Tidings of Trinity. May, THE REFORMATION 500th CELEBRATION 2017

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1 Tidings of Trinity THE REFORMATION 500th CELEBRATION 2017 This year, 2017, is a year precious to all Lutherans the 500th birthday of Martin Luther s blessed re-discovery of the Gospel and his opposition to some of the beliefs and celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church. This article is the fourth of a series covering topics and events leading up to October 31, 1517, date of the posting of the 95 Theses on the Castle Church doors in Wittenberg, Germany. A multitude of forces came together at the time of the Reformation. Luther was a force for the church, but alone, he was just one voice. One way he was able to replicate his voice was via the printing press. His most memorable publication asssuredly must be his Small Catechism, first distributed in 1529 through a series of six posters sent to the churches that supported his teachings. The second of the six chief parts of Christian doctrine is the Apostles Creed. Perhaps Christianity has never been explained more simply and eloquently than in the words Martin Luther wrote to explain the Apostles Creed. Here is the Creed along with his timeless explanation that is a superb summary of what the theology of the Reformation was all about then and is all about today. Trinity Lutheran Church 410 E 1935 North, Cedar City, UT Office: Pastor Bob: (cell) and (home) Website: pbob022212@cedarlutheran.org

2 Page 2 The First Article: I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true. The Second Article: and In Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. The Third Article: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. See more at: LutheranReformation.org THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD ConcordiaHistoricalInstitute.org 2016 LCMS With these words, Dr. Luther has left a living legacy of faithful sentences, designed to explain God in His three persons in a simple way that all can understand from children to adults. Give thanks to God for this confession and its explanations. Additional Reformation 500 readings can be found at the title page of our Synod website, God richly bless your studies. See you in Church! Pastor Bob

3 Page 3 Midweek Bible Study After a hiatus of almost two months, mid-week Bible Study resumed on Wednesday April 26 at 530pm. We continue our study of the life of King David. We are about halfway through the life of King David. Re-starting Bible Study after the Lenten break is a good opportunity for others to join in. Please consider coming for a week or two to hear what goes on and to decide the many ways you would benefit from attending. Family Support Center Hosts Quilt For Kids 2017 Quilt show and sale May 12-13, 2017 at the Cedar City Heritage Center lobby. All proceeds will benefit children and programs to strengthen families in Southern Utah. For more information call the Family Support Center at Prayer Requests Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Praise the Lord, O my soul, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. Psalm 103:2-3 Our flock here at Trinity needs your prayers: Florence Kehr and Diane Molnar recovering from pneumonia John Tews and Peyton Canary in assisted living The Molnar Family for comfort following David's passing April 28th Ron Fedderson awaiting cancer treatment Larry Heddings in dialysis treatment Charles Washburn suffering with back pain Trinity Church Book Club (TCBC) This month s selection is Gabrielle Zevin's "The Storied Life of A. J. Fikrey." The discussion date is Wednesday, May 24th at 11:30AM. We meet in one of the classrooms at the Cedar City Library-On-The-Park. Bring a lunch to eat while we meet.

