and will not lose patience with us.  He will continue to meet us where we are to move us forward one day at a time into the life that He has created us for.

Verse 10 tells us that Joshua responded to God’s Word.  He stood up in courage and strength because He heard the Word of God and believed that God was with him.  May we move forward together today, just like Joshua.

Moving Forward Together in Worship:

This past weekend we had over 400 individuals come to our campus for in-person worship and had over 1,500 households join us for online worship.  This weekend we will be wrapping up our sermon series on Revelation.
Please do not forget that our Sunday morning worship options will be shifting 30 minutes beginning the 2^nd weekend of September to 9 am and 10:30 am.  Our Saturday evening time will remain the same.

This same weekend (September 12/13) we will be beginning an 8-week sermon series called [RE]FOCUS.  This sermon series has a 56 day devotional along with it and 8 small group Bible studies that will accompany it that your ministry team has been working on all summer.  Your Pastors and ministry team truly believe that God has inspired this new fall series and are really excited to be able to [RE]FOCUS on Jesus with you all as we move forward together.

We are continuing to evaluate our online worship services and in-person worship services and are looking forward to being with you this fall, whether you chose to worship with us in-person or online.  It is our hope to add more in-person services in December as we move forward together.

Please continue to share your ideas of how we can worship the best; it can be both online and in-person.

“To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in You I trust, O my God.” – Psalm 25:1

Understanding

Patient endurance is one of the attributes God’s Word implores us to have.  No doubt it is a “heavy” attribute, but the truth of the matter is we are in a heavy time.   In fact in Revelation 1:9 this is one of the purposes for which God gave John the vision that is recorded for us in Revelation.  What does it mean to endure, and what does it mean to endure something patiently?  To endure patiently is to not be swayed from one’s direction because of the pain or suffering one experiences.  I love that God’s Word from Proverbs 14:29 says, “One who patiently endures has great understanding.”

Do we have understanding?  In today’s world I am finding it harder and harder to gain understanding – understanding of the political nature of the times, the scientific nature of our current pandemic, state by state and national understanding of executive orders, the sociological nature of protests, and the understanding of the nature of what it means to be a police officer.  Do not get me wrong, I could give you a passionate three point Ted talk from either side of the line of each above mentioned area, but do I really understand?

What I do understand is that God is God.  He is good.  He is working through all things.  He desires justice.  He desires submission to government.  He desires love for one another.  He desires truth and most certainly He desires grace.  I understand as people of faith we are called to transform the world and not conform to it.  I understand that He has, does, and will provide for us and meet our needs.

I understand that life is hard, marriage is hard, work is hard, parenting is hard, and loving is hard.  I understand that the only way to live life is by faith in Jesus.  He is THE one who endured patiently and is still to this day.  I understand that He is enduring patiently because He desires all of His children to understand His love for them.  He understands.  He understands you and He understands me.   Do we understand this?

As we continue to move forward together as His church, as His people in our homes, neighborhoods, and yes from our campus, may He grant us the strength to patiently endure.  I know many of you are struggling with your health, are struggling with your jobs, are struggling with your families, are struggling to have hope, are struggling with anxiety, are struggling to have hope for the future, and are struggling with your faith.  I want you to know that you are not alone.  You have a Savior Jesus who is with you and you have a church that is with you.

Please pray with me:  Father in Heaven, help us understand.  Help us understand Your Gospel and life You have created us to live.  Give us more of Your Spirit so that we can patiently endure.  May we not just finish the race You have created us for but may we finish it strong. In Jesus name.  Amen.  

Moving Forward Together in Worship:  September through November plan

Over the past several months your pastoral team, worship team, and your Elders have been prayerfully evaluating our in-person and on-line worship services with the hopes to make more adjustments for the fall in an effort to reach more people.   We have been evaluating Kids’ Connection, our Gym space, our times, our styles, in-person elements of worship, and on-line elements of worship among many others aspects of our corporate worship life at Trinity.  We realize as has been mentioned several times over the past seven months that we need to keep moving forward in faith, hope, and love both cautiously and courageously.  Below are the thoughts of your leadership and the plan moving forward.

Kids’ Connection

Since March we have seen young families engage in our online worship.  Over the course of the summer we have only seen a handful of young families come back to our in-person worship.  We also saw much success with our online option for children when our children’s message was attached to the ending of the service itself.

With the state of Michigan still being in Phase 4 our plan is to not have nursery care or in-person Kids’ Connection.  Our fall plan is to have a children’s message within our in-person service.  This would be a 5 minute long children’s message where we would not invite the children forward, but would speak directly to them with an object lesson based on the scriptures for the day.  We would also pre-record a children’s message that would be part of our pre-recorded  worship service for families.

During this time we would do our best to begin to recruit and communicate with Kids’ Connection volunteers with the hope to have an in-person Kids’ Connection when we are in phase 6 in 2021.  At the same time we are planning on utilizing the Meeting Lounge as a temporary cry room for infants and toddlers during our in-person worship.   School families, we are asking you to fill out the online communication card when you worship with us whether in person or online.  We are as committed as ever to partner with you in raising your children to know Jesus and equipping you in your faith.

Gym Worship

Since March we have not had in-person worship in our gym, and we have had limited use of our gym for our pre-recorded contemporary worship.  In June we did move all of our live streaming equipment into the sanctuary and at this time we still do not have live streaming equipment in the gym.  At this time we also feel that in-person worship is much easier to be responsible with the cleanliness of our space and the social distancing of our people when we are in the sanctuary, which is a much larger worship space.

As we consider pre-recording a contemporary worship service during the week, at this time we realize that we are limited with the gym for set-up and tear down of the streaming equipment and gym stage and rehearsal time since our day school will be back in session.  As a result we have decided to pre-record the majority of our contemporary services outside of the gym, with the hopes to utilize the gym when we have the appropriate equipment and time to re-utilize our gym as a worship space.

Online Worship

It has been clear for years now that Trinity needed more of an online presence in regards to worship.  Since March we have been able to have an online presence with both pre-recorded services and live services.  We have been able to host live chats with people during online worship, and people have also been able to view/participate in our worship services at any time after the streaming of the service.  We have reached thousands of homes through this each week.  What we have learned is that our pre-recorded contemporary service is much more engaging for those who prefer contemporary worship as compared to live in-person worship.  At the same time we have learned that live in-person traditional worship is much more enriching for those who prefer traditional worship.

Our plan for the fall is to continue to stream our live in-person traditional worship on Sunday morning and to go back to pre-recording our contemporary service and stream it on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  This will put a greater strain our contemporary worship team and media team, but we do feel the extra work will be well worth it in ministering to our community.

In-Person Worship

Prior to March Trinity had six in-person worship services which varied in attendance on average from 100 people to 400 people for an average over 1,300 people.   Since returning to in-person worship in late May, Trinity has had 3 in-person worship services with a social distancing capacity in our sanctuary of 250 people.   Each of these three services has averaged about 120 people in attendance with a total average of 360 people.  We were offering a Saturday evening blended/traditional service, a Sunday morning at 8:30 am blended/traditional service, and a 10 am contemporary service.

Our fall plan is to keep the Saturday evening traditional/blended service, but to adjust the times of our two Sunday morning services to 9:00 am and 10:30 am.  We feel after hearing more from our congregation that moving the 8:30 am to 9:00 am will be well received from both the 9:30 am worshipers and the 8:00 am worshipers.  We also feel that moving the 10:00 am to 10:30 am will be well received for our 9:45 am and 11:15 am worshipers.  We feel based on what we have heard from many people in our congregation is that this 30 minute adjustment is a better balance to what we once had for the time being.  At this time we are not recommending the re-start of our in-person Monday evening service, but do encourage those who are unable to make our weekend in person services to participate in our online worship.

We know full well that this fall plan comes at an unprecedented time. A time where are being called to patiently endure together.  Macomb County is currently in Phase 4, and we all desire to go back to the way our worship was before March. We also know that our congregation overall is proceeding with caution into the fall and winter months knowing that God is working not just through our adjusted worship services but also in all of our other areas of ministry.  We want you to know that at this time these plans for the fall are in no way reflective of a long-range plan for our worship services, times, styles, and places and that we are more than eager about adding more opportunities as we move forward.

The two changes to our in-person service itself are: (all other policies are in still in place such as masks, bulletins, capacity, offering, social distancing, communion, on-line communication card, etc.)

