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trinity tidings trinity lutheran church 1010 sill street la crosse wisconsin march 2010 from the pastor s desk how does god s love abide in anyone who has the world s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help little children let us love not in word or speech but in truth and action 1 john 3:17-18 dear friends this month i d like to use this space to tell you about a project we did with our confirmation students recently we went on a little field trip actually it was a shopping trip but for a greater purpose we asked each of our 8th and 9th grade students to come to wednesday night class with ten bucks we pooled our money gave each small group of 5-7 students and their group guides a shopping list and a challenge put together as many health kits for the people of haiti as you can with the money you have each kit had to contain the following one hand towel one wash cloth one comb one nail clipper one bar of soap one tooth brush and six band-aids the specs for the kits come from lutheran world relief through whom we would send the kits to haiti pastor stephan sandness we piled into cars and headed out to do our best competitive shopping long story short we were able to assemble 91 health kits to be sent to the people of haiti not bad if competitive shopping were an olympic sport our confirmation students would be medalists for sure exercises like this reap benefits far beyond the simple reality of the gifts given there are larger lessons to put one s hands to the task of assembling something that will be received by hands much emptier than ours teaches us humility these simple items that we so take for granted as part of our everyday lives will be received by folks who regard them as treasure to see the needs of another is to also recognize the abundance in our own lives we learn more than simple stewardship or generosity we learn something about the world in all of its unfairness and imbalance greater lessons i m proud of our kids and their adult group guides for the great job they did in putting these health kits together they did a good thing but more than that i m hopeful that maybe some small lesson of gratitude and perspective was learned somewhere along the line as a post-script to this we announced in worship that we could use some financial assistance in sending these kits to haiti it costs lutheran world relief about $2.75 per kit to get them where they need to be as of this writing we ve received $315.00 towards that effort more than enough to ensure that our gifts get there thank-you for honoring what these kids have done in gratitude for your faith pastor stephan sandness

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rejoice in hope be patient in suffering persevere in prayer romans 12:12 my mom died in may of 1999 after a couple of months of visits in and out of the hospital a brief stay in a rehab center and then back to the hospital where she passed away peacefully in the arms of my brother and sister we buried her mothers day weekend and it seemed most fitting for her and us it was one of her visits to the emergency rooms during march of that year which remains with me where i experienced the power of prayer and the effect it has on us as god s people mom shared the story that she was by herself in one of the emergency rooms when she heard voices praying behind the curtain next to her when the voices stopped a young couple poked their heads around the curtain and asked mom if they could pray for her she said yes and so they did when relaying this story to me mom s face lit up as she said wasn t that so sweet it meant a lot to her a day later at the church where i was serving as a christian education director i was on the phone with a christian book sales rep who after hearing that mom was in the hospital said to me what s her name i m going to pray for her on that same day two members of the congregation who were at church on other business poked their heads into my office and when they found out mom was in the hospital said they would be praying for her too she was also added to our church s prayer chain so you can see how the prayers for mom multiplied and while the prayers for mom weren t answered in the kind of healing we had hoped for my mom and the rest of us who loved and cared for her felt their power and presence in that ultimate healing of life everlasting in the arms of jesus isn t it a comfort to know that the heartaches the struggles the sufferings those periods of darkness that we have do not have to be borne by us alone that they can be made easier through the prayers of others the church the body of believers provides an avenue through worship and prayer to be a healing presence for one another too to be christ s presence for each of us when times get tough when we feel hopeless or lost while i still grieve my mom s dying and there is rarely a day goes by that i do not think of her i still remember the kindness and prayers of others during that time and the peace it provided me and the rest of my family it still gives me hope our lenten journey that movement out of darkness into light would be pointless if we had no hope or the reality of easter i saw and felt it in the support and prayers of others when mom was dying and after she was gone and the truth is that few of us know what the future holds for us in terms of heartache struggle suffering or the time of our dying but because of jesus willingness to suffer and die for us we know we don t have to experience any of it alone his death and resurrection joined by the power and presence of the holy spirit and god s love for all creation frees us to live our lives in present joy and future hope with the promise of salvation in spite of and with an end to all our suffering as we will be resurrected too that s the tension between lent and easter discerning god s gift to the world the pearl of great price god s peace pastor laurie amos amos advocating-mobilizing-organizing in solidarity is an inter-faith congregation based coalition working for justice in wisconsin s seven rivers region four task forces currently serve amos food insecurity health care hmong issues and restorative justice if you might see yourself serving on one of these task forces or would like to attend a leadership board meeting please contact janet loy-minor 783-75370 who serves as our board representative and is a member of trinity s core team amos 2009 yearbooks are available in the narthex under the brochure rack if you d like to learn more about the activities of amos in the la crosse area if you have questions please ask pastor laurie or pastor sandness thanks trinity tidings march 2010

