Trinity Trumpet Trinity Lutheran Church 295 Shaul Avenue ~ Ottumwa, IA ~ Pastor: Rev. James Preus ~ Pastor s

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1 Trinity Trumpet Trinity Lutheran Church 295 Shaul Avenue ~ Ottumwa, IA ~ Pastor: Rev. James Preus ~ Pastor s jamespreus@gmail.com Message from Pastor February 2018 Let us ever walk with Jesus, Follow His example pure, Through a world that would deceive us And to sin our spirits lure. Onward in His footsteps treading, Pilgrims here, our home above, Full of faith and hope and love, Let us do the Father's bidding. Faithful Lord, with me abide; I shall follow where you guide. (Sigismund von Birken, Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus, LSB 685.) Dear children of God at Trinity Lutheran Church, This Valentine's Day, Wednesday February 14 th is also Ash Wednesday, the first day in Lent. Lent is the forty days (minus Sundays) before Easter. Lent is a time of personal reflection and focusing on the cross of Christ. Traditionally Christians have fasted during the forty days of Lent to show physical devotion to Christ and to demonstrate to themselves that Jesus is more important than any pleasure in this life. I have also recommended picking up a devotional habit during Lent, such as praying the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer every day and also reading the daily Bible readings printed in the insert of your bulletin. Such practices can aid the Christian to devote his life to Christ. During Lent we take a journey with Jesus, we walk with him. Of course, as long as we have faith in Christ, we always walk with him. Yet, during this season we have a special opportunity to focus on Christ's earthly ministry, which finally culminates with his death on the cross on Good Friday. Jesus came from heaven to earth so that he might lead us earth born sinners to our heavenly home. Jesus teaches us that the kingdom of heaven comes in a different way than kingdoms of this world. It is those who in humble faith receive the Word of God, who enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus shows the path to heaven through his own cross. Those who have faith in the sacrifice he paid there enter eternal life. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, this faith brings with it its own cross to bear here on earth. (Matthew 16:24). Our Hymn of the Month, Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus perfectly expresses this journey. As we follow Jesus in faith we endure trials and must bear our cross. Yet, we willingly do so, knowing that Christ has already borne the cross for our eternal salvation. Earth is not our end goal. We know this life will end and so will its suffering. Yet, following Christ we have the promise of eternal life, the joys of which cannot be diminished by an earthly cross. Please join me in praying the Ten Commandments, Apostles Creed, and Lord's Prayer every day this coming Lententide and read the daily Bible readings printed in your Bulletin. I also invite you to attend the midweek Lenten Services beginning on Ash Wednesday with a Divine Service on February 14 th at 7:15 PM. We will follow the service of Vespers for all following midweek services. In Christ, Pastor Preus

2 Theologian in Residence Where: St. Paul Lutheran Chapel, 404 E Jefferson St, Iowa City, IA What: Theologian in Residence, St. Paul Lutheran Chapel s annual teaching weekend, is February 23-25, The speaker will be Rev. Dr. Matthew Rueger, pastor of St. John s Lutheran Church, Hubbard, Iowa. Dr. Rueger will be presenting on his book Sexual Morality in a Christless World. Regarding his book, Concordia Publishing House notes: Like in St. Paul s day, the church around the world and particularly in America now frequently faces hostility at the first mention of homosexuality in casual conversations or public square debates. Author Matthew Rueger openly embraces this hot topic, giving you a framework for defending your beliefs by first exploring the relationship between sexual sin in ancient history and twenty-first century tangles of the same flavor. Topics such as temptation, promiscuity, marriage, homosexuality, natural law, and the church s role in it all swirl together to reveal our unifying need for a Savior. Rueger writes compassionately with a father s heart and adamantly with a fierce determination to outline the truth about sexual morality from a reasoned Christian perspective. When: Schedule for the weekend: Friday night, February 23 7:00PM Students gather at the chapel for an evening of food and fun. Saturday morning, February 24 9:00 AM - Matins 9:30 12:00 Session 1. 12:00 PM Lunch (on your own)* 1:00 PM 2:30 PM Session 2. 2:30 PM - Vespers Sunday morning, February 25 9:15 AM Session 3. 10:30 AM Divine Service Rev. Dr. Rueger preaches. *An $8 lunch is available at St. Paul s Chapel. If interested send an to stpaulschapel.iowacity@gmail.com marked TIR LUNCH.

3 We recently received some original pictures from a former member from around the time ( ) we moved from the old church at 518 W. Finley. This is one of them. Ronald Horn is the one up front along with Rev. Grummer who was our vacancy pastor at the time. I see Jack Finney, the Bruch s, the Peterson s & Ms. Melow, not sure on the spelling. The young fellow at the organ is I do believe Charles Marble the same guy who is still at the organ most Sundays. Bill Ansley.

4 Service for Ash Wednesday is February 14 th, 2018 at 7:15 P.M. Come join us for this service.

5 Trinity Lutheran Church Elders Meeting Minutes January 14, 2018 Attendees: John Schildmier, David Raebel, Mark Jones Jr., Josh Graeve, Scott Hallgren, Greg Wetterich, Pastor Preus Open meeting: Greg Wetterich opened the meeting at 11:30am. Devotion/Opening Prayer: Pastor Preus Book of Concord Review: Reviewed Article XXV (Confession) Pastor s Report: Pastor Preus Membership changes: One family is planning to join our church Mr. and Mrs. Lance and Lindsey Newland 3 daughters: Lina, Kendall, Aria (Kendall and Aria to be baptized) BUSINESS: Elders will continue to cover Head Usher duties until Don is able to return. Don is coming back home on 15Jan. John Bohlmann, David Raebel (one Saturday per month), and Theresa Preus are playing the piano for the Saturday evening service. Need to continue to work on a longer term solution. Greg will update the usher duties and send out to the Elders. The balance of the Elders Fund to be shared with the Elders every month. New Business Pastor will create a list of people who have not attended regularly. The Elders will call them and let them know they are missed and ask if there is anything the church can help with. Pastor will have the list for the February meeting. The Elders would like to have a Stewardship Sunday in the month of October. This will be discussed at the Council meeting. Greg Wetterich was elected as the Head Elder for Months were determined for communion duties. Mark Jones, Jr. is willing to be our congregation s delegate at the district convention June. David Raebel is the alternate. Meeting was closed with the Lord's Prayer at 12:45 pm and the next meeting was scheduled for 11 February at 11:15am (after the worship service). Greