January, The Church Council approved a distribution in the amount of $1,000 to Christian Civic Outreach to be paid with unspent earnings.

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1 Trinity Highlights The Newsletter of Trinity Lutheran Church 700 S. Fourth St., Pekin, IL ~ Rev. Simeon Raddatz, Pastor January, 2019 November Attendance Report Average Attendance Average Sunday School Attn Average Communion Attn November Financial Report November YTD YTD Budget Income: $20,201 $235,458 $224,430 Expense: $19,445 $215,857 $230,961 Surplus (Deficit) $956 $19,601 In November, gifts to the Lord s work at once again exceeded expenses. It should be noted that expenses are roughly $15K under budget. The majority of this is due to less than expected Good Shepherd expense and less than budgeted Trustees expenses. There are a couple of major Trustee projects that need to be taken care of in the 2019 budget year that will require dipping into reserves accumulated in the past three years. Trinity Endowment Fund Trinity s Endowment Fund was started in 2001 by the Voters Assembly as a separate perpetual fund to provide financial support to the Church s ministry beyond what Trinity s regular budget can accomplish. Only earnings from the fund may be spent and there is approximately $23,000 in unspent earnings at this time. The Church Council approved a distribution in the amount of $1,000 to Christian Civic Outreach to be paid with unspent earnings. If you are aware of a charitable organization that could benefit from a gift from the Endowment Fund, please inform Pastor Raddatz or myself. Let us give thanks to the Lord for his continued blessings!!! Rob Fornoff Chairman - Board of Finance The Concordia Society The Concordia Society Christmas Potluck was held on Thursday, December 13 at 12:00 p.m. Fourteen members and visitors were present. The GSLS Chime Choir presented the program. The next Concordia Society meeting will be on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. Loretta Harms will be the devotion leader and the hostess. New members and visitors are always welcome. Voter s Assembly Meeting The Voter s Assembly Meeting will be Thursday, January 10 at 7:00 p.m. All communicant members of the congregation, 18 years of age and older, are encouraged to attend. This is an excellent time to be brought upto-date on what is going on here at Trinity. November Sunday School Perfect Attendance Emily & Hunter Anton Nolan Dunn Alice & Jo Gramlich Alyssa & Lauren Hand Tamara Kosso Kate Maple Emma & Kylea Seidell Edith & Ella Spaeth Shut-in of the Month Some members cannot attend church and it is important that we remember them in our thoughts and especially our prayers. During the month please pray for them and send them a card. Our January shut-in of the month is: Betty Woith 902 Amanda St. Pekin, IL 61554

2 Be Imitators of Jesus God created man and announced His creation to be very good (Genesis 1:31), but, because of self-will and pride, Adam and Eve sinned, causing man to be separated from God. To bridge that separation, God rescued us with the greatest gift of all: His very own Son. In Christ, God speaks to us, reaches out to us with forgiveness, and receives us into fellowship. All we have has been freely given to us, not because of who we are or what we do, but because of Whose we are. Through faith, we see God s redemptive grace in Jesus, and we are motivated to live our lives for Him (Eph. 2:8-10). In Jesus, we see the attributes of God. In Hebrews 1:3-4 we read, [The Son] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs. God the Father has revealed the light of His glory in His Son, Jesus. As true man, Jesus lived the life of a perfect steward for the glory of His Heavenly Father. Just as Jesus put aside his own interests and desires Not as I will, but as You will (Matthew 26:39), we are called to be obedient through faith to God s ways rather than the ways of the world and our own natures. As God s stewards, we also receive joy and encouragement in knowing that we are obediently serving the Lord. Jesus is always to be our preeminent model for our lives as stewards. We have a Savior Who lived the perfect life in our places. With an attitude of gratitude and joy in what God in Christ has done for us, we read and adopt the Apostle Paul s admonition, Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Through the working of the Holy Spirit, our goal is to Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you (Colossians 3:5). By God s grace, we fix our eyes on Jesus, Who is the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). To that end, we should saturate our minds with the truths in God s Word rather than the teachings of the world. Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15). Empowered by Jesus Jesus said, 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. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5). In Jesus illustration, we are the branches, and He is the Vine. As branches on the Vine, we are totally dependent on Christ, the true Vine. We, as branches, are to bear fruit. The Apostle Paul explained to the Galatians what that fruit is: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Deeds done in faith are the fruit of faith resulting in good works. This fruit will be evident in the lives of Christians as a natural outcome of Christ living in us. We minister to the needs of others as Jesus, the Vine, did during His life on earth. We feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, entertain the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the prisoner (Matt. 25:37-39), all in the name of Christ. In serving others, we bear much fruit and glorify God through our lives (John 15:8). We are not saved by the fruit we bear, but we have been created by God and empowered by Him to bear fruit. When we abide in Christ, the Vine, we as branches will be fruitful. Christ left the task of spreading the Gospel to eleven apostles, a small number, but, empowered by the Holy Spirit, a virtual army. Through the ages, Christ s followers, strengthened by Word and Sacrament, have continued to remain faithful.

