TRINITY TOGETHER. Trinity Lutheran Church 357 West Main Street Kutztown, Pennsylvania September 2017

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1 TRINITY TOGETHER Trinity Lutheran Church 357 West Main Street Kutztown, Pennsylvania September 2017 Interim Pastor: The Rev. David Strobel Director of Youth & Family Ministry: Seth Noggle Editor/Administrative Assistant: Lisa Finke Church Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 AM 2:00 PM Website: Our Mission Statement Telling others of God s unconditional love through worship; Empowering discipleship through education; Leading others to this family of Faith as baptized believers; Calling all to follow Jesus example of servanthood. September Schedule & Volunteers LAY READERS: Sept 3 9:00 AM Tom Kulp Sept 10 8:00 AM Carolyn Miller 10:15 AM Michele Zimmerman Sept 17 8:00 AM Kevin Stump 10:15 AM Amy Pfeiler-Wunder Sept 24 8:00 AM Kris Tuerk 10:15 AM Bob Hobaugh ACOLYTES: Sept 3 9:00 AM Will DeVall Sept 10 8:00 AM Rachel Hoffman 10:15 AM Alyssa Heffelfinger Sept 17 8:00 AM to be determined 10:15 AM to be determined Sept 24 8:00 AM Kendall DeVall 10:15 AM Colin Pape ALTAR COMMITTEE: Nancy Hildenbrand & Kay Fritz USHERS (Volunteers at the 8:00 AM service): Sept 3 9:00 AM Jim & Andrea Orwig Sept 10 10:15 AM Michele Zimmerman & Linda Geiring Sept 17 10:15 AM Liz Shrawder & Shana Rose Sept 24 10:15 AM Bob Hobaugh & Tom Kulp COMMUNION USHERS: Sept 3 9:00 AM Karen Raudenbush & Randy Heffner Sept 10 No Communion Sept 17 8:00 AM Marsha Hoyer 10:15 AM Tina Billig & Liz Shrawder Sept 24 No Communion FLOWER CHAIRPERSON: Darlene Dietrich BIBLE STUDY: Every Wednesday at 10:00 AM IMPORTANT DATES: Sept 4 Labor Day Sept 10 Rally Sunday 1

2 Scrapings and Parings Those of you who have been part of Trinity s church family for a while - well, actually quite a while, like 35 years - might remember me. Admittedly a much younger version of me: after all, that was, for me, half a lifetime ago. In 1982 and 1983, I served as Trinity s vice-pastor. (Nowadays, we have replaced that somewhat awkward title with the more appropriate interim pastor. ) My full-time call was as the Lutheran pastor of Zion Union Church in Maxatawny. I served Trinity in a part-time capacity providing pastoral care as needed and worship leadership every other Sunday. As I recall, my interim ministry with Trinity lasted about 15 months and concluded with the call of Pastor Roper. While there were some neuralgic issues we had to deal with in that time, my memories of those months are fond, indeed. By and large, we had a good time together. That was 35 years ago, and much has changed since then. Just think how many shops and businesses have opened and closed along Main Street in Kutztown in those years! My favorite illustration involves my daughter, Erika. During my interim with Trinity, she was a 3 year-old student at the Early Learning Center at the University. During Lent, I would pick her up from school and bring her to Trinity for the Lenten lunches. Now, she is the Rev. Erika Wesch, the pastor of Little Zion, Telford, with three children of her own. Yes, much has changed since then. I am older and, hopefully, wiser. (Believe it or not, I actually completed the 26 miles of the first Kutztown marathon 35 years ago. Now, I m grateful to be able walk to the end of the driveway to get the newspaper every morning.) Trinity s members have come and gone. There will be familiar faces in the congregation (perhaps sitting in the same pews!), as well as new folks and families I am eager to get to know. The fundamentals of ministry and mission are still the same: to proclaim and live the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the context has changed dramatically. Just think, back then, telephones were connected by a wire to the wall, the church office often resounded with the clicking of a manual typewriter and the whirring of the mimeograph. Back then, computers were still room-size or larger, traps were set to catch a mouse, the internet was still a generation in the future, and tweet was something baby birds did in the nest. Pastor Rohrbach and Trinity s capable staff successfully applied the fundamentals of mission and ministry in our new and ever-changing context. Trinity is a healthy congregation, poised to make an effective transition to new pastoral leadership. My task in the interim is to work with the staff to maintain that healthy ministry and so to prepare the way for the congregation and her next pastor together to turn the page onto the next chapter of Trinity s mission and ministry. I look forward to it. Pastor David R. Strobel PS: I ll explain Scrapings and Parings next month! 2

