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March 2015
Trinity TopicsH O L Y T R I N I T Y L U T H E R A N C H U R C H
www.sancarloshtlc.org
Keeping a Holy Lent
We have entered the season of Lent. The church’s colors have changed from the white of Transfiguration Sunday to the purple of Lent beginning with Ash Wednesday. We began Lent remembering who we are: fragile, mortal, beloved children of God. We were marked with the cross of ash with these words: “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
Reactions…? What?! I’m dust? I’m ALIVE! I’m real! Yes, and you are dust! You are mortal. This isn’t meant to set you off or scare anyone. It is simply a reminder that we are broken beings. Not perfect. Mortal indeed. Creatures of our heavenly Maker, created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)… and as such we are loved!
For me, when I remember I’m dust, I’m reminded that yes, I am ALIVE! I’m real. I have the gift of life and I’m going to live it! Remembering my own dusty-ness connects me with Jesus and
his dusty-ness. Jesus was real and alive when he walked on earth. Jesus is right now inspiring us and breathing new life into us through his own real life. This Lenten season, allow Jesus’ breath to breathe in you. Breathe in NEW life, real-ness, alive-ness, dusty-ness. Let Jesus touch you, heal you, and transform you.
I’ve been thinking about the traditional spiritual disciplines: Almsgiving, fasting, prayer. In this Lenten spirit we are offering again Midweek Services in rotation with our friends at Messiah in Redwood City. Our Lenten journey together this year will take on a little different theme: “Baskets of Promise—Signs of Hope” (see page 2).
Each year an average U.S. family of four wastes an estimated $1,484 in food. In our slowly growing economy, that’s not a small amount. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food thrown away by consumers, restaurants, grocery stores and others is the largest single component of landfills. Wasting food shows disregard for the farmer who grew the food, those who had a role in bringing it to the table, and to our God whose creation offers us food in abundance. In a world where many of our neighbors are hungry, wasted food embodies an indifference to their suffering. How should we view a food system that allows millions of tons of food to rot in landfills while billions go hungry? In keeping up with the call to give alms to the poor and to do works of love, we are invited to give back in different ways. At Messiah, people are invited to donate toward the Lutheran World Relief “Hygiene Kits”. At Holy Trinity we will collect food so that children in our county will have enough nutritious food.
Lent and its focus on spiritual discipline is a good time to ponder the role of food in our lives and to try some new, more sustainable practices. May you grow in faith, may you know that you are loved by God, and may you reach out with heart and hand to those go hungry while we journey with Christ towards the cross—a symbol both of mortality and abundant life!
Lenten Blessings to all,
Sunday, March 8
Daylight Savings Begins
Remember to set clocks forward 1 hour on Saturday, March 7th
Purple Reign by Stushie
H O L Y T R I N I T Y H A P P E N I N G S
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Adult Forums in March
Sundays mornings | 9:00 am
Conference Room
“Journeys in Faith”Lent has historically been a season of “faith formation”
in which women, men, and children prepared for the sacrament of Holy Baptism. Let us join in this tradition
of inquiry on Sunday mornings to discuss matters that relate to our faith in an interactive format.
March 1 | “Religion: Spirituality Is Not Enough”
March 8 | “Jesus: The Revolution of Love”
March 15 | “Cross: Where God Is”
March 22 | “Church: An Imperfect Family”
All are welcome!
MIDWEEK LENTEN SERVICESWednesday Nights| 6:45 p.m.
“Baskets of Promise — Signs of Hope”
March 4 Holy Trinity
March 11 Messiah Lutheran
March 18 Holy Trinity
March 25 Messiah Lutheran
A simple soup supper precedes each Midweek Service at 6:00 pm
HOLY WEEK
Palm Sunday, March 2910:15 a.m.
Holy Communion with the Procession of Palms
Maundy Thursday, April 27:00 p.m.
Agape Service with Last Supper
Good Friday, April 37:00 p.m.
Service of Light & Darkness
with Adoration of the Cross
Celebrate Lent, Holy Week and Easter at Holy Trinity
EASTER SUNDAY, April 5The Resurrection of Our Lord
9:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast (Youth Fundraiser)
9:30 a.m. Easter Egg Hunt for all Children
10:15 a.m. Festive Holy Communion Service with Children's Time
Monday, April 6th
The church office is closed in
observance of Easter Monday.
