Trinity Lutheran Church. Glad Tidings. As of this writing.

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1 Trinity Lutheran Church Glad Tidings VOLUME 4, ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER M36 West Pinckney, MI Phone Other opportunities to be in God s Word Tuesday Morning Bible Study at 10:00 a.m. This group has been using the magazine Good News, which is published by Concordia Mission Society. The editor is the former LHM speaker Wallace Schultz. There are several editions available in the pastor s study/office for anyone who would like to review a topic or use one for a personal Bible study. Wednesday morning Wednesday Ladies Bible study: In this study, Joyce Meyer starts by examining the nature of habits. The first habit - and most important one to have - is the God Habit. By making it a habit to start your day by reading the Bible and communing with God, asking for His help the stage is set for overcoming the habits you want to break and establishing new ones in their place. She then explores how to break bad habits by examining the destructive negative behavior patterns. If evenings are better, join us at the Cottage Meetings the last Friday of the month at 7 p.m. hosted at a members home. November as of this printing needs a Host. Pastor Snider s Sunday Adult Bible Study is continuing to cover the book of Isaiah. Join us as we take an in depth look at the life of this prophet and as we study, we also discover the many parallels of the times he lived in and how much they are like our current events. We hope to see all of you at one or more of these Bible Studies. CAPITAL STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN BEGINS! As of this writing. We are looking forward to our Commitment Celebration, the time to wind up and get excited about this direction we are taking. The next significant steps will be: Commitment Dedication Sunday November 10th. During our Worship Service What better time to gather and, with Thanksgiving to God for His indescribable gifts, dedicate ourselves to carrying out the plans to which we have committed. Please make every effort to attend so that together we can shout a triumphant "Amen!" First Fruits Offering Sunday November 17th During our Worship Service This is our opportunity to bring the first fruits of our commitments we made. What a Joy to be able to begin fulfilling our promise. Please plan to attend his wonderful and exciting service as we truly start to make our vision a reality! My dwelling place shall be with them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ezekiel 37:27 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity! Amen

2 PAGE 2 GLAD TIDINGS VOLUME 4 ISSUE 11 Pastor s Page Why The Reformation? Edited by Pastor Snider Martin Luther Questions the Catholic Church In early 16th-century Europe, some theologians and scholars began to question the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It was also around this time that translations of original texts namely, the Bible and the writings of the early church philosopher and theologian Augustine became more widely available. Augustine ( ) had emphasized the primacy of the Bible rather than Church officials as the ultimate religious authority. He also believed that humans could not reach salvation by their own acts, but that only God could bestow salvation by his divine grace. In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church taught that salvation was possible through "good works," or works of righteousness, that pleased God. Martin Luther came to share Augustine s two central beliefs, which would later form the basis of Lutheranism and Protestantism. At this time, the Catholic Church's practice of granting "indulgences" to provide absolution to sinners became more and more politically corrupt. Indulgence selling had been banned in Germany, but the practice continued with support from the roman Catholic Church. In 1517, a friar named Johann Tetzel began to sell indulgences in Germany to raise funds to renovate St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The 95 Theses The 95 Theses,...were written in a remarkably humble and academic tone Committed to the idea that salvation could be reached through faith and by divine grace alone, Luther vigorously objected to the corrupt practice of selling indulgences. Acting on this belief, he wrote the "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences," also known as "The 95 Theses," a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. The reality was probably not so dramatic; Luther more likely hung the document on the door of the church matter-of-factly to announce the ensuing academic discussion around it that he was organizing. The 95 Theses, which would later become the foundation of the Protestant Reformation, and they were written in a remarkably humble and academic tone, questioning rather than accusing. The overall thrust of the document was without a doubt quite provocative. The first two of the theses contained Luther's central idea, that God intended believers to seek repentance and that faith alone, and not deeds, would lead to salvation. The other 93 theses, a number of them directly criticizing the practice of indulgences, supported these first two. In addition to his criticisms of indulgences, Luther also reflected popular sentiment about the "St. Peter's scandal" in the 95 Theses: Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers? The 95 Theses were quickly distributed to the congregations and churches throughout Germany and then made their way to Rome. In 1518, Luther was summoned to Augsburg, a city in southern Germany, to defend his opinions before an imperial diet (assembly). A debate lasting three days between Luther and Cardinal Thomas Cajetan produced no agreement. Cajetan defended the church's use of indulgences, but Luther refused to recant and returned to Wittenberg. The mastery of scripture by Martin Luther led him to defend his position on salvation through the Augsburg Confession which he later presented at Augsburg as key points of Christianity.

