From Pastor Jim

After his resurrection, Jesus met his disciples in Galilee. There he commissioned them, now as witnesses of the resurrection, to go into the world and make disciples. The disciples were made part of Jesus' mission to love and bless the world by forgiving sins and giving new life through baptism. Jesus also commissioned his disciples to teach people to live in this new way of Jesus Christ, to teach and encourage more people to follow Jesus, to follow Jesus in love.


As disciples of Jesus, and now as witnesses to his resurrection, we too have been sent into our community to love and bless the people we meet and to lead them more deeply into the ways of Jesus -- the way of God's love and God's forgiveness.
In Jesus Christ, we are loved. This love changes and transforms us. Our Lord Jesus has sent us into the world, so that others may know the transforming power of God's love.

This mission of love, this mission of Jesus, is the mission God has given us. God has also given us all we need to do this mission -- all the money, all the talents and all the time. The question for us to search out and discover is a question of how we are going to live out God's mission.
How will we love the people in our lives, in our town, in our community in Jesus' name and in a way that makes a difference? How will the world be changed through us -- as individuals, as families, and as a congregation?

As you come to worship, to study the Bible and to pray this spring, keep your eyes and ears open to what God is doing in your neighborhood. Then, as we meet, share what you have found with your fellow disciples.

And remember to pray that God strengthen and bless us as we share the good news of Jesus, overcome barriers and connect one to many this Easter season.

Mark Your Calendar

April 1 at 7 p.m. Vacation Bible School Planning Meeting
Share your gifts and talents and share the good news of God’s love with children from our congregation and from the neighborhood. If you like working with children, crafts, music, snacks, storytelling, teaching, organizing, don’t hide your light, let it shine.

April 6 after worship: ‘First’ Holy Communion Class
All second-graders and their parents are invited to meet with Pastor Jim after worship. We will start our instruction on the Lord’s Supper that will lead to a celebration of “first” Communion on Sunday, April 27.

April 8 at 7 p.m. Sunday School Teachers Meeting
All of this year’s teachers and helpers, as well as any parents and anyone who would like to serve as a Sunday School teacher in the future, are invited to get together to review this year’s program and to discuss plans for next year. We’ve had a great year. Thanks to all who have worked with our children this year. Now, what can we do to make this important ministry even more powerful?

April 14 at 7:45 p.m. Church Council Meeting
The first part of this month’s meeting will be Bible Study and a discussion of Holy Trinity and our neighborhood. What is God doing in this town? How can we be part of God’s mission to love, save and bless the world? Everyone is invited to come and prayerfully discover God’s purpose for us and our congregation.

April 15 at 7:00 p.m. Transforming Team Meeting
We will meet to organize our wall of gifts and to discuss some specific actions we can take as a team to lead, guide and equip our congregation in its ministry to the surrounding neighborhood.

Bible Studies
Tuesday evenings at 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to grow in their discipleship by taking a closer look at Jesus’ teaching, life and ministry as presented in the Gospel of Matthew. This is a great place to bring friends and introduce them to Jesus and the fellowship of a caring, supportive group of friends.
Thursday afternoons at 2 p.m. (April 10 and April 24). All are welcome. This group will also take a look at Matthew’s Gospel, with special focus placed on the Gospel readings for the coming Sunday. Another great place to bring a friend, introduce them to Jesus and surround them with love of a group of friends.

Synod Gathering
Conference on Congregational Ministries. Saturday, April 12. A day of learning, and fellowship at dozens of workshops to help us on all aspects of congregational life and ministry. A great place to get ideas and share some of things we’re doing at Holy Trinity. Come to the office for a registration form and list of workshops.

New Worship Time

Please note that as of Sunday,
June 1, 2008, our new time for Worship will be 10:00am. This decision was voted on at the Annual Meeting in January.

We're Keeping the Fire Burning

As of March 25, our Keep the Fire Burning fund had almost reached its goal of repaying $6,000 to the Holy Trinity endowment. This amount represents the cost of the new HVAC unit plus a little more to invest toward Holy Trinity’s future ministry.
Thank you to all who have given so far.

Estate of Mabel Werner, Evelyn & Ed Cordes, Evelyn & John Denkinger, Elizabeth Futyma, Susan Gage, Pastor Krombholz, Evelyn & Steven Oberndorf, Nancy & Tony Maguire, Ruth & Greg Sekula, Grace Viola, Phyllis & Al Weber, Anonymous, Helen Blair, Julie Franchino, Elaine & Raymond Jones, Betty Mack, Miriam Mascola, Sally & Martin Mueller, David Reed, Gloria & William Ryden, Edith Schulz, Audrey Stevens, Anonymous, Gail & George Ceravolo, Nancy Guenther, Verna & John Norton, Jean Esparolini.

There is still time to join with the saints of past generation and share your gift toward the mission and ministry of Holy Trinity.

April Birthdays, Anniversaries and Families of the Month

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

Ken Duke, Justin Munoz, Richard Hudnett,
Renee DeBellis, Brian Johnson,
Alexandra Rubens, Elfrieda Fenton,
Erica Geiselmann, Sarah Jones,
Christine Esparolini, Jeff Lin,
Richard Bacik, Nancy Guenther,
Ed Cordes, Miriam Mascola, Sharon Murphy

APRIL ANNIVERSARIS

Greg and Ruth Sekula
Otto and Hedy Mayr

APRIL FAMILIES OF THE MONTH
Remember these people and families in our prayers each month.

John and Evelyn Denkinger
Chris, Nancy, Nicole and Matthew Duhm
Ken and Dot Duke
Richard, Barbara, Stacie, and Elizabeth Ebeling and Chelsea Bolduc

In The Parish

On March 9, 2008 we welcomed Madison Noelle Bernhard, the daughter of Joelle and Matthew Bernhard and granddaughter of Liz and Joe Cicci, into the Lords’ family through the sacrament of Holy Baptism.

New members received through the affirmation of baptism on
March 23, 2008:

Marcia Hayes
Chuck Rhodes