Join Our Usher Team!
Ushering is a wonderful way to meet people at Holy Trinity and the usher team would love to have some new women and men to join. Participation is about once a month, except for special services during Christmas,
Lent, and Easter. On-the-job training provided!
Contact Dave Pitts at [email protected] for more information or speak to Pr. Christian.
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H O L Y T R I N I T Y L I F E
Building an Inclusive Church at Holy Trinity
You may be familiar with the term "Reconciling in Christ" or RIC as applied to some Lutheran congregations. In short, ReconcilingWorks is the Lutheran welcoming church program which helps congregations grow to intentionally welcome people of all races, gender identities and sexual orientations. Such congregations are known as "RIC congregations".
Nationally, a coalition of faith-based organizations, including ReconcilingWorks, is sponsoring seven workshops this Spring to help congregations become intentionally inclusive. Two of those workshops are in California, and one is right here at Holy Trinity on Saturday, March 14.
Council has expressed its continued interest in pursuing more specific information about the RIC process, and now the "up close and personal" opportunity to gather that information is on our own doorstep. It doesn't get much easier than that!
This Building an Inclusive Church workshop provides information, answers questions, defines process options and much more. A Holy Trinity team of at least three members who have an interest/passion in "widening our welcome" will attend this workshop. If you are interested or want more information, please talk either with Lori Friedman, Bob Beuthel or Pastor as soon as possible.
Stewardship and Spring Forth! Updates
68% of giving units have tithed
$150,084.00. “Spring Forth!” pledges total $409,080.00 to date, with $254,019.20 received.
Pledge Cards may be found in the pews or online at
www.sancarloshtlc.org/resources for those who haven't yet turned one in.
For more information on this year’s Stewardship Campaign, please contact Rick Gilmore at [email protected] or Financial
Secretary, Mary Webb at [email protected].
MARCH BIRTHDAYSA birthday is God’s reminder
to enjoy life. May your birthday be a day of celebration!
3/2 Elisa Baker3/3 Andrea Reiser
Gary Steen3/7 Laura Jane Young3/8 Anita Reimann3/10 Peter Schmuckal3/11 John Kuehner, Sr.3/13 Lisa Telfer Jack Wiessinger Maddie Wiessinger3/18 Gaby Knauth3/21 Alyssa Fox3/25 Ben Ledwith Grace Ledwith3/28 Steve Webb
ANNIVERSARY WISHES!God bless you as you celebrate
your years together!
Richard & Ann Wunderlich 3/11/1972 (43 years)
Hubert & Maria Rodenberg 3/14/1953 (62 years)
Len & Erin Fischer 3/17/2004 (11 years)
John & Karen Schornstein3/21/1992 (23 years)
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H O L Y T R I N I T Y Y O U T H
Youth Sports and Church on Sunday Morning: What Gives? By Peter Meier
“Uh oh, we have a problem,” my wife said, showing me an email that had just arrived from the coach of our son’s new Little League baseball team. The email was well-written and to-the-point. It outlined the coach’s plans and aspirations for our son’s team in the coming season, the responsibilities of the parents, and the fact that practices would occur twice a week. One of those practices would begin each Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.
Yes, that practice time was a problem. We do our best to attend services at Holy Trinity every Sunday at 10:15 a.m. We ran through the options. Would our son (and perhaps our whole family) miss every church service during baseball season? Would he need to join another team that didn’t practice on Sunday mornings, so that we could attend church as a family? It didn’t seem right that we would suddenly need to choose between youth sports and attending church. We’ve heard about the all-weekend volleyball tournaments that some parents attend, and the AYSO soccer games that have taken over Sundays in many communities. But our son is only in first grade, and it’s not as though we’re envisioning an athletic scholarship to college, or major league baseball contracts in his future (he does have my genes, after all). We just wanted him to be able to play a sport he really seems to enjoy.
We were facing a common dilemma on the Peninsula these days. Like many parents, we have encouraged our children to participate in youth sports, in addition to extra-curricular activities like dance, piano lessons, and Spanish classes. Although we may be prone to “overscheduling” our children and ourselves, we have managed to keep the sports and activities from encroaching on Sunday morning. Doing so seems normal to us. After all, when we were growing up, youth sports had a far weaker gravitational pull on children and parents. In those days, games and practices were scheduled without encroaching on Sundays, which was considered to be “family time,” even though not all families (of course) attended church on Sunday.