1.  A children’s message will take place at each in-person service.

2. Baptisms now have the option to be included in our in-person services.

Summary of Fall 2020 Worship Services planned to start the weekend of September 13 through Sunday, November 29 

Saturday evening worship options:

• 5:30 pm in-person traditional/blended service with communion.
• 5:30 pm online pre-recorded, streamed contemporary service.

Sunday morning Worship options:

• 9:00 am in-person traditional/blended service with communion
• 9:00 am live streamed online traditional/blended service.
• 10:30 am in-person contemporary service in the sanctuary with communion.
• 10:30 am online pre-recorded streamed contemporary service.

Worship will remain the same through September 6.  

• 5:30 pm Saturday evening traditional in-person
• 8:30 am Sunday morning traditional in-person and live online
• 10 am Sunday morning contemporary in-person and live online

We want to remind you that yes, there are many blessings to worship in-person together, but that worshiping with us online is also a great way to join us, especially as we continue to move forward together this fall.  Do not feel pressured to come to our in-person worship, but do know that our sanctuary is a safe place and we are being responsible.  Also, do not feel guilty when you worship from home. Instead, thank God that He has provided a way for you to still be connected with us at Trinity and more than that be connected with Him.

Again, if you desire to receive communion at your house please do not hesitate to reach out to your pastoral staff.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” – Psalm 100

On behalf of your worship team, thank you for understanding and trust as we continue to make adjustments moving forward together in faith, hope, and love…

August is here, and the normal routine of our lives means students and families are getting ready to go back to school.  For us at Trinity we know our school is going to be different.  Our children, whether it is pre-school, elementary school, high school, or even college, are facing changes in the way education is taking place.  We know that teachers, administration, and parents are being asked to stretch their professional  routine.  As we face the new academic year head on, I was reminded of a promise that God made to His children over 3,000 years ago, a promise that still holds great weight for us today.  It comes from Jeremiah 29:11:   ^“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This promise has captivated me this past week as I consider my children’s future.  In all honesty it has  brought calm in the storm of worry and anxiousness for my children and certainly into the present reality for us here at Trinity as we get ready for a new school year.  It gives me great courage and strength as a parent to not only share this promise with my children, but to know this is true for my children.  It gives me great peace as I see our school leadership and our parents at Trinity walk by faith as we all make plans for this school year.

Our children have a future, and it is full of hope.  Why?   God said so.

God said so.  What a blessing we have here at Trinity, whether it is through in-person education or virtual online education to Share Christ’s Story with Love.   To do what Jesus asked us to do: “Let the little children come to Me.”  What a blessing we have in our teachers who are able to be resilient in the calling they have to give our children a Christ-centered education.  What a blessing.

If you have not been doing so already, please pray. Not only for our faculty and staff, but pray for our parents as they make plans for their child’s education and most certainly pray for our children that they would walk by faith, hope, and love as we all continue to move forward  together.

“From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”  – 2 Timothy 3:15

Moving Forward Together in Worship

Again I want to thank all of you who sent me an e-mail over the past couple of weeks  about  your hopes for worship as we continue to make plans for another pivot/adjustment in September.  Your feed back has been crucial, as your flexibility has also has been.

Since March we have  been able to reach over 1,000 households each weekend through our online worship. Since re-opening for our communion services in May, we have had an average of 330 individuals attend our in-person services.   Compare this to last summer, which had an average of 30 households view our online weekend sermons and an average of 1,000 individuals attend our in person services.

We have certainly made adjustments in our worship life here at Trinity, and what gives us all great peace and joy is that God is reaching more and more people with His Gospel message through Trinity’s worship services.

With the current state of the world, the United States, and Macomb County itself in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic, we do realize that we are still in Phase 4 of reopening.  We are continuing to respect and be responsible in seeking to implement the recommendations of the CDC and the Michigan District of the LCMS in regards to in-person gatherings for worship.

I do look forward to sharing with you in next Wednesday’s e-mail the plans that your pastoral team, worship team and Elders have come up with.  Please keep your Elders in prayer as we will be meeting next Tuesday, August 11 to make more adjustments for the fall.

We hope you will join us for one of our five weekend worship options: on-site Saturday 5:30 pm, Sunday 8:30 am, and Sunday 10 am, and online Sunday 8:30 am and Sunday 10 am. Please view our livestream on http://www.trinityutica.com/live. Please text the word “Trinity” to 797979 to receive the order of worship, communication card, prayer request, online giving, and e-news information.

If you desire to receive the sacrament of communion and are uncomfortable coming to one of  our in-person worship services,  please do not hesitate to reach out to us pastors.  We would love to  come and give you Holy Communion.

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

To move is to be in motion, to be on the go.  I love this word.  Creation is in motion. Our internal systems are constantly moving, but is our faith?  I love this word “moving” because this is what Jesus proclaimed when He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.”  Quite literally He was saying God is on the move.  In fact He actually started His truth statement recorded in Matthew 4:17 with the call to “repent.”  Change your way of thinking; God is on the move.  Stop doubting, see and believe.

It seems it is becoming easier than ever to become frozen, to stop moving.  At the same time it is becoming easier than ever before to be spiritually blinded, that is to believe that God is not moving, not working.  Is He moving?

To move forward, in my mind, is to press on.  To have hope for the future but to also seize each present moment and learn from the past.  I love what God said to us recorded in Paul’s letter to the Philippians in chapter 3:12-14: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Are we not just moving, but moving forward? So often we move aimlessly or even backward as we live in the past.  Is the Kingdom of Heaven advancing through you and me?

Together is so much more powerful than separate or divided or even by oneself. It means that we are not alone and that we are unified.  This truth is attested to in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:   If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

As I share this thought with you today on Wednesday July 29, I have a great peace because the good news is and will always be that Jesus, the One who was crucified and resurrected, is still alive.  He is still forgiving us for when we don’t move.  He is still forgiving us for when we get stuck in the past or go about aimlessly.  He is still enabling us to forgive one another so that we can Move Forward Together ,not just with one another but more importantly with Him.  Please do not ever forget the main thing: we are forgiven because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.  It is in this Gospel truth that we will Move Forward Together.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

When God spoke “Remember the Sabbath day,” His desire was to bless us, that is to give us an opportunity to rest well and to receive.  As He spoke this gift He shared that at the center of Sabbath is to join together with others for a “Sacred Assembly.”  An assembly where true rest is given, namely the opportunity to look outside of ourselves to God himself for forgiveness, for strength, for peace, for purpose, and for truth.  Since March, Trinity has moved forward together in worship.  We have made pivots in our spaces for worship, in our times, and yes even in our styles, but the ability to rest in our faith and to receive has remained constant.

Last week I asked for you to share with me what your hopes are for our “Sacred Assembly” come this fall, and I want to thank you for some great feedback to help myself and your worship team continue to discern how we  can move forward together into the fall of this year.

As we discern this fall I want you to know seven things.

1.  We are committed to online worship

2. We are committed to on-campus worship

3. We are committed to being as responsible as we can in making our on-campus worship space a healthy space

4. We are  committed to all generations

5. We are committed to offering  different styles

6. We are committed to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus through worship

7. We are committed to administering the Sacraments

Please continue to pray for your worship team and your Elders as we are planning on making our Fall Worship decisions by the evening of Tuesday, August 11.

This weekend we hope to see you either on campus or online at http://www.trinityutica.com/live for one of our five worship options as we begin our new sermon series based on the vision of Revelation called, “Can You Handle This?” Families with young children, don’t forget about online Kid’ Connection on Sunday at 11:15 am.

• Saturday Evening 5:30 pm on-campus (Traditional)

• Sunday 8:30 am on campus (Traditional)

• Sunday 8:30 am online (Traditional)

• Sunday 10 am on campus (Contemporary)

• Sunday 10 am online (Contemporary)

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” – Psalm 95:1

How are you doing?  Really, how are you doing?  Not just how are you doing, but how is your faith in Jesus doing?  If you could assess, say the last five months, would you say your faith in Jesus has been strengthened, shaken, or weakened by the events and trials of the world around us?

Maybe the question is, do you have hope?  See, faith in Jesus leads to hope.  So, if you have faith in Jesus you cannot help but have hope.  1 Thessalonians says a mark of one who has faith is that even in the grief of loss or change there is still hope.  When you think about the past, tomorrow or even next year, do you believe that God is working in all things, and do you believe that He has a plan for you?

Let me ask one more question: How are you doing at loving your neighbor? Are you more patient, more kind, more selfless, more giving, more humble, more forgiving, more gracious, more merciful, more trusting with your neighbors, which more certainly includes your family and co-workers?