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5 Trinity s Service Volunteers - January 2019 ACOLYTES 01/06 9:00 a.m. Gage Cutting 01/13 8:15 a.m. Alyssa Hand 10:45 a.m. Avery Speck 01/20 8:15 a.m. Matthew Juergens 10:45 a.m. Jenna Owens 01/27 8:15 a.m. Avery Speck 10:45 a.m. Alyssa Hand BIBLE BREAKFAST HELPERS 01/06 Karen Steenbergen 01/13 Patty Quaye 01/20 Theresa McDonough 01/27 Pat Cooley & Norma Rebuffoni SERVERS 01/06 9:00 a.m. Bob Lutz 01/13 10:45 a.m. Rob Fornoff 01/20 8:15 a.m. Terry Knollenberg 01/27 8:15 a.m. Bob Lutz 10:45 a.m. Scott Thompson SCRIPTURE READERS 01/06 9:00 a.m. Bob Lutz 01/13 8:15 a.m. Eric Spaeth 10:45 a.m. Rob Fornoff 01/20 8:15 a.m. Terry Knollenberg 10:45 a.m. Brad Juergens 01/27 8:15 a.m. Owen Miller 10:45 a.m. Scott Thompson Annual Report Time The deadline for reports to be included in the 2018 Annual Report is Sunday, February 24. The Church Council members, as well as secretaries and treasurers of the various organizations, are asked to submit a report. GREETERS 01/06 9:00 a.m. Brad & Kim Cordts 01/13 8:15 a.m. Eric & Cori Spaeth 10:45 a.m. Betty Ingrassia & Millie Cordes 01/20 8:15 a.m. Matt & Melissa Deverman 10:45 a.m. Bob & Joyce Thompson 01/27 8:15 a.m. Bob & Carolyn Cordts 10:45 a.m. Mike & Sheryl Jones USHERS 01/06 9:00 a.m. B. Juergens, B. Cordts O. Miller 01/13 8:15 a.m. D. Harms, C. Whitley, B. Schmidt 10:45 a.m. M. Seidell, R. Fornoff 01/20 8:15 a.m. B. Juergens, B. Cordts, O. Miller 10:45 a.m. S. Thompson 01/27 8:15 a.m. D. Harms, C. Whitley B. Schmidt 10:45 a.m. M. Seidell, R. Fornoff ALTAR FLOWERS 01/06 Gerry & Karen Steenbergen, for their 52nd wedding anniversary on December /13 Open 01/20 Mike & Sheryl Jones, for their 23rd wedding anniversary on January /27 Owen & Jane Miller GREETERS & USHERS: We are in always in need of additional greeters and ushers for Sunday morning. Serving as a greeter for Trinity is an important part of our outreach ministry, since it helps make a positive first impression of warmth and friendliness for visitors. If you are interested in serving in this way, please contact the church office at If you are in doubt as to whether you should write a report, please check with the church office.

6 January 2019 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Epiphany 6 Sunday 9 AM WORSHIP/ 10:30 AM S.S. & BIBLE CLASS 11:30 AM TAKE DOWN CHRISTM AS DECORATIONS 13 8:15 AM WORSHIP 9:30 AM S.S. & BIBLE CLASS 10:45 AM WORSHIP/ 7 7:15 PM DARTBALL AT 1ST CHRISTIAN 14 7:15 PM DARTBALL AT 1ST BAPTIST New Year s Day 8 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION EVANGELISM 15 6:30 PM GSLS BOARD 9 9 AM NEWSLETTER ASSEMBLY 16 7 PM CHURCH COUNCIL 10 1:30 PM CONCORDIA SOCIETY 7 PM VOTER S ASSEMBLY MEETING 17 TRUSTEES AM MEN S MINISTRY AT TRINITY 20 8:15 AM WORSHIP/ 9:30 AM S.S. & BIBLE CLASS 10:45 AM WORSHIP 12 PM PRAYER PARTNERS 21 7:15 PM DARTBALL VS SAND PRARIE AT TRINITY :15 AM WORSHIP/ 9:30 AM S.S. & BIBLE CLASS 10:45 AM WORSHIP/ 28 7:15 PM DARTBALL VS 1ST PRESBYTERIAN AT TRINITY AM NEWSLETTER ASSEMBLY 31 ELDERS

7 Trinity Lutheran Church 700 S. Fourth St. Pekin, IL Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Pekin, IL Permit No. 100 (Return Service Requested) Things happening in January Thursday, January 10 7:00 p.m. Voter s Assembly Meeting Sunday, January 20 12:00 p.m. Prayer Partners