3 The church office will be closed on Monday, September 4 th in observance of the Labor Day Holiday. We will be switching back to the normal worship schedule starting on September 10 th. From that day forward there will be services at 8:00 AM and 10:15 AM. The Sunday School hour will be at 9:00 AM. Interested in making onetime or ongoing contributions from your own home? You can now do this online! Just go to the church s website ( and look in the sidebar on the left the link is near the bottom. If you have any questions please call the church office at Bulletin Sponsors The 2017 Bulletin Sponsor Chart is on the bulletin board outside the church office. If you are interested in sponsoring bulletins please sign up for the week or weeks you are interested in. Cost for the bulletins is $20 per week. Duck Race Winner!! The winner of the duck race at the Worship/Picnic in the park was Derek Mace! A total of $ was collected for World Hunger! Thank you to everyone who joined in on the fun and helped with supporting World Hunger! There are a few Sundays in 2017 that do not have altar flower sponsors. The following dates are still available September 24 October 8 October 29 November 12 December 31 Also we are in need of a flower chairperson for the month of October. Being a chairperson involves calling the flower sponsors for each Sunday that month to remind them to order flowers, to find out what should be written in the bulletin, and to take flowers to shut-ins or members who are in the hospital after the church service if necessary. If you are interested in sponsoring flowers for either of these dates or being a flower chairperson please contact Darlene Dietrich at or the church office. Hope s Table Trinity will be organizing several meals at Hope Lutheran Church in Reading. The dates for these meals are September 26 th and October 24 th, and we would like your help to serve food at these meals. The time involved would be approximately 4:30 PM to 7 PM each night. If you would like to help out please speak with the church office. Male Voices Needed Trinity needs male voices on the choir. We do not have enough male voices to cover the parts. You do not need to read music. Please consider singing in the choir. Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings from 7:30-8:45 pm. Contact Bruce Rohrbach to volunteer. -Thank you. 3

4 Fall Attic Outlet Sale Setup for the fall Attic Outlet Sale will begin on Sunday, September 24 th. Items needed are clean gently used clothing (adult and children), books, shoes, handbags and small household items. (We will not accept computers or TVs). Children s clothing is especially needed! Dates for the sale are Friday, September 29 th (6-8 PM); Saturday, September 30 th (9 AM Noon); Friday, October 6 th (6-8 PM) and Saturday, October 7 th (9 AM Noon). Proceeds benefit the Helping Hand Fund. Confirmation Calling all confirmands (7 th & 8 th Graders) and their parents to the organizational meeting for this year s Confirmation program. The meeting will be held on Sunday, September 10 th at 9:15 AM in the Fellowship Hall. This is a mandatory meeting for all 7 th & 8 th grade Confirmation students and their parents to go over the program for the year. Please mark this important date on your calendar. Acolyte Coordinator Needed We are in need of someone to coordinate the acolytes starting as soon as possible. The job involves lining up the acolytes for each service during the month (a list of names and contact information is provided) and giving that information to the church office. If you are interested in helping out please contact the church office (office@trinitykutztown.com or ). 4 Children s Activity Bags We are looking for someone to check/neaten up the children s activity bags. This task should be done on a quarterly basis. If you have any questions or are interested in helping out please contact Debbie Ziegler at or the church office. It s hard to believe the summer is almost over but September is just around the corner and that means Rally Sunday is almost here! On Sunday, September 10 th we welcome back all the Sunday School children at 9:00 AM for another fun adventure. The Adult Sunday School and Discussion/Growth Group will also be starting up that Sunday at 9:00 AM. In addition to Sunday School starting up we will return to the regular worship schedule with two services one at 8:00 AM and one at 10:15 AM. We hope to see you there! Discussion/Growth Group The Parlor - Discussion/Growth group will resume September 10th. On September 24th the group will begin an Adam Hamilton DVD/Discussion series called Why? - Making Sense of God's Will. The four-session series will include 1. Why Do the Innocent Suffer? 2. Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered? 3. Why Can't I See God's Will for My Life? 4. Why God's Love Prevails. The sessions do not build on each other so feel free to attend one or all. Looking forward to seeing some new faces.