As we move forward together it is good to check in based on God’s word from 1 Corinthians 13:

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:12-13

Faith, hope, and love…
Faith in Jesus creates hope and most certainly overflows in love.
Jesus, we do believe, we confess our unbelief.  Please help us with our unbelief, and please take our mustard seed of faith and expand your kingdom as we do life together in faith, hope, and love.

Three Worship Updates

1. As your pastoral team, worship team, and Elders continue to make worship the best it can be during this time, we need your feedback.  After all teamwork makes the dream work.  Currently we are formulating our next worship pivot for the fall and we want to hear from you.  Please send a simple e-mail to Pastor Justin at jkrupsky@trinityutica.com with your answer to this question: What is your hope for worship, whether it be online or on-campus come September?
2. You no longer need to pre-register for our on-site worship.  With us functioning at a comfortable capacity level in the Sanctuary at 250 people and in evaluating the last 10 weeks of registering for our on-site worship options, we are foregoing the pre-registering process.  So all you have to do is show up.  Thank you to all those who pre-registered for worship for the last 10 weekends.  We look forward to continuing to offer our current on-site worship options and our on-line worship options.  Please continue to text 797979 with the word “Trinity” to fill out the worship communication card.
3. We have found a company that has pre-packaged communion wine with the bread.  If you have been with us on-campus receiving communion you know that we have been using grape juice.  We now have the option of wine also, which we know brings much comfort to many who have grown up receiving wine instead of grape juice.   May God continue to grant us the opportunity to receive His body and blood through the Sacrament of Holy Communion!

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 29:11-3

I don’t know about you, but I love Jesus.  I love that I don’t have to wonder what God is like.  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I love that I know that I am loved because of Jesus.  I know what truth is because of Jesus.  I know what grace is because of Jesus.   I know my purpose because of Jesus.  His fulfillment of promises, His teaching, His miracles, His compassion, His identity, His death, His resurrection, and His return; all these and more fire me up.

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus… Hebrews 3:1

I do not know if you have read the book of Hebrews lately, but it is all about Jesus.  It seems that people were falling into the temptation to fix their thoughts and minds on others. Hebrews says stop thinking about angels, stop thinking about Moses, stop thinking about this mysterious guy Melchizedek, and stop thinking about the High Priest — Jesus is greater.

How easy it is for me throughout my day to not think about Him, but how powerful it is when I do. I remember in college during my junior of baseball going through a slump.  I started off the season 3 for 27 with 17 strikeouts.  Not good, not good at all.  I went from batting 3^rd in the lineup to batting in the 8^th.  I remember finally taking out the tee all by myself with a bucket of baseballs on our college field and just simply focusing on keeping my eye on the ball.  Something clicked as a hitter in that moment and changed the course of that season for me, just by simply keeping my eye on the ball the season turned around into my most successful college season.

I wonder how many of us are in the game, swinging our faith bat, but lacking love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.   Last week I shared Hebrews 12:1-3 with you at the end of my e-mail.  Well here it is again:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – Hebrews 12:1-3

As we move forward together by faith, let’s keep our eyes on the ball.  Let’s get the bucket of balls out and the tee (that is, our Bible) and fix our eyes on Jesus.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”- Matthew 11:28

Moving Forward Together In Worship

As we continue to offer on-line worship and on-site worship I want to let you know that we are committed to keeping our eyes on Jesus in and through worship.  My guiding verse whenever I am working through the process of writing a sermon is Luke 24:32.  This is where the resurrected Jesus has just opened up the scriptures with the disciples (vs. 27) and then there response was ignited hearts. Their hearts were awoken because the scriptures fixed their eyes on Jesus.  May this be true of us each time we gather, whether from home or on our campus for worship.

I pray you are able to not just join us for worship this weekend whether online or in person, but that you also are able to invite others to join us through your online connections.

Sunday Online Options:

• Traditional/Liturgical -8:30 am
• Modern/Contemporary – 10 am
• Kid’s worship – 11:15 am

Weekend On-Site Options:

• Traditional/Liturgical – Saturday 5:30 pm
• Traditional/Liturgical – Sunday 8:30 am
• Modern/Contemporary – Sunday 10 am

Please click here to read more about our on-site options and the health requirements.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12

As we move forward together, let’s keep our eyes on Jesus!

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”  – James 1:19

As we move forward together let me ask you, are you a good listener?  Are you really?  What does it mean to be a good listener?  If you ask my wife, it means to have empathy.  It means to understand the problem before we go to fix the problem.  It means to give value and worth to the emotions of the one to whom we are listening.

As mentioned last week our God has spoken, and I continue to pray that we listen to His Word first and foremost in any and every situation we face on this side of eternity.  As we listen to what He says about loving our neighbor, I pray that we hear what He said in James 1:19.  We are called to listen to one another as an act of love in listening to our Creator, our Father.

There are so many voices.  My prayer is that first and foremost we hear our Shepherd’s voice.  In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” The other day my oldest son’s baseball coach had a talk with the parents, a talk that I appreciated as a coach.  He simply said, “Please refrain from coaching your son during the game.  I want them to hear one voice.  Please don’t distract them.”

What I have heard God telling me over the last few weeks is to listen, and so I am writing today to encourage you to do the same.  Seek to understand.  Spend time just taking in the stories of your neighbors.  Proverbs 17:27 says, “The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.”

We talk a lot of about being a Proverbs 31 Woman, but as I read Proverbs 31 I want to become a Proverbs 31 Neighbor. First, we need to listen.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”  – Proverbs 31:8-9

Moving Forward Together in Worship

This past weekend as we slowly continue to open our campus for on-site worship, we welcomed almost 400 individuals to our 3 on-site services.  We also welcomed over 1000 households to our online worship.

This upcoming weekend we will continue what we began this past weekend.

Here are the on-site worship options. Please click here for more information or to sign up:

• 5:30 pm Saturday Traditional
• 8:30 am Sunday Traditional
• 10 am Sunday Modern

Here are the online worship options. Please click here for the livestream.

• 8:30 am Livestream Traditional Service
• 10 am Livestream Modern Service
• Any time from your home we encourage you to gather with extended family and friends to worship together.  We strongly encourage to do this to enjoy the fellowship of other believers during your worship time throughout the summer months.

If you desire communion and are unable to attend an on-site worship service, please reach out to the church office to set up a communion appointment with one of your pastors.

We also want you to know that your Pastors and Elders are continually evaluating our worship times, styles, spaces, resources and formats.  As on-site attendance continues to grow through the course of the summer, we are committed to ensuring a healthy and responsible environment along with a  great online worship presence.

Moving Forward Together in Ministry

I want you to know that your church has and will continue to Share Christ’s Story with Love through our Day School, Social Ministry, Youth & Children’s Ministry, Pastoral Care Ministry, Bible Studies, Seniors’, Men’s, and Women’s ministry, and beyond.  We are more committed and equipped than perhaps ever in the history of Trinity, and we pray you are ready for what God has in store for us as we move forward together.

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16

“Let justice roll on like a river.” – Amos 5:24

Let me start this email about moving forward together by addressing the current state of America with this thought from your pastoral team.  If you read the prophets in the ancient Hebrew scriptures who spoke to the nations and to Israel thousands of years ago, injustice was a major issue of which God keeps calling His children to repent.  When Jesus shows up, we see Jesus not just speak, but live out loving all people, clearly going out of His way to love those who are suffering from injustice.  Injustice, in the eyes of our Christian Scriptures, is when different groups of people are dehumanized and not valued.  Throughout time since sin has entered the world, injustice has been a result of the sinful condition of mankind and a leading tactic of Satan in his effort to destroy God’s prize creation and the love God created us to give one another.

As I have said before, I don’t know all that you have been through in your life, how you are feeling right now or what thoughts you are having, but what I do know is that Jesus knows.  I do believe He has a word for you.

For those of you are who are reading this and have been experiencing injustice and the anxiety it brings into your life, may Jesus remind you that He is with you.  May His Kingship give you peace, comfort and courage.

For those of you who are feeling helpless against injustice in our world, please don’t let the magnitude of its weight paralyze you.  When God gives you a chance to practically bring equality and value to your neighbor, simply do it.

For those of us who are still learning to drop our prejudices, keep repenting, and ask God teach us to see His children as He sees His children.

For those of you who do not know what to do or how to feel in this time, simply keep your eyes on Jesus.