I ran a Google search to try to find out how other communities have responded to this dilemma. The trend of scheduling youth sports on Sundays struck a nerve in communities in northern New Jersey several years ago. In an article published in the Newark Star-Ledger, one mother commented on how hard it was to choose between attending church and bringing her son to baseball games scheduled on Sunday. “In those cases where we went to the game, you feel guilty,” she said. “But he’s my one and only, and he lives for baseball.” She wondered whether she was giving her son a conflicting message: church is important, except when it conflicts with baseball.
The pastor at a Presbyterian church in Hanover, New Jersey was quoted as saying that: “The anxiety of ‘Do I go to church or do I take my kid to the soccer game?’ is a weekly ordeal” for members of his congregation. He recalled that when he grew up playing Little League in the 1950s, games were not held on Sundays. He wondered about the impact on families when youth sports crowd out family time on Sundays. “We’re not against sports. We’re really in favor of trying to provide a time of rest for this culture,” he said.
Our dilemma was eased – if not resolved – by an email back to the coach. I told the coach in my email that attending church on Sunday morning is important to our family, and suggested that because the coach already had set the practice schedule for the season, perhaps our son should play for a different team. The response back was swift: the coach would move the practice to Noon on Sunday, and after his work schedule changed in a few weeks, it would be moved to Thursday afternoons.
On the first Sunday of baseball season we attended services at Holy Trinity, and then made the trek to the baseball practice field, where our son was dressed, fed, and ready to play baseball at Noon. We managed to make time for both church and baseball, at least on this day. We knew, however, that this one accommodation by our reasonable coach – who just needed to hear from us that church is important – didn’t mean we would be insulated from the same pressures in the future. I wondered how other families are handling these pressures, and balancing their priorities.
I hope that we and other members of our church, as well as people from other religious traditions (including those that worship on Fridays evenings or Saturday mornings) will find a way to speak up for their traditions and our traditions, and to help us to consider what should be at the center of our lives. Save the Date! August 3-7
Summer Day Camp @ Holy Trinity
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H O L Y T R I N I T Y F A C I L I T I E SH O L Y T R I N I T Y F A C I L I T I E S
Facilities Update
SAVE THE DATE
Spring Sparkle Returns!
Saturday, March 28
9:00 am – 12 noon
Now that many Facilities Audit projects have been completed, it’s time to adopt our “ongoing
maintenance” mode. ALL ages are invited to participate as we prepare our campus for Palm Sunday and Easter. Window washing, general cleaning, gardening, touch-up painting and
more . . . there’s something for everyone! All materials and morning snacks will be provided so come when you can, leave when you must.
Many hands make for light work and great fellowship
–– God’s work, Our hands!
!
Storm Damage
During the early February storm the parsonage gutter fell and was replaced using ongoing maintenance funds.
New Toilets
As part of overall maintenance, Leroy Padilla and Bob Beuthel replaced leaking inefficient/high water using toilets with ecologically sound water-saving toilets in the downstairs bathrooms and the vestry.
Painting complete
Painting the downstairs classrooms, hallway, Beilstein
Hall bathrooms, side classroom and chapel/
meeting room has been completed. Bulletin boards
and white boards have replaced chalkboards and
picture wires were installed for displaying children’s work.
Manzanita Roof (above)
Since the roof tiles are asbestos, an asbestos abatement company removed the hazardous tiles prior to the roofer installing the new roof. The new roof should last for many years.
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H O L Y T R I N I T Y E V E N T S
Lydia Circle (of WELCA)
Tuesday, March 17 | Beilstein Hall | NoonWe are continuing our Bible Study, "Transforming Life and Faith" by Carol Schersten LaHurd. Please bring your Bible, the March issue of Gather magazine and a light lunch. The title of this month's study, Session 7, is "Suffering and Endurance". We will be using sections of the Book of Job as the center of our study. All women are most welcome! Please remember: Box Tops for Education and Campbell product bar codes to benefit Rock Point Navajo School in AZ.
& Book StudySaturday, March 14
8 - 9:30 am Conference Room
We are reading the book "God is Closer Than You Think" written by John Ortberg.
“Our Neighbor’s Faith”—Confirmation Field Trips in Lent
There will be no Wednesday confirmation classes throughout the Lenten season. The next regular
confirmation class will meet again on Wednesday, April 15 at 6:30 pm. All times TBD.