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easter flowers and memorials easter is quickly approaching and we are now taking orders for the lovely easter flowers to adorn the sanctuary the choices this year are easter lily $14 spring bulbs $14 flowering plant $14 hydrangea $26.00 please call the church office at 782-6200 to place your order as soon as possible flower order deadline noon monday march 22nd the deadline for placing other memorials is monday march 29 at noon ­ call early and avoid the last minute rush palm sunday breakfast on sunday march 28h the youth will be hosting their annual palm sunday breakfast from 7:30-11:00 a.m we will be offering an egg bake casserole all you can eat pancakes sausages fruit cocktail muffins juice and coffee the cost will be $5.00 for adults $3.00 for children ages 4-12 and 3 and under are free all proceeds will go towards the youth trip to door county this summer donations needed are 10 lbs of butter 6 commercial size cans of fruit cocktail 8 gallons of orange juice 18 bottles of syrup 4 gallons of milk 5 large cans of coffee monetary donations for egg bake monetary donations for sausages 35 lbs of pancake mix add water only mix there will be a sign-up sheet in the narthex for those who would like to donate please have all donations to the church by march 26th thank you for supporting our youth financially speaking just a couple of updates from your trinity finance board first thank you for your continued commitment to growing in your own stewardship of our ministry we continue to see an upward movement in financial support through the gifts and offerings of our members even in these challenging times and that is something we celebrate together at the end of the first month of 2010 gifts were up over 10 from the same time last year thanks for your enthusiastic support another cause for celebration is our current debt situation namely we don t have one but that comes with a little bit of a hitch at the end of 2009 trinity lutheran church was still carrying a $40,000 balance on a loan made to us by bob franke some years ago to purchase the space for the parking lots we had been paying down that debt originally $70,000 at the rate of $5000 a year interest-free sadly bob franke passed away this last year and his estate required us to fulfill our obligation immediately as a concession the estate only asked us to pay $26,662 of the remaining $40,000 balance thus saving us $13,338 while fulfilling our obligation that s quite a gift in order to make that payment the church council at the recommendation of the finance board elected to use cash reserves still in hand from the sale of the parsonage some years ago and wipe the debt off our books the downside obviously is that it depletes a good chunk of our liquidity in celebration of a mortgage-free capital debt-free facility we d like to invite special gifts to be made in order to replace as much of our liquidity as we can we want to make sure that we keep this facility as beautiful and functional as possible and as you know with bodies and with buildings the more years they get on them the more work they seem to need we are truly blessed as a congregation thanks for being partners in it trinity finance board trinity tidings march 2010

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parish nurse news dorothy poellinger retires from parish nursing dorothy decided to retire from parish nursing at trinity lutheran in february she has been an active member of the group since it first began in 1998 but even before that dorothy lent her nursing skills to members of our church she lead the blood pressure clinic for 25 years she also has taken part in health fairs greeted blood donors at our blood drives helped with brunches acted in skits and even got her husband dick to learn the ins and outs of popcorn machines for some of our events dorothy kept the same calm demeanor through all the hard work and the fun times too we honored dorothy during the parish nurse education event on february 21 we will miss her smile and willingness to help a collage of pictures showed that she doesn t look that much different than she did in 1985 she s promised to keep in touch and we are grateful for that congratulations dorothy on your retirement with dorothy s retirement the blood pressure clinic will continue to be staffed by parish nurses and volunteers from the trinity congregation who want all our members to take good care of their bodies minds and spirits this year marks the 25th anniversary of blood pressure clinics at trinity lutheran church we also celebrated this occasion on february 21 in conjunction with the fellowship brunch l to r ethel boardman dorothy poellinger and bonnie korish the clinic is manned by volunteers the 2nd sunday of each month dorothy poellinger rn and bonnie korish have worked at it all 25 years ethel boardman has filled in for bonnie peggy felch shaun gibbs kathi volden julie thoftne janet bahr deb ciokewicz marlene dewald and fran rybarik also have volunteered to take blood pressures thank you all for your contributions to this wonderful service our parish nurse education day was also held on february 21st after brunch we heard a presentation by cathy unnasch on the spiritual aspects of health care as our days get a little longer and brighter i thank god for the opportunity to be part of trinity lutheran for another year blessings to you all fran rybarik rn mph parish nurse coordinator trinity tidings march 2010