Trinity, we are followers of Jesus. He understands. He loves. He forgives. He empowers and He gives HOPE.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8

Please click here for a song that we sang a few months ago that has captivated my heart this past week.  It is my prayer that it ministers to you and meets you where you are in your world.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

These past three weeks of our on-site, mini-communion services have been a true blessing as well as our online worship.  We welcomed over 100 households this past weekend in our Sanctuary and a few thousand households through our online worship.

This weekend coming up:

Online worship: NOTE times have changed

• 8:30 am – liturgical, hymn-based on http://www.trinityutica.com/live
• 10 am – modern, blended on http://www.trinityutica.com/live or Facebook Live

If you miss either of these worship times, please note that you can go to our YouTube channel to play it back, rewind, and share it  with a friend.

On-site worship times are:

Saturday 5:30 pm – liturgical, hymn-based

Please be aware as you travel to Trinity and leave Trinity for this Saturday evening worship that there is a march on Hall Rd. that will be taking place between Schoenherr and Garfield from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm.

Sunday 8:30 am – liturgical, hymn-based

Sunday 10 am – modern, blended

You must sign up to attend these on-site services. Please click here to sign up for this weekend, June 6 & 7. You may also sign up for the weekend of June 13 & 14 by clicking here. This link on our website has the details of these on-site communion services.  The doors to our lobby will open up 15 minutes before each service time, so please show up promptly.  Also, please note that if you are a day school family receiving the active member tuition grant, we are currently not tracking your worship attendance through Labor Day weekend.  However, we are asking that you fill out the communication card each time you do worship with us online or on-campus by texting the word “Trinity” to “797979.”

In-home worship gatherings:

Over the course of this summer, knowing the needs of young families, we are also encouraging that you gather with your small group or with a group of friends or family to participate in our online worship time together from your home.  We want to encourage you to participate in Christian fellowship.  Pick your time and day to  worship together.

We will continue to evaluate your needs and our resources throughout the course of this summer to ensure a safe environment on our campus for worship and to ensure a quality online worship service.  We love hearing feedback from you as we continue to seek to “Share Christ’s Story with Love” to you and to the world through worship.

Moving Forward Together in Ministry

Building Hours:

• This Friday in our e-news we will be sharing more details with you for our summer building hours.

Family Life:

• This weekend you are invited to join with our youth confirmands and their families from your home for our youth confirmation services.  Watch the services online Saturday, June 6 at 11 am and Sunday, June 7 at 1 pm.
• Bringing it Home parenting podcast starts up next Thursday, June 11
• Check out our Facebook page for a special fun treat tomorrow Thursday, June 4 from our Family Life team.

Christian Growth:

• New small group study and mid-week study by Pastor Justin starts up next week.  This study is based on the four times we see Jesus interact with His disciples at the Sea of Galilee.  The study is called, “Still Waters – Living Under His Authority.”  We are encouraging our small groups to go through this study and will be sending out the links June 10, 17, 24,  & July 1.

• If you would like to receive Weekly Text devotions, please sign up here.

Social Ministry:

• We continue to meet the needs of the hungry in our community each Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.  If you would like to know more of how you can partner with us please reach out to Jenny Jaroneski at jjaroneski@trinityutica.com

Day School:

• We did it!  Students, teachers, and families did it!  This Friday marks the end of our school year.   We are so blessed with an amazing faculty and student body who stayed resilient and pressed on.  Congrats to our 2020 graduating class!  May God bless you as you continue to become the person God created you to be! You can view photos of the individual student’s graduation ceremonies on our Facebook page.

Christian Care:

• If you have any need please do not hesitate to reach out to our pastoral team.  We are here for you.

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow’s cause.” -Isaiah 1:17

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”  – 2 Corinthians 4:17

The other day my wife was ripping a band-aid off one of my children, and I began to think about our lives.  In fact, as I write this I have a band-aid on my calf, and to be honest I really don’t want to pull it off because I know it is going to hurt as it tears away my hair.  The same thing goes for a shot, not just for children, but also for adults.   No one likes to get a needle poke.  Yet we know that it only hurts for a moment and the end result outweighs the momentary pain.

I do not know where you are in your life right now.  I do not know how much fear, anxiety, stress, loneliness, or pain you might be feeling, but what I do know is that it is not going to last.  It is momentary.  Disciples of Jesus, the one who experienced the worst pain and trial imaginable, have found hope and joy even in the darkness.  They saw what Jesus did and heard what He said and were able to endure trials and hardship because they knew it was just for a moment.  They knew that God was working through it and in it.  They knew that the darkness would never snuff out light.  There was hope, is hope, and will always be hope.

These past three months it seems that many of us have had a perpetual band-aid being tore off.  My hope and my prayer for each of us is that we will continue to have sufficient courage to not just see the future that awaits us, but to keep living in the present that surrounds us.  In 2 Corinthians 5:11 we hear the word “therefore.”  We need to transition from the shadow to the light. God is not done with us, and we are called to let His light shine through us into the darkest valleys of our world so that the world can experience His love and the hope that it gives.

I do not know where you are in your faith at this time, but He does.  May He meet you where you are in this moment and may His love compel you forward in faith, hope, and love.

Moving Forward Together in Worship

This past weekend we had 60+ households attend our 20 minute on-site worship services and receive communion along with hundreds of households who joined us for our online worship services. We pray that these worship services were a blessing to all those that attended whether here on-site or in your homes.

This weekend once again you are invited to join us in our sanctuary to receive communion.  Please sign up here for May 31.

• 20-minute, pastor-led communion services in our Sanctuary.

• There will be up to 26 households able to sign up for each 20-minute communion time.

• There will be 10 minutes between each service to sanitize the worship space.

• 26 households with our pastors is under 10% of our Sanctuary space capacity.

• Please arrive promptly and wait outside of the main entrance for a pastor to greet you and your household.

• A pastor will greet you outside of the front door and usher the household to their designated seats.

• You will be able to use the elevator if you need to.

• Leaders will be wearing a face mask.

• There will be no bulletins passed out.

• We encourage you to wear a mask if you are able. We will have a mask for you if you do not have one available to you.

• Social distancing will be in effect with members outside of your household.

• When the services end, you will be encouraged to use the exits on the Van Dyke side of the building.

• Each service will have a sermon, prayer, confession, communion, and a blessing led by a pastor.

• Our new individual communion cups with bread will only be touched by the individual receiving communion and will be placed on a table in the Narthex.

• An offering basket will be placed in the Narthex as well.

Please note Health Requirements for Those Attending Each Communion Service:

• You are welcome to attend provided you are free from the following COVID-19 symptoms: Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle aches/pains, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell. Please stay home if you have recently been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

We pray that you know your safety is of utmost priority for us, and that our Sanctuary is a safe place to come and gather for worship.

This weekend we will also having our 2 online worship services that will go live at 8 am and 9:45 am on Sunday morning. Please use this link for online worship, and click on “Past Services” to see the recordings.

• 8:00 am – liturgical hymn based service from our Sanctuary
• 9:45 am – modern service from our Gym

Beginning the first weekend of June we will pivot from our 8 mini-worship services to three on-site worship services while continuing to stream our worship services.  Please note the times.

Summer on-site worship:

• Saturday on-site 5:30 pm
• Sunday on-site 8:30 am & 10 am

Details:

• Each on-site worship service will be in our Sanctuary

  • Capacity will be 150 people to ensure proper social distancing

    • There are 88 pews in the Sanctuary and we will use every other pew to ensure social distancing.

  • Please sign up by clicking this link or by calling up the church office – (586) 731-4490

  • Masks are recommended and will be available in the Narthex

  • Saturday 5:30 pm and Sunday 8:30 am will be traditional, blended services

  • Sunday 10 am will be a modern, contemporary service

  • Proper disinfecting will take place between each service

  • Hand sanitizer will be available

  • Each service will last 45 minutes

  • The congregation will not be encouraged to greet one another with a handshake

  • At this time we will not have nursery, cry room, or children’s ministry options

  • There will be no paper products such as bulletins or any hand-outs at these services

  • Offering plates will be placed at our entrance points and exit points with our staff

  • Please enter through our main entrance

  • For Communion we will continue to use our method from the past two weekends. The “fellowship cup” will be on a table in the narthex as you enter so you can grab your cup with the bread attached. Please wait for the moment in the service where we will take communion together in our pews.

Please note Health Requirements for Those Attending Each Service:

• You are welcome to attend provided you are free from the following COVID-19 symptoms: Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle aches/pains, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell. Please stay home if you have recently been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

If you have questions please reach out to your pastors.  As we move forward together through the summer months we will continue to evaluate our best worship practices, resources, times, styles, and spaces.  We look forward to seeing you once again in worship on our campus as the Lord guides you.  We are here for you.