Sunday, March 1: Glide Memorial Church SF
Sunday, March 15 or 22: Islamic Center Burlingame
Sunday, March 29: Buddhist Temple of San Mateo
Jr. & Sr. High Youth Extravaganza
Sunday, March 15th | 5:30-7:30Immanuel Lutheran
Come enjoy the Jr. & Sr. High Youth Extravaganza! There will be a BBQ with hamburgers & hot dogs, plus other great snacks. This will be a fun evening full of games, food, laughter and friendship, and we
will finish with a devotion and have information on all of the fun Summer events coming up.
Thursday, March 5 | Senior Trip Bolinas with Lunch at the Pelican Inn in Muir Beach
The seaside town of Bolinas is separated from the North American continent by the wildlife rich Bolinas Lagoon and the San Andreas fault line. Bolinas is actually not part of the American continent as it’s located on the Pacific plate with only one road in, it’s not quite an island, but has that quaint island community sensibility.
Sign up in the breezeway or call the office to reserve your spot.
Departure from HTLC lot: 10:30 am (we will use cars), Return: 4:00 pm
Lunch: $12 - 20 (+ tip & tax)
Luther Lecture at PLTS: Dr. George Tinker | Wednesday, March 18 | 9:00 am
The 2015 Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary Luther Lecture will be on, featuring Dr. George Tinker, a PLTS graduate and professor at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He will speak on the topic "Indians, Lutherans, and Decolonizing Creation: Postcolonial Salvation". How does Euro-Christian theology supplant a Native holistic understanding of the world? Can individualized salvation and concern for ecology and creation be part of the same worldview?
Please contact Pr. Christian if you wish to attend the lecture and carpool to Berkeley. Registration for the lecture and a lunch following is $20.
All men welcome!
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M A R C H C A L E N D A R S
Worship Leaders
If a conflict prevents you from serving as scheduled, arrange a trade and/or substitute and notify the office at 650.593.0325 or [email protected]
3/1 3/8
Youth 3/15 3/22
3/29
Palm
Sunday
Assisting
Minister
Gary
Wiessinger Zoe Reimann Erik Vorhes
Randy
Friedman
Pamela
Bohlmann
Lector Laura Jane
Young Youth Lisa Kersten
Barbara
Padilla
Doug
Southard
Acolyte Cameron
Martin
Eva
Schmuckal Zora Vorhes
Mackenzie
Friedman
Lori
Friedman
Sound
System
Operator
Leroy Padilla Greg
Bohlmann Bob Young
Gary
Wiessinger
John
Schornstein
Altar
Guild
Vivian
Southard
Barbara
Richards
Karen
Schornstein
Pamela
Bohlmann
Vivian
Southard
Greeter(s) Peter Meier Cathy
Bready
Andrea
Reiser
Lynn Garbe-
Recknagel
Julianne
Fredericks
Ushers
Dave Pitts
Richard
Wunderlich
Leroy Padilla
Greg
Bohlmann
John
Schornstein
Dick Rescho TBD
Nursery
Assistant
Parent to
Stay
Parent to
Stay Zoe Reimann
Zoe
Reimann
Parent to
Stay
Coffee
Host Reimann Knauth Fischer
Julianne
Fredericks Kersten
Counters Mary Webb
Andrea
Reiser
Leroy Padilla
Mary Webb
Greg
Bohlmann
Chris Kidwell
Lisa Telfer
Lisa Kersten
Mary Webb,
TBD
Sunday
School
Lori,
Michelle,
Anna, Gaby
Lisa
Gaby, Anita,
Peter,
Heather
Lisa, Hillary,
Zoe, Gail
Gaby,
Michelle,
Heather,
Anna
MARCH 2015
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1Confirmation Field Trip9:00 AM Adult Forum10:15 AM Worship Service11:15 AM Coffee andFellowship11:30 AM Choir Practice5:00 PM AA Meeting--ConfRoom
26:00 PMJazzercise
37:00 PM AAMeeting--BeilsteinHall
410:00 AM StaffMeeting6:45 PM MidweekLenten Service7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom
510:30 AM SeniorTrip6:00 PM Jazzercise
6SPS YouthElementaryRetreat7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom7:30 PM RussianGospel Temple-Beilstein Hall
7SPS YouthElementaryRetreat5:00 PM AA Mtg(women's group)--Conf Room
8SPS Youth ElementaryRetreat9:00 AM Adult Forum10:15 AM Worship Service11:15 AM Coffee andFellowship11:30 AM Choir Practice5:00 PM AA Meeting--ConfRoom
96:00 PMJazzercise
107:00 PM AAMeeting--BeilsteinHall