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tr it in y yo u th 2010 easter egg hunt and party mark your calendars for this years easter egg hunt and party all children preschool through 5th grade are invited to attend the party on saturday april 3rd from 1-3 in the fellowship hall there will be an egg hunt story-time crafts games and cookie decorating easter basket delivery the youth will be making up easter baskets and delivering them to our shut-ins the week before easter items needed for baskets are candy jams stuffed animals or anything suitable for our elderly please have items brought in to the church by march 14th families interested in helping with deliveries please see reggie swim at the midway come and join the fun at the best western midway hotel s 1835 rose st water park from 1-4 on sunday march 14th the cost is $7.00 per person non swimmer s free there will be a free-will offering to help off-set the costs for pizza soda and snacks please sign-up in advance for this activity space will be limited festival foods receipts the youth will be collecting festival foods receipts quarterly the months for this quarter are january february and march the general youth fund will receive one percent of all receipts collected there is a wooden box in the narthex for your convenience keep those receipts coming candy seroogy s homemade don t give up chocolate for lent the youth will be selling homemade seroogy s candy candy sale bars easter bunnies and lambs in the narthex starting february 21st the youth will make a 50 profit and all proceeds will go towards the high school youth trip to door county this summer bars kwik trip milk caps keep saving your kwik trip milk caps and bag tops the general youth account will receive 5¢ per cap there is a box in the sunday school office for your convenience any questions please see reggie thank you for supporting our youth!

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volunteers needed in rotation model sunday school our rotation model sunday school program is in need of role model volunteers of all ages grandparents parents college students and any one who has a love of children are needed to help in our craft rooms activity rooms and even help with making popcorn if this something you would like to help with please see reggie you will have a blast high school door county trip there is still room and time to sign up for this year s high school trip to door county a log house that sleeps up to 30 people and is located just outside of fish creek and next door to peninsula state park has been rented for july 14-19 the cost will be $500 or lower depending on how many people go and will include transportation lodging food at the lodge bible study materials and some activities activities may include hiking bike rentals kayaking swimming horse back riding a day deep lake fishing on a chartered boat a bible study and a service project we do have scholarship money available for those in need see reggie for requirements and information don t miss out on this exciting outdoor adventure sugar creek dates updates it s that time of year again to mark your calendar for this year s upcoming sugar creek activities trinity s week has been set for june 20-25th please send in your registration form and deposit early to ensure your spot with trinity s youth registration forms will be in the narthex or the sunday school office explorer day camp for k-5th grade has been set for thursday june 17th you may sign up for the explorer day camp anytime with reggie consent forms and a $15.00 camp fee are required if these dates are inconvenient with you please feel free to schedule a time that is convenient through sugar creek please see reggie for more details you will have a blast we need volunteers to usher if you would be interested in volunteering to be an usher for a worship service please stop by the table in the narthex and select a date that works for you we appreciate the fact that it isn t always convenient to commit to an entire month of ushering so we have made it possible for you to select a week or weeks that fit in your schedule special notice to all members franciscan-skemp medical center will no longer provide churches with the names of their members who are hospitalized it will now be the responsibility of the patient or a family member to notify the church please keep that in mind if you or a loved one is in the hospital and would like a pastoral visit at this time gundersen/lutheran will continue to inform us of hospitalized members provided you indicate that you are a member of trinity lutheran church ­ la crosse annual american cancer society relay for life rummage sale saturday march 6 2010 the 4th annual american cancer society relay for life rummage sale will be held in the fellowship hall of trinity lutheran church the sale opens at 8:00 am all the proceeds of the sale are donated to the american cancer society if anyone has items they wish to donate to the sale please talk to sandy thompson dorothy dewald or vicky helfrich you can also call sandy at 792-9339 or e-mail her at samntom@charter.net the gals can arrange to pick items up from you large items are also accepted but you might need to assist with transportation and unloading of larger items plan to come to the sale and support the american cancer society the hall is usually overflowing with good deals trinity tidings march 2010