Summer Online Worship:

• Sunday 8:30 am will be streamed live from our Sanctuary.  This will be our traditional, blended service.

  • If you miss an online service please visit our Trinity Utica You Tube channel to participate in the replay.

  • During the service please text the word “Trinity” to 797979 to receive the order of service, offering information, prayer request card, and communication card.

  • Sunday 10 am will be streamed live from our Sanctuary.  This will be our modern, contemporary service.

Moving forward together in Ministry

In the weeks to come your leadership will continue to inform you on our ministry updates, which are vast.  God has been working through Trinity during this pandemic and He will be this summer.  Please continue to read our e-news, visit our website, and participate on our Facebook page.  Thank you for sticking with us through this time and moving forward with us.

“We do know that in all things God is working for the good of His children.” – Romans 8:31

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” – 2 Chronicles 20:12

Dear Church Family,

As we face a changing world with many uncertainties, we continue to look to our leaders to guide us.  As a leader I always want to guide people, to give people a sense of confidence and security.  Not knowing what to do never sets well with me.  Not just as I go through life, but especially when others are looking to me for answers.  At our last Zoom Elders meeting I told the Elders that it feels like I am not thinking of something that I should be, but that I know when the time is right God will let me know what that is.  I felt like I was being a bad leader for saying that.  Pretty much I felt like I was telling the Elders, “I don’t know what to do.”  I remember thinking to myself, “What kind of leader says that he feels that way?”

What kind of leader says that or feels that?  The answer: the kind that realizes he or she is not God. Basically — a real leader.  A real leader, in my opinion, is a leader that is being led.  In 2 Chronicles 20:12  Jehosaphat stood up in the assembly of people and said, “We do not know what to do.”  But he didn’t leave it at that as he finished his profound leadership example by saying, “But our eyes are on YOU.”

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”  That has a ring to it, doesn’t it?  Not just a ring, but a sound of freedom.  I don’t know what to do, but YOU do.  My eyes are on YOU, the One who knows what to do.

Our eyes have been on Jesus not just since March, but for over 130+ years at Trinity.  2020 is about having focused sight.  The temptation has, is, and will always be to take our eyes off of Jesus and put them either on the storm around us or ourselves.

We do know what to do.  Love God, love our neighbor.  Walk by faith, hope, and love.  Pray, meditate on His word, respect authority, and serve.

If you are feeling like you do not know what to do, let 2 Chronicles settle in.  God, I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on You.  God will lead you, just like He led Jehosaphat and like He is leading us at Trinity. We do know what to do, and that is to keep our eyes on YOU!

Moving Forward together in Worship

This past Sunday, May 17 we continued to champion online worship with both a liturgical, hymn- based service and modern, blended service.  Our team was able to record part of the service from our campus and for this upcoming weekend the entirety of each service will be recorded from our campus.

Between our two services, over 2,000 devices engaged in our online worship services.  Over the last ten weeks we have continued to reach thousands of homes each weekend.   As we move forward, our plan as long as God allows us to do so, is to continue to champion online worship.  Yes, we have championed online worship during this current pandemic, but we know there will still be a need to share the story of Jesus with the online world.  We are committed to keeping online worship a viable ministry of Trinity.

We also opened up our building for worship this past weekend in the form of nine 20-minute long mini-communion services consisting of 8 households. Seventy households attended these mini-communion services on Sunday morning in our Sanctuary.  Each individual was blessed to receive communion and to gather with others at Trinity in a safe and healthy environment while keeping social distancing.

This Sunday, May 24 we encourage you to sign up if you are comfortable as an individual or household for one of our 8 mini-communion services taking place in our Sanctuary on Sunday morning between 8 am and noon.  Pastor Chad Wright will be leading these 20-minute long communion services.

Here are the details: Sunday morning on campus mini-communion services:

• Sign up here for May 24, and May 31

• 20-minute, pastor-led communion services in our Sanctuary.

• There will be up to 12 households able to sign up for each 20-minute communion time.

• There will be 10 minutes between each service to sanitize the worship space.

• Twelve households with our pastors is under 5% of our Sanctuary space capacity.

• Please arrive promptly and wait outside of Door 4 for a pastor to greet you and your household.

• A pastor will greet you outside of Door 4 on the Van Dyke side of the building and usher the household to their designated seats.

• Leaders will be wearing a face mask.

• There will be no bulletins passed out.

• We encourage you to wear a mask if you are able. We will have a mask for you if you do not have one available to you.

• Social distancing will be in effect with members outside of your household.

• When the services end, you will be encouraged to use the exits on the Van Dyke side of the building.

• Each service will have a sermon, prayer, confession, communion, and a blessing led by a pastor.

• Our new individual communion cups with bread will only be touched by the individual receiving communion and will be placed on a table in the Narthex.

• An offering basket will be placed in the Narthex as well.

Please note Health Requirements for Those Attending Each Communion Service:

• You are welcome to attend provided you are free from the following COVID-19 symptoms: Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle aches/pains, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell. Please stay home if you have recently been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

This upcoming online worship will be wrapping up our “Anchored” sermon series with a message by Pastor Justin on the Abundant Life that Jesus came to give.  Both of these services in their entirety will be recorded from our campus. Pleas join us on http://www.trinityutica.com/live.

• 8:00 am liturgical, hymn-based – from the  Sanctuary

• 9:45 am modern blended – from the gym

We continue to be thankful for the resources to put together these engaging worship services.   We are all in this together and blessed to be a blessing.

On the evening of Tuesday, May 27 your Elders will be meeting to finalize the plan for on-campus worship for the first weekend of June.  After ten weekends of not having worship at our campus, we have a tentative plan after looking at our worship survey and talking with more leadership to open up our Sanctuary to a 20% capacity level the first weekend of June.  We will be asking you to sign up ahead of time.  We will be following similar protocols from our mini-communion services.

I look forward to sharing more information with you next Wednesday.  We truly look forward to worshiping with you on our campus in the weeks to come.

Moving Forward together in Ministry

Trinity is much more than just a worshiping community, and we have seen God work in incredible ways through our day school ministry, family ministry, Bible study ministry, social ministry, and pastoral care ministry.  More information on all these ministries will be available in our Friday E-News.  If you are looking to get connected, please do not hesitate to reach out to the church office.  We are here for you!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.” – Matthew 4:17

Dear Church Family,

These words from Jesus have been echoing through my soul this past week. “Repent,” at its root, is to change the way you think. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” means that God is at work. Do we hear what Jesus was saying to a world in need and what He is saying to us today as we read His Word once again? God is at work. Right now, He is working. Change your way of thinking. He is not sitting on the side-line or taking a nap. He is working. Over the past eight weeks God has been working. He has been taking what the Devil has meant as evil and has been re-purposingit for His good. Family, may God enable us to not only see His work, but to continue to be part of His work. When our minds tempt us to believe He is not working, may we stay strong and have eyes of faith to see His work, not just in us, but all around us.

Next Steps Together

As the world begins to lessen restrictions and reopen, Trinity has put together a committee dedicated to putting together a plan to lessen restrictions on our campus slowly but surely. Our souls ache to gather with you again as we have for over a century. God has designed us as His children to do this. You matter to us.Your safety, your peace of mind, your health, and your feelings of comfort are in the forefront as we seek to go through this process. With this at heart we are currently working on a survey, based on a national survey being used by churches across the United States.We are hoping to make this survey available for you by this Friday. As mentioned in the last two e-mails grace will be needed as much as ever as go through this process. We have peace based on God’s Word through Nehemiah as God’s children returned to their homes. God is at work, Trinity.His kingdom is at hand.

I want you to know that we are blessed with a custodial team who have been dedicated to keeping our facility disinfected and safe. As we have pivoted in ministry over the last eight weeks, so have our custodians. They are following all regulations passed down from the CDC for cleaning. The staff and volunteers that have worked at our building over the last eight weeks have also followed all the guidelines passed down to us. We have followed all the health requirements and will continue to through this process. We are asking you to do the same when opportunities present themselves for you to come to our campus.

With this said, we will be continuing to offer our two online worship services. In fact, this weekend you will see that the pastors were able to record their parts of the service from our campus. Please join us athttp://www.trinityutica.com/liveor onFacebook Liveat 9:45 only.

• 8 am – Liturgical/hymn based online worship from our Sanctuary

• 9:45 am – Modern/Blended based online worship recorded from a combination of our gym and the homes of our worship leaders.