4 Page 4 Trinity Tea Ladies This month you re invited to afternoon tea and fellowship at the home of Travis Hoppes on Friday May 26th at 1 PM. Please note that this is a change of location from last month s list. Here s what s coming up: June 23rd 1 PM at the home of Charmaine Beckman Devotions, fellowship, refreshments July 28th 10 AM on the SUU Campus Christmas in July craft fair followed by lunch at The Grind on Main St. August 25th 1 PM at the home of Mary Drake Devotions, fellowship, refreshments Sept. 22nd 1 PM at the Iron Gate Inn Tea on the garden terrace (cost $12.50) Oct. 27th 1 PM at the home of Cookie Heddings Devotions, fellowship, refreshments Nov. No meeting scheduled due to Thanksgiving holiday Dec. 12th 10 AM at the Iron Gate Inn Christmas brunch and program jointly with LWML (cost $12.50) All ladies as well as friends and guests are always welcome at our Tea Ladies events. Consult your church directory for phone numbers and addresses if you need directions. See you there! News and Fundraiser Please join us for the LWML on Saturday May 6th at 10:00am. All woman of the church are invited. Lunch will be available come join in the fellowship. Our first Sunday Pot-Luck will take place on Sunday, May 6 immediately following worship. This month the format is different. Instead of the congregation bringing the lunch, it will be provided by LWML [Lutheran Women s Missionary League]. It is called a Spuds & Splits meal. The ladies will provide baked potatoes for all the attendees, along with a number of fillings for the baked potatoes all your favorites. Also the ladies will provide ice cream and all the right toppings for dessert. The meal is provided as a fund raiser. This month s target for the funds raised is the Stained Glass Window Fund. As you know an appeal for funds was made to the congregation and you responded wonderfully. Funds for eleven of twelve windows have been raised. Only one window remains to be funded. The window depicts Noah s Ark and the promised rainbow. Please leave room on your calendar to attend this event on Sunday May 6, and please be generous towards the Fund.

5 April Attendance and Offerings WORSHIP DATE Attendance Collection March 5 40 $ 2,963 March $ 986 March $ 1,018 March $ 955 Total 169 $ 5,922 Midweek services 97 Our operating budget for 2017 calls for monthly collections of about $5,900. Our midweek services which convened Wednesdays during Lent, added a total of 97 worshippers. In addition to the $5,922 collected for the General Fund, $4,906 was received in Restricted funds, primarily for the Stained Glass Window Fund. Collections for the midweek services are added to the subsequent Sunday collection. Thank you for the generous spirit you displayed in your support in March. Please con tinue to be generous in your support of the ministries here at Trinity. Galatians 6:9 Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Page 5 Cedar Area Interfaith Alliance (CAIFA) Hosts National Day of Prayer Event May 4th Coming up quickly in May is the National Day of Prayer, this year on Thursday May 4. It will be held on the SUU campus in the Gilbert Great Hall. It is sponsored in large part by the Cedar Area Interfaith Alliance. Each year the event sells out. Tickets are available from Lynette Webber and the cost is $10.00 each. A delicious breakfast buffet is included in the admission cost. The program includes music, played and sung. Presentations are made by leaders of Cedar City as well as a representative of our state legislature. Prayers will be offered up by members of the denominations that comprise the religious community of Cedar City. The entire program will conclude within an hour, allowing plenty of time to complete your day. Please plan to attend this very Cedar City event. Trinity Council Congregation members are always welcome to attend council meetings, which are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 5:30 PM. If you have a topic to bring before the council, it must be included on the agenda. To get your item placed on the agenda, contact the secretary, Lynette Webber, at least three days before the scheduled meeting. The next Council meeting will be Thursday, May 18th at 5:30 PM in the fellowship hall. The Elders meet the same day at 4:30 PM.

6 Page 6 Children s Ministry Matters On Easter this year, we had seven infants and toddlers in the Nursery. Certainly our Lord is generous to provide such a bounty. But we had only one attendant in the Nursery, Diane Sharp. Although Diane is happy to attend and instruct the youngest of our worshippers it is unrealistic for us to believe one person can watch over such a labor-intensive group. We need more women who are willing to set aside their place in church to take a place in the nursery and help out when the attendance exceeds one person s capabilities. So far, Barb Fedderson has agreed to help but we need another couple as well willing to check in before worship to see how many youngsters are present that Sunday. Please be generous in your response and let the little children come to Jesus. I am thankful for the Children s Ministry and for the devoted saints who bring children and grandchildren to church or who sustain the Children s Ministry by teaching Sunday School or helping out in the Nursery when infants are brought to church. Allowing a young mother to sit quietly and worship in church while her infant is being attended to in the Nursery is a wonderful blessing. Check out who is teaching in April: Date Sunday School Nursery 5-7 Catherine Webb As God Provides 5-14 Diana Thompson As God Provides 5-21 Cookie Heddings As God Provides 5-28 Catherine Webb As God Provides The Girls Submitted by Sharol Kleinschmidt As many of you know, we have a fund raising project for our Congregational Window at church. Most of the windows have "sponsors". Our Noah's Ark window is open for donations from our members or others who wish to help. An idea came to me that since we had so many eggs in our refrigerator, it would be nice if we could offer them for a donation of five dollars a dozen to our members on Sundays. The five dollars would then be given to help fund the window. The first Sunday, I thought we would take 20 dozen with us and maybe raise a few dollars. I was amazed that all the eggs were claimed! This project has been going on for several weeks now and it is amazing what an egg can do! Not only have the funds increased, but, the feeling of joining together for the benefit of our Sanctuary has been great. Many of us are now discussing the "Girls" and how they are doing. When asked on Sunday about the "Girls"...I replied that they are doing well. This was overheard by another member who wanted to know who the "Girls" were. I replied that he was talking about my chickens! It is amazing what an egg can do and how our Heavenly Father can use something like an egg to further enhance His House of Worship while bringing his worshipers closer together in a common goal!