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trinity education opportunities sunday lenten bible study on the lord s prayer meets through march 28th erickson parlor 9:40-10:30 a.m sunday morning adult bible study offered during lent is the book of faith lenten journey 40 days with the lord s prayer as well as a video series by professor jim nestigen on the lord s prayer it s a similar format to our advent bible study while we will use portions of the book on sunday mornings when we gather up in the erickson parlor it is also intended to be used every day as a devotional resource you can daily enter into prayer and conversation with god through what s offered in this book if you have questions please call pastor sandness or pastor laurie see you sunday mornings monday women s bible study to meet march 8th 22nd please join us for monday women s bible study during lent we ll meet march 8th 22nd from 7:00-8:15 pm in the library we study different scripture every week and there s no homework all you need is your bible and an open heart and mind if you ve been thinking about coming now is the time questions call pastor laurie miriam/dorcas circle miriam/dorcas circle will meet on wednesday march 3 at 9:30 a.m in the nelson faith center new members are always welcome to join us men on first and third a new study and fellowship opportunity for the men of trinity is now underway men on first and third meets on the first and third friday of each month at 6:30 am down in the fellowship hall we share a light breakfast and spend some time together in conversation around the word i know 6:30 sounds mighty early to some of you but hey you gotta get up sometime so why not a few minutes earlier mark your calendar set your alarm and bring your bible by now you should have received a letter about three sessions in march set aside to prepare 5th graders to receive holy communion for the first time the classes will meet sunday afternoons march 14th 21st from 1 -2:00 p.m in the sanctuary and tuesday evening march 23 6:30-7:30 p.m during the tuesday session bread will be baked to be distributed during the children s first communion at maundy thursday worship april 1st at 7:00 p.m parents are asked to attend all three sessions with their child if you haven t received a letter or have questions please call pastor sandness or pastor laurie thanks first communion sessions for families of 5th graders trinity tidings march 2010

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trinity tidings is a monthly newsletter of trinity lutheran church 1010 sill street la crosse wisconsin 54603 all visitors are welcome to worship with us each saturday at 5:30 p.m and sunday s at 8:30 a.m and 10:45 a.m saturday night school is at 4:30 p.m and sunday school is at 9:35 a.m communion is on the first and third sundays of the month at both worship services summer worship june august services are at 8:30 a.m and 10:00 a.m stephan sandness is the pastor laurie weis is the associate pastor and reggie lezpona is the youth director the church office telephone number is 608 782-6200 trinity lutheran church 1010 sill street la crosse wisconsin 54603 return service requested non profit organization u.s postage paid la crosse wi 54603 permit no 346 wafer food of the month march fruit or juice please keep in mind there is an on-going need for items such as soups paper products and personal hygiene items please remember that any donation of non-perishable food is most gratefully appreciated and a donation of $25 to wafer will help them purchase a bag full of groceries you may place your donations of food items in the basket in the narthex please use the general fund envelopes in the pews to contribute monetary donations and indicate on the envelope that it is for wafer and place in the collection plate important reminder for trinity members due to the new privacy regulations when you are hospitalized it is important to indicate on your medical record that you not only are a member of trinity lutheran church la crosse there are several trinity churches in the area but also that you would like the church notified when you are hospitalized pastor sandness or pastor laurie will make hospital visits on monday wednesday and friday each week in the event that someone is admitted through the emergency ward it is important that a family member or friend contact the church ushers saturday 5:30 p.m mark kim mitchell march sunday 8:30 a.m peter jean smith todd olson jeff hauke sunday 10:45 a.m todd charnetzski chuck julie thoftne acolytes march 7 march 14 march 21 march 28 8:30 a.m anthony severson jonathan rank haley separdson jeremy jensen tori charnetzki emma knorr brandon dawson ann storlie 10:45 a.m john owens andrew richason kacee sullivan morgan sullivan elise wenberg sarah cornforth brandon hanson ben heinz

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