1110:00 AM StaffMeeting6:45 PM MidweekLenten Service7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom
126:00 PM Jazzercise
137:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom7:30 PM RussianGospel Temple-Beilstein Hall
148:00 AM InclusiveChruch Training8:00 AM Men'sBreakfast - ConfRoom!5:00 PM AA Mtg(women's group)--Conf Room
15Confirmation Field Trip9:00 AM Adult Forum10:15 AM Worship Service11:15 AM Coffee andFellowship11:30 AM Choir Practice5:00 PM AA Meeting--ConfRoom5:30 PM Jr. & Sr. HighSchool Extravaganza
166:00 PMJazzercise
1712:00 PM LydiaCircle7:00 PM AAMeeting--BeilsteinHall
189:00 AM LutherLecture at PLTS10:00 AM StaffMeeting6:45 PM MidweekLenten Service7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom
196:00 PM Jazzercise
207:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom7:30 PM RussianGospel Temple-Beilstein Hall
215:00 PM AA Mtg(women's group)--Conf Room
229:00 AM Adult Forum10:15 AM Worship Service11:15 AM Coffee andFellowship11:30 AM Choir Practice5:00 PM AA Meeting--ConfRoom
236:00 PMJazzercise
247:00 PM AAMeeting--BeilsteinHall7:00 PM CouncilMeeting
2510:00 AM StaffMeeting6:45 PM MidweekLenten Service7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom
266:00 PM Jazzercise
277:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom7:30 PM RussianGospel Temple-Beilstein Hall
289:00 AM SpringSparkle5:00 PM AA Mtg(women's group)--Conf Room
29Confirmation Field Trip9:00 AM Adult Forum10:15 AM Worship Service11:15 AM Coffee andFellowship11:30 AM Choir Practice5:00 PM AA Meeting--ConfRoom
306:00 PMJazzercise
317:00 AM OceanGrove CharterSchool ?7:00 PM AAMeeting--BeilsteinHall
17:00 AM OceanGrove CharterSchool ?10:00 AM StaffMeeting7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom
2MAUNDYTHURSDAY7:00 AM OceanGrove CharterSchool ?6:00 PM Jazzercise
3GOOD FRIDAY7:00 AM OceanGrove CharterSchool ?7:00 PM AAMeeting--ConfRoom7:30 PM RussianGospel Temple-Beilstein Hall
43:00 PM EasterBreakfast Setup -Belstein Hall5:00 PM AA Mtg(women's group)--Conf Room
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Holy Trinity Lutheran Church149 Manzanita AvenueSan Carlos, CA 94070www.sancarloshtlc.orgPhone: [email protected] Worship 10:15 am
Want to go green? Please contact Holy Trinity ([email protected]) to replace your printed copy with an electronic copy of our newsletter.
CHURCH STAFF......................................... ............................................Pastor The Rev. Christian Jennert Office Administrator Monica Cryan
[email protected] [email protected]....... ................................................................Dir, Child & Family Ministries The Rev. Erica Schemper Nursery Care Jo O’Brien
[email protected] obrien@sancarloshtlc.org...................................Organist/Pianist Shirley Zimmerman
2015 COUNCIL OFFICERS & MINISTRY TEAM CHAIRS................................................... ..........................................................President Dr. Lori Friedman Worship & Music Erik Vorhes
[email protected] ...................................Evangelism & Outreach Gary Wiessinger........................ .............................................................Vice President …………..Dr. Anita Reimann Stewardship Rick Gilmore
........................................................... ...............Secretary Bob Beuthel Social Concerns Barbara Padilla & Hillary Wiessinger.............. .......................................................................Buildings & Grounds Bob Beuthel & Leroy Padilla Youth Lori Friedman
............................................. ..................................................Congregation Life Peter Meier Financial Secretary Mary Webb................... ................................................................Endowment. Cathy Bready & John McDowell Treasurer Petra Gilmore
..........................Education/Sunday School Anita Reimann [email protected]