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4 PAGE 4 GLAD TIDINGS VOLUME 4 ISSUE 11 LW ML NEWS Ann Arbor Zone Fall Rally Seven of our Ladies traveled to Our Savior Lutheran Church in Chelsea on Sat., October 12th. for our fall rally. We enjoyed all kinds of sweet breads and fruit for breakfast and a delicious soup luncheon. We heard a very inspirational s p e a k e r, K a y e D u m a s Wolff, speaking on "What Time Is It." We learned the time is now to tell others about our Savior, to invite them to church, to do and speak up for what is right in God's eyes, to forgive and make amends with family and friends. Pastor Bob Mickelson was installed as our pastoral counselor and we give thanks for him as we have not had one the past few years. Cathie Snider, serving her second term as president of the zone was installed and Barb Yek, treasurer was installed. L W M S u n d a y w a s c e l e - brated during our worship service on October 13th. Thank you to all the ladies who participated in the service and helped with the coffee hour. Thanks to the Sunday school children who led us in singing "Go Tell It On The Mountain" A Big Thank You To everyone who brought in their change for our "noisy offering" We collected $ to go to our mission grants. Anniversary wishes go out to: Bryan and Amy Bickel 11/28 Colossians 3:14 And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Happy Birthday!! A very Happy Birthday from the members of Trinity Lutheran Church: Rowena Van Blaircum 11/1 Betty Love 11/2 Daniel Krueger 11/8 Joseph Benkovsky 11/11 Russ Borders 11/11 Faith Kukuk 11/11 Tom Voltattorni 11/12 Advent Services and Soup Suppers will be starting in December. Please join us for this time of Fellowship, great warming soups for your body and warming words for your soul Craig Rydzewski 11/14 Caroline Cadeau 11/15 Cha Snider 11/17 Sharon Huetteman 11/25 Mitch Minger 11/29 Gilbert Minock 11/30 Ecclesiastes 11:8 However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. (NIV)

5 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 11 GLAD TIDINGS PAGE 5 Page-o -Blessings This is a page that recognizes persons of our congregation who have blessed Trinity with their actions. If there is someone you would like to recognize for the blessings they ve shown, please print their name and the blessing on the slip of paper and put it in the envelope provided on the bulletin board in the Narthex. We have so many blessings around us that we can thank God for. Blessing: All the people who have worked so hard to get our building plans off the ground Music Notes Any one able to play an instrument, brush it off! shine it up! and start practicing! because before we know it our Christmas season will be here and it is made so much nicer by the loving efforts of those who use their talents to grace our services. Please prayerfully consider adding your special sound. Posse Event Craft Day Nov 9 8am-8pm Great time to sit and get those Christmas projects done and spend time with Friends $20 donation per table and lunch, drinks, and snacks. Please give your donation to Lois Brumm by Nov 3 Prayers of Trinity As you are prayerfully considering....your commitment to the capital stewardship campaign, think on Hymn 405 of which the first verse we say as our offering prayer every week in our Sunday school opening. Verse 1. We give Thee but thine own whatever the gift may be; All that we have is thine alone, a trust O Lord from Thee. Verse 2. May we your bounties thus as stewards true receive And gladly Lord, as you bless us, To you our first fruits give Verse 6. And we believe your word, though dim our faith, it's true; What we do for your people, Lord, We do it all for you. Amen Praise and thanksgiving Gracious God and Father, we humbly magnify the wisdom of your ways and in childlike trust commit ourselves to Your fatherly guidance. Uphold us, we pray You by Your right hand, guide us with Your counsel, and receive us at last into glory. We pray for those among us who are in special need of your guidance and healing: Georgia Rydzewski --strength and health Betty Jean Sigro and Cathie Snider relief from pain Chuck Drexler (Barb Yek s brother) he is back in the hospital-- breathing problems, fluid on lungs and apparently pneumonia not entirely gone. Tonya Roberts--second bout with breast cancer, strength for upcoming surgery Richard Parks, Kenny Cadle, Terry Kaczmarek, Charlie Thompson, Sarah Burns, George Lasko, Jean Foley, in their battles with cancer For the soldiers overseas who are still protecting freedoms, our own and others in the world: Matt Hall in Korea. Keep Brandon Snider and family safe in their move back to the US. Guidance and strength of faith and strength of spirit for the members of our congregation to help Trinity to send out the message of Christ. Pray for our Missionaries in other countries that they remain safe in Your care as they spread Your Word

6 TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH 5758 M36 West Pinckney, MI PAGE 6 Thrivent News We will be having an "Identity Theft Workshop" put on by Thrivent here at Trinity In January. Darren VanHevel, our Thrivent Rep. will be sharing tips and tools for dealing with the growi n g p r o b l e m o f i d e n - tity theft. This is something we all need to be aware of and learn how to protect ourselves. Watch the next newsletter and bulletin announcements for the date and more details. The election for our Livingston Thrivent Chapter officers has been rescheduled to Sunday, GLAD TIDINGS VOLUME 4 ISSUE 11 November 17th. right after our worship service. All Thrivent members, please remember to vote. Thank you to Our Livingston Thrivent Chapter for providing the cider and donuts for our ministry fair. Also, thanks to Darren VanHevel, our Thrivent representative for worshiping with us and being here at the fair to visit with us and answer questions. POSTAG E