5 The Adult Sunday School Class welcomes you to join us in enjoying Covenants with God, a program that explores the basic covenants that God makes with people on behalf of the earth and the human community. We will begin with benevolence toward creation and learn how that is the foundation for the coming Messiah and salvation for the world. Second, we will see how God partners with people who agree to obey God s voice. Finally, we will read about how God s Old Testament covenants to establish a priesthood of people, forgive the unfaithful and enter into a new covenant with Israel lead to the New Testament covenants of grace through Christ and writing the law in the hearts of God s people. Rev. Phil Ruge-Jones, an ELCA pastor and retired professor at Texas Lutheran University, has written this study to help us to recognize God s grace. Please join us Sunday mornings at 8:00 am on September 3, 2017 and continuing at 9:00 am beginning September 10, 2017 through December 31, 2017 in the Library for conversation, coffee and fellowship. Communion Schedule Changes & Altar Committee Volunteers Needed We will make a change to the communion schedule starting on Sept. 17th. On that Sunday and every Sunday going forward, we will have communion at both services, the first and third Sunday of each month. September 3rd we will observe communion at the 9:00 service. We are still looking for additional altar committee volunteers who would be willing to set up and clean up for communion services. Please contact Debbie Ziegler ( ) or Lisa at the church office ( ). Save the date: Celebrate the Reformation with a train ride There will be a train ride on October 27, 2017 departing at 7:00 p.m. from the Kutztown Railroad Station. It will be held rain or shine and will include a vesper service with communion, a campfire, music en route and dessert. Ticket prices: Ages 12+ are $15.00 with $3.00 of every ticket benefitting the United Lutheran Seminary Student Scholarship Fund. Ages 3-11 are $7.00 Ages 2 and under are free. Tickets will be available at Trinity Church after Labor Day. Save the Date Wednesday, October 4 th at 10 AM Join us for a slide tour of the sites in Germany and Switzerland where the Protestant Reformation took place 500 years ago. Pastor Randall Grossman will tell us the story of Martin Luther s own spiritual quest and recovery of the gospel. This event will be held in the parlor. 5

6 Dear Trinity Friends, It is hard to believe that it has been two months since my departure as your pastor at Trinity. Deb and I have been on the go most of the summer, spending time with family and friends. We even had the opportunity to witness the total solar eclipse in South Carolina a little over a week ago. In all our adventures our conversations often include memories of our time at Trinity. We would like to convey to you our great appreciation for the memories you left us with as our time with you came to an end. First, thank you for such a memorable celebration at the Berkleigh Country Club on June 18 th. Thank you to all who were present who laughed and cried with us that day. We certainly felt your love poured out on both of us (despite the roasting.) We also wish to thank everyone for all of the wonderful gifts we received including the retirement purse. What an unexpected surprise. The watch I was given is beautiful and when I wear it I am reminded of the years I spent with you, the dear people of God at Trinity Lutheran Church. Thank you once again for the love, support and kindness you extended to both Deb and me over the years. Your Friends In Christ, Pastor Keith and Deb Dear Scholarship Committee, Thank you so much for choosing me to be the recipient of your Stephen Walter s Memorial Scholarship! Your kind gift will help me purchase some of my books in a few short months. Thank you again! Sincerely, Alexa D Andrea Thanks to all my Christian-caring friends at Trinity Lutheran for your prayers and support and cards in remembering Cliff. We both enjoyed our membership at Trinity Lutheran including Bible Study and other fun activities. Thanks again for your prayers and support. God s love and peace to all! Lorene Sent on behalf of HN Keefe C. DePue, Navy Corpsmen Active Duty as relayed via phone to Missy Hartman: Thanks for thinking of me. Greatly appreciate the food. Will pick up when home over summer. Thanks again, Keefe Student Food Pantry at KU Thank you to everyone who has contributed time, groceries, and cash donations to this ministry. This pantry which is a satellite of Friend, Inc. will be starting up for the new school year on August 30 th and is expecting another busy year. If you would like to contribute food items please see the list below Peanut Butter Miscellaneous Snacks Knorr Side Dish Packets Instant Potato Packets Toiletries Juice Crackers Cereal Breakfast Bars There is a box outside of the Parlor to put the items in. If you have any questions please contact the church office. Don t worry about failures. Worry about the chances you miss when you don t even try. Jack Canfield 6

7 September Youth Group Schedule September 3 rd Elementary Youth Group (3 rd -5 th grade) 4:00-5:30PM Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 6:00-8:00PM September 10 th Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 6:00-8:00PM September 17 th Elementary Youth Group (3 rd -5 th grade) 4:00-5:30PM Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 6:00-8:00PM September 24 th Combined Youth Group (6 th -12 th grade) 6:00-8:00PM Messy Sunday 2017! 7

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