7 Page 7 The Three Crosses by Lynette Webber Have you looked closely at the three crosses on our church fellowship hall wall above the cabinets? There is deep meaning in those little spatter-painted pictures. The small cross on the left is made up entirely of dark purple and blue, representing the criminal crucified with Jesus who did not repent. (One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him. Luke 23:39) The small cross on the right is just the opposite - - bright reds and yellows representing the criminal who DID repent. (He said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise. Luke 23:42-43) Now look at the large cross where Jesus was crucified. The top picture represents the darkness that fell on that Friday. (It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. Luke 23:44) The next picture is the crown of thorns, mostly dark brown and red. (The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. John 19:2). Just below the large center picture is one all in red. This represents the blood that poured from Jesus side when he was stabbed by the soldier s spear. (One of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. John 19:34). Perhaps you can find even more symbolism in the pictures. A special heartfelt thanks to Lori Steinberger who first imagined and created these crosses with the help of the church women. And to Bernie Steinberger who painstakingly positioned and hung the pictures while balancing on a tall ladder. Their seemingly simple project has rich meaning and has touched the lives of many in our congregation as well as visitors.

8 Congratulations to Catherine Webb, D Ed., who recently completed the Colloquy program at Concordia University Irvine. Catherine is a Professor at Concordia-Irvine who teaches future teachers. We so proud of Catherine! When you see her around church, give her your best! Page 8

9 May 2017 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Pastor s Day Off 4PM CAIFA 3PM Service at Bella Terra (formerly Kolob) 9am Breakfast at Pork Belly s 5:30pm Mid-Week Bible Study 8am At SUU 3pm Confirmation Class Denise & Eric Kirmeyer s Anniversary 10am LWML Mtg :45am Bible Study 10am Worship Service (Communion) 9AM Ladies Breakfast 9am Breakfast at IHOP 10am Sunday School at Denny s Spuds and Splits! Pastor s Day Off am Breakfast at Denny s 8:45am Bible Study 10am Worship Service 10am Sunday School John Tew s Birthday Pastor s Day Off :45am Bible Study 10am Worship Service (Communion) 10am Sunday School Pastor s Day Off Newsletter Deadline :45am Bible Study 10am Worship Service 10am Sunday School Larry & Cookie Hedding s Anniversary 5:30pm Mid-Week Bible Study Dean & Sharol Kleinschmidt s Anniversary 5:30pm Bible Study Kyler Webb s Birthday Kyler & Ashley Webb s Anniversary 9am Brkfst at Pork Belly s 11:30am Trinity Church Book Club 5:30pm Bible Study 31 9am Breakfast at Denny s 5:30pm Bible Study George Acton s Birthday 3pm Confirmation Class 3pm Confirmation Class 4:30pm Elders Meeting 5:30pm Council Meeting 3pm Confirmation Class RaeLynn Badger s Birthday 1pm Ladies Tea at Travis Hoppes Home 31 Chuck Washburn s Birthday