This weekend we will also begin to offer the approved on-campus Sunday morning mini-communion service plan. Below are the details of the service, our cleaning plan, our guest health requirements, and the link to sign up for upcoming communion services.

Mini-communion Service:

• Sign up here forMay 17,May 24, andMay 31
• 20-minute, pastor-led communion services in our Sanctuary.
• There will be up to 8 households able to sign up for each 20-minute communion time.
• There will be 10 minutes between each service to sanitize the worship space.
• Eight households with our pastors is under 5% of our Sanctuary space capacity.
• As gathering sizes are recommended to increase, so will ours. Our 6 on-campus worship services varied from 110 people in attendance to well over 400 people.
• Please arrive promptly and wait outside of Door 4 for a pastor to greet you and your household.
• A pastor will greet you outside of Door 4 on the Van Dyke side of the building and usher the household to their designated seats.
• Leaders will be wearing a face mask.
• We encourage you to wear a mask if you are able. We will have a mask for you if you do not have one available to you.
• Social distancing will be in effect with members outside of your household.
• When the services end, you will be encouraged to use the exits on the Van Dyke side of the building.
• Each service will have a sermon, prayer, confession, communion, and a blessing led by a pastor.
• Our new individual communion cups with bread will only be touched by the individual receiving communion and will be placed on a table in the Narthex.
• An offering basket will be placed in the Narthex as well.

Cleaning Protocol for Between Each Communion Service:

• Deep Blue Glass & General Cleaner –for glass cleaning and general hard surface cleaning.
• Green Earth Peroxide Cleaner –to be used for general cleaning of hard and soft surfaces.
• Quat Statt –to be used for disinfecting hard and soft surfaces.

Health Requirements for Those Attending Each Communion Service:

• You are welcome to attend provided you are free from the following COVID-19 symptoms:Cough,shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle aches/pains, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell.

• Please stay home if youhave recently been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

As mentioned above it is our hope to continue to lessen the restrictions that we have on our campus for ministry purpose. Please pray for wisdom for your leadership and health for all who enter our campus.

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:6

As we begin to navigate re-assimilating, I want to offer a word that has been given to me and that I pray not only sticks with me, but all of us.  Grace.  Grace is the word.  We will need to offer grace to one another more than ever as we will no doubt be different in how we choose to approach our new world.  This will be true not only for us as a church community, but for each of us in all of our existing and new relationships.  Grace.

There is no doubt in my mind that one of the ways the enemy will seek to isolate us even more  than we are right now is to cause us to judge each other by throwing stones and calling people who are cautious “soft” and calling people who are optimistic “reckless.”

We need to offer an attitude of grace.  More than ever we will need to seek to understand, before we are understood.  More than ever we need to not assume the worst in others.

We are going to be different, and it’s okay to be different.  God has showed us that to have a healthy community there must be room for different opinions and experiences.  Differences stretch us and help us not only grow together, but learn together.  We will need to respect and recognize that everyone is navigating a new frontier.  We are all in this together only by and with grace.

Grace-filled people live in the truth that optimistic people keep us hopeful about the future and enable us to embrace uncertainty as an opportunity.  Just as much, grace-filled people live in the truth that cautious people keep us sensitive to the needs and concerns of others and ultimately lead us to wise decisions that foster unity and life.  Grace-filled people are not full of pride.  They truly listen and value the opinions of others.  Grace-filled people know that people matter more than opinions.  Grace-filled people choose love and know that relationships are more important than winning arguments.  Grace-filled people are people of faith.  May God’s Spirit enable this to be true of us as we move forward together sharing Christ’s story with love.

Worship Update

Mother’s Day, May 10 – This upcoming weekend we will continue to offer three worship options.  We are excited that Pastor Chad, Pastor Lew, and Pastor Justin will be sharing the message together.  May God keep us ANCHORED in Him this weekend through worship as we not only thank God for and encourage mothers, but also as we all learn to love and be loved.

• 8 am liturgical-blended worship and 9:45 am blended-modern worship:  Please click here for a link to the livestream. From there, you can also click “Past Services” to view recordings.

• Tele-Worship: Your pastors would love to spend some time on the phone with you on Sunday morning. We do miss you a lot.  We would love to lift you up in prayer and give you an encouraging word from Scriptures.  Please do not hesitate to sign up here for a special time with your pastors.

May 17 – We will  continue to offer two online worship options, and will also hopefully be able to offer on-campus mini-worship services for families and individuals.  In talking with our Elders, our church leadership, and in following the recommendations of the Macomb County Health Department, we are hoping to offer mini-worship services in our Sanctuary like we did on Sunday, March 22.  If not on May 17, we will hopefully offer these on May 24.

As stated last week, your pastors and elders are very eager to bring worship back to our campus.  We miss you all greatly, but in Phase 1 we will be very cautious as we follow the guidelines handed down to us.  We also recognize that churches will most likely have different practices depending on their size, resources, community, and other variables.  We want you to know that Trinity will do its best to honor God and our neighbors with our resources in listening to the recommendations of the authorities that God has placed over us as we have been doing.

Phase 1 of worshiping at our campus:

• 20-minute, pastor-led worship services in our Sanctuary.

• Register your household on Sign-Up Genius or by calling the church office for time slots on Sundays between 7:30 am and noon to begin with.
  May 17
  May 24
  May 31

• There will be up to 8 households able to sign up for each 20-minute worship time.

  • There will be 10 minutes between each service to sanitize the worship space.

  • As gathering sizes are recommended to increase, so will ours.  Our 6 on-campus worship services varied from 110 people in attendance to well over 400 people.

• Elders will greet the household outside of our main north entrance and usher the household to their designated seats.

  • Elders and ushers will be wearing a face mask.

  • We do encourage you to wear a mask if you are able.

• Each service will have a sermon, prayer, confession, communion, and a blessing led by a pastor.

  • Our new individual communion cups with bread will only be touched by the individual receiving communion.

  • An offering basket will be placed in the narthex.

*If you would like more details about Phase 1 of on-campus worship and these mini pastor-led worship times, please contact the church office to ask a pastor or email one of your pastors.*

Moving Forward Together NEW Ministry Events

Family Life Live – On Friday Night, May 15 at 7 pm we will be streaming a Family Life Live parenting event.  Join us on http://www.trinityutica.com/live as Pastor Justin hosts Michael and Gina Spehn, founders of the Foundation for Families, who will share their personal experiences and insights on helping children deal with stress and anxiety. After the interview, you will be able to chat live with Michael and Gina to ask any questions you may have. Michael and Gina have been able to raise 5 amazing children through tragedy, trials, and blessings.  Through their experiences they have gained great parenting wisdom on how to move forward through change.  This is going to be great event with much wisdom to be gained for all of us given our current circumstances and what our children are going through.

Newlywed Game – Friday, May 29 at 7 pm. I have been guiding couples through “Not for the Weak” marriage devotionals since April 20, and would like to celebrate its 40 day conclusion with this fun event! Join me on Facebook Live as I not only lead couples in this version of this classic game show, but you can also play along at home with your spouse!  You will be blessed with some major marital fun and entertainment.  It’s not too late to start doing “Not for the Weak.”  You can begin your couples devotions by going to our Youtube page or by joining our Facebook group.

Youth Confirmation Service – Saturday, June 6 at 11 am. Join us to celebrate our 2020 Confirmation students for a special online Confirmation service.  Families and friends are invited to join our confirmands and their families as they celebrate their faith.  Each student will receive a blessing in their homes during this special service that will be streamed here.

Stay Connected

If you are not receiving our e-news, receiving text devotions, subscribed to our YouTube channel, following us on Facebook, or unable to view our online worship please reach out to the church office for assistance.

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” – 2 Peter 1:2

“Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern Your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this Your great people?” – 1 Kings 3:8-9

As your church leadership is beginning to prayerfully consider the initial steps to opening up our campus, we are turning our attention to Nehemiah in seeking God’s wisdom.  In the book of Nehemiah in our Old Testament Scriptures, there are several cues as God’s people return from Babylonian Exile in order to rebuild the breached wall of Jerusalem.  We understand that to simply come back to ministry on our campus as usual is not likely.  The world has changed.  We each have changed from this experience, and in fact, some of the manner of which we do ministry has changed. While some ministry will hopefully remain the same, some will not.  Some of the changes are good, and some of the changes will be difficult to understand.

Before we get into Nehemiah, I do want to remind you of our Easter truth: God has not and will not change, the Gospel has not and will not change, and our Mission has not and will not change.

Nehemiah experienced the following:

1. He got permission from the king and received rite of passage and provisions for the work (Neh. 2:4–9).
   • Trinity will continue to trust in God first and foremost. Along the way we will work directly with LCMS leadership and respect both our local and national government.
2. He made a personal evaluation of the situation (context) with a small group of advisors (Neh. 2:11–18).
   •  Church Council, Elders, and leadership will continue to evaluate our ministries.
3. He divided up the work among several team leaders (Neh. 3).
   • Boards and Staff will continue to work together.
4. He encouraged the many joining in the effort to stand strong (Neh. 4 and 6).
   • This is all of us!
5. He directed ministry to meet the needs of those in the community who were suffering want (Neh. 5).
   • We will continue to champion social ministry and pastoral care ministry.
6. He kept track of people and accounted for them because people are really important to God (Neh. 7).
   • Each of you matter, along with each new soul that we ministered to through this crisis.
7. He arranged for God’s Word to be proclaimed that led to repentance and renewal and a celebration that is described in this way: “The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away” (Neh. 8–12; see esp. 12:43).
   • Each weekend we will celebrate the truth that “He is Risen!”
8. He instituted some lasting reforms … some things would not go back to the way they were (Neh. 13).
   • We will do our best to communicate through each step of the re-opening of our campus, each phase of opening, and each change.

• 20-minute, pastor-led worship services in our Sanctuary.
• Register your household on Sign-Up Genius or by calling the church office for time slots on Sundays between 7:30 am and noon to begin with.  The links to sign up will be coming soon.
• There will be up to 8 households able to sign up for each 20-minute worship time.
  • There will be 10 minutes between each service to sanitize the worship space.
  • As gathering sizes are recommended to increase, so will ours.  Our 6 on-campus worship services varied from 110 people in attendance to well over 400 people.
• Elders will greet the household outside of our main north entrance and usher the household to their designated seats.
  • Elders and ushers will be wearing a face mask.
• Each service will have a sermon, prayer, confession, communion, and a blessing led by a pastor.
  • Our new individual communion cups with bread will only be touched by the individual receiving communion.
  • An offering basket will be placed in the narthex.

*If you would like more details about Phase 1 of on-campus worship and these mini pastor-led worship times, please contact the church office to ask a pastor or email one of your pastors.*

If you are not receiving our e-news, receiving text devotions, subscribed to our YouTube channel, following us on Facebook, or unable to view our online worship please reach out to the church office for assistance.

Please continue to pray for all of our ministries and be blessed by our ministries.  God is with you and as His disciples we are here for you.  Do not hesitate to reach out to us.

“I thank my God every time I remember you.In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” – Philippians 1:3-11

Stay Anchored and Press ON!

“I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will look for Him.” – Lamentations 3:20-24

This morning as I woke up, this verse, like it has many mornings of my life, captured my heart and mind.  I pray today that you find HOPE, you rest in God’s LOVE, and that you see God at WORK.

This is the 10th update that I am sharing with you since March 2.  No doubt things have changed and are changing for all of us in some way.  Yet, I want to remind you once again that our God has not changed, the Gospel has not changed, and our purpose for being has not changed.

Below are a few updates that I would to take a moment to share with you:

Worship
This past week once again God used us to reach thousands of homes with our 9:45 am worship “Anchored” and our mid-week worship “Press On” that we replayed on Sunday morning at 8 am.  We are beyond blessed, not just by our online worship at this time, but also to Share Christ’s Story with Love online with the world.

It is certainly appropriate to thank God for the resources that He has provided for such a time as this to enable this to happen through Trinity.

For this week we have made a “pivot.”  We have decided with our resources to move our mid-week liturgical-blended style that we have offered the last six weeks to Sunday morning at 8 am.  This means that on Sunday morning there will now be an 8 am liturgical-blended style and a 9:45 am blended-modern style under the same sermon theme.   We pray that this “pivot” is a blessing.  We do know that our online worship is not the same as being present with each other on our campus, but we are extremely thankful for God providing His immeasurably more in this time.  I do want you to know that we are all really excited that we have figured out a way to enable Carla Hudgens to record herself leading us musically.

Also we are excited that within this “pivot” we are still able to offer a mid-week Bible study.  Today in “Press On” we will be studying Philippians 1:12-30. You may click on the video above or visit our YouTube channel here.

Wednesday:

• 11 am mid-week Bible study: Join your pastors for “Press On,” a mid-week, verse by verse study through Philippians.  Bring your Bible and get ready to “Press On.”

Sunday:

• 8 am liturgical-blended worship and 9:45 am blended-modern worship:  Continue to find hope as we Anchor into the truths of our faith in Jesus.  Please click here for a link to the livestream. From there, you can also click “Past Services” to view recordings.
• Tele-Worship: Your pastors would love to spend some time on the phone with you on Sunday morning. We do miss you a lot.  We would love to lift you up in prayer and give you an encouraging word from Scriptures.  Please do not hesitate to sign up here for a special time with your Pastors.

Weeks to Come:

• As we continue to make decisions in best practices for our online worship at this time we will continue to respect authorities, be leaders in the community and church by leading by example, not put people at risk, utilize our resources, and minister not just to you but the world around us.  We will continue to come from our homes to yours each weekend until health professionals, government officials, and the Lutheran Church leadership advise us otherwise.
• We are hopeful like you that mandates and recommendations will change.  I do want you to know that we have begun to make plans for how to record worship services from our campus in honoring our staff and volunteers, open up our campus for Sunday morning worship for small groups, and ultimately open up our campus on Sunday morning for our six worship services.
• I am looking forward like you to April 30 as our local government will give us an update and recommendations as to how to best honor our neighbors and go about our life in a safe and healthy way, but we will proceed with caution, not just in our worship life but also in our ministries.

Pastoral Care  
Among many of the ways we have been connecting with you to offer spiritual care, I want to remind you that we are able to give you communion.  Each week we have safely been able to administer communion to families or individuals. If you desire to have communion please call the church office at 586-731-4490 to set this up.

Keep in Check your Political Attitude
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.  For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.  Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.  Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” – Romans 13:1-7

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.  For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.  Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.  Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” – 1 Peter 2:13-1713

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-3

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” – Titus 3:1-3

Closing 
You are all in my prayers.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to the church office for more information about the many ministries that are still taking place, and make sure you are reading through the weekly e-news, subscribe to our Trinity Utica Youtube page, and if you are able be part of our Facebook community.

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  – 2 Corinthians 13:14

• To participate in an individual or family communion service, you can sign up through this SignUpGenius link, or you can contact the church office to schedule your family’s appointment.

• There will only be up to ten services happening at once.  Each minister will have a designated space in and around our Sanctuary.
• Between each service the minister will have 15 minutes to disinfect their area.
• Families or individuals are asked to stay in their car until two minutes before their scheduled appointment, at which time their minister will come outside to greet them and bring them to their station.
• After their service the minister will escort the individual or family out of one of our three Van Dyke side exits of our building.

• We are continuing to step up our web presence and are still offering pastoral care for those who would like a house visit or would like to come to Trinity to meet with a pastor.   Please check out Trinity’s Facebook page daily and visit our website for updates.
• We are currently working with funeral homes to understand how to minister to families during this time. We are willing to help in any way we can with godly wisdom.
• We are also currently working with hospitals, nursing homes, and senior assisted living homes at this time to ensure that individuals who need spiritual care are receiving it.
• We are making phone calls like never before to pray with people.  If you know of someone who could use a phone call and some prayer, please let your Pastoral team know.
• For all prayer requests, please complete this form.
• We are currently organizing a grocery delivery team.  Contact Dave Sheldon at dsheldon@trinityutica.com if you know of someone who could use assistance or if you would like to volunteer to assist in this ministry.

• In working with the Macomb County Health Department and other food ministries, we are offering an expanded food ministry during the week.  Right now we are planning on giving food out on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.   We have a meal prep team making meals daily for these ministries along with our off-site food ministries.   If you would like to help, please contact Jenny at jjaronseki@trinityutica.com.

Esther 4:14 says, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.  And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Being people of faith is never easy, but it is what we do as disciples of Jesus.  During this time God is working, and it is a blessing to be part of God’s movement through Trinity.  In an effort to love God and love our neighbor, please read our following ministry updates.

WORSHIP
Weekend Re-cap

• Our online worship service had over 2,000 individuals and families view and participate in it.   Thank you, Jesus, for providing us with modern day technology and people who are gifted to make it happen.   Here is the link if you missed it or would like to share it.
• CDs, DVDs, and home visits with communion are available upon request.
• Our on-site worship did abide by the recommendations of the CDC, government, and our Lutheran Church Missouri Synod leadership.  We had small groups from 24 to 60 people gather for our Saturday service and Sunday morning services.  Our health protocols worked great as everyone who chose to gather and serve kept their social distancing in our large spaces.
• Two baptisms took place outside of worship services.  You can watch them on our Facebook page.

• With the new CDC recommendation of limiting social gatherings to 50 people or less tonight’s Monday worship service is canceled.
• Wednesday Lent worship services are canceled on-site, but a Lent service will be online.
• Elders will meet on Tuesday night to determine more innovative options for worship life here at Trinity.
• At this point we are planning on having family or individual communion appointments on Sunday morning between the hours of 8 am and noon with our pastoral staff at Trinity.  On Wednesday afternoon we will share more details as to how this will be administrated.
• On-site visits during the week or home visits with a pastor to pray and receive communion can be scheduled by calling the church office or emailing the pastoral staff.
• Online worship will once again take place this Sunday at 9:45 am.  Here is the link to set up your reminder for this Sunday.
• Please submit your prayer requests by using this link or by calling the church office.

• NSO served meals to over 70 individuals on Saturday.
• SSS gave meals, showers, and sack lunches to another 70 individuals yesterday.

• Beginning this Friday we will be open to the community for meals, hygiene needs, and showers.  Call Trinity’s office for hours.
• Next week we will be ministering to the hungry on Saturday (NSO), Sunday (SSS), Wednesday, and Friday.
  • If you would like more information on how to help, please contact Jjaroneski@trinityutica.com.
• We will abide by the state’s mandates in this.
• We will do this in the name of Jesus.
• We will do all we can ensure the health of our guests and volunteers.

• We are continuing the Red Letter Challenge and are currently on Day 14, working on receiving forgiveness and giving forgiveness.  Please continue your 40 day challenge.
• Pastor Chris is working with small groups and off-site Bible studies.
• Pastor Chris will be sending you a video message each week on the Red Letter Challenge.
• Right now all Bible studies are meeting off-site or have chosen to postpone meeting for this time.

• Andrew Brazeal is continuing to provide guidance, love, and care to our youth through social media.
• Confirmation is also continuing through in-home video lessons.
• Allison Carr is providing family devotions each week that will be posted on our Facebook page and with our school families.

• Individual counseling appointments are still taking place.
• We are working with funeral homes and individual families to make sure we have a good practice at this time.

Matthew 5:14-16 says,“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

1. On-line worship at 9:45 am  https://trinityutica.churchonline.org/
2. Recorded CDs of our worship services to be mailed or picked up upon request
3. House visits from our pastors with communion during the week

To keep those who choose to worship at Trinity’s campus this weekend safe and healthy, we will adhere to the following:

1. We will place the offering plate in the back of the Sanctuary and gym as you exit so you don’t need to pass the plates down the row.  You can also give online.
2. We will not have any paper products being handed out or in the pews.
3. We will provide hand sanitizing stations around campus for everyone to use.
4. We will have ushers and communion assistants wear non-latex gloves and not involve finger to finger contact during distribution of the bread and the wine, the body and blood of our Lord.
5. We will not have Kids’ Connection, Bible studies, nor open the nursery and the cry room by the gym.
6. We will refrain from the greeting at the beginning of worship.
7. We will suspend coffee and doughnuts for the time being.
8. We will take extra cleaning measures between services, especially to clean pews, handrails, and doorknobs.
9. We will not have communication cards turned in (school family worship attendance will not be counted during this quarter of school).
10. We will stay home if we have any symptoms of illness.

More details will be explained for those who chose to worship at Trinity this weekend.

• SSS (soup, shower, and sack lunch) will continue this Sunday with many modifications as will NSO.
• Please contact Jenny Jaroneski at jjaroneski@trinityutica.com for details of how to help continue to feed those who are hungry in this time of need.

Visitation ministry for those who are sick

• Your Pastoral team, hospital visitation team, and Elders will continue to bring Jesus to those we are able to during this time.

Again, please stay home if you are not feeling well, cover your coughs and sneezes, and wash your hands often. Pray for those are sick, pray for medical professionals, and for leadership to make godly decisions.

While we cannot control the virus, its spread, or the impact it has on our church, we’re doing everything we can to make our campus as safe and clean as possible.  We appreciate your cooperation to help us do just that.  We must also remember that God has not called us to live in fear, but faith.  “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 

Dear Trinity Family,

We would like to take a moment and communicate with you about how we are approaching the present reality of responding to the coronavirus and its potential spread.   We want you to know that it has always been and certainly is our priority to ensure that Trinity’s campus is a safe, comfortable place for you and your family.

A Beacon of Hope

History tells us that God’s light shines even greater in times of trials, war, social unrest, economic upset, and public health crises.  In all of these trials the Church has remained a place of rest and peace for those in need, a Beacon of Hope.  For this reason, we will do everything we can to keep our campus functional and open for ministry purposes and will remain flexible to still do our ministries in mobile ways.  We walk by faith, not fear.

Communication Lines

With the awareness that this is an evolving situation; our leadership team is closely following information released by the CDC and will revise our policies and procedures appropriately. We will also continue to communicate any updates, adjustments, or event postponements with you our church family via e-mail, texting, phone, our website, and social media venues.

Weekend Worship

At this time we will continue to offer our six weekend worship services with modifications to our offering practice, communion practices, and greeting practice.   We will continue to have our sermons on-line and this weekend we will begin offering an on-line worship service.  The link is https://trinityutica.churchonline.org/.  It will be up Sunday morning at 9:45 am.  This weekend Pastor Justin will be giving a special stand-alone message that specifically addresses how we as Christians deal with trials like this.   You can also contact us by phone (586) 731-4490 or e-mail abeaconofhope@trinityutica.com to request a CD of a worship service or request a Pastor or Elder visit to receive communion and prayer as an individual or family.

Godly Wisdom

In recent weeks Trinity’s leadership has revisited our cleaning and disinfecting protocols to ensure that our facilities are being cleaned appropriately to decrease the risk for coronavirus exposure.

• We will continue to disinfect frequently touched surfaces between all services, including rails, doorknobs, handles, and restrooms. Team members who clean these surfaces, as well as individuals who prepare any food or beverages, will wear disposable gloves.
• Greeters who welcome you to Trinity will not shake hands and the time for greeting at the beginning of the services will be suspended.
• Hand sanitizer stations are still placed throughout the building in common areas.  Please look for these.
• In our children’s ministry environments, we will continue to sanitize toys, tables, and other surfaces. We will not receive children who display symptoms of flu, respiratory distress, or other ailments.

Best Practices for Good Health

• Be mindful of physical contact with others, giving a smile or wave where you might normally offer a hug or handshake.
• Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, or mouth and be sure to wash your hands with soap and water often.
• If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a sleeve or tissue then wash your hands immediately after.
• If you aren’t feeling well, see your doctor and stay home from our campus and call if you would like prayer or a visit.

As we move forward together please join us in praying for those who are working hard as medical professionals and those affected by this illness.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Thank you for being a part of our Trinity family; a family of faith, hope, and love.

With the recent coronavirus global concerns, I would like to take a moment to share with you a few of our best practices at Trinity.

1. We are a people who trust God, and therefore when tempted to become sensationalists and live in perpetual anxiety, we move on by faith in our sovereign God. We believe that, “We do not know what tomorrow holds, but we do know Who holds tomorrow.”
2. We do all that we can to love those who are hurting. Let’s pray for those all around the world who are suffering from this virus and for the medical professionals as they seek to bring healing.
3. Use common sense. If you are not feeling well and have an inclination that your illness is contagious, it is a best practice to not come to church or school to participate in ministry. As you are currently aware our weekly sermons are on-line. In a few weeks our 9:45 am service from the gym will be livestreamed, and after the sanctuary renovations one of our sanctuary services will be streamed.
4. Wash hands. Throughout our building we have hand-sanitizing dispensers; please continue to use these. If you are uncomfortable shaking hands during our greeting time in worship or as you encounter your friends at church, we will all respect each others’ decisions. Also, be aware that our formal greeting at the opening of our worship services could be changing.
5. Go to the doctor, eat healthy, and exercise regularly. God has given us each a body; keep it strong and use the means by which God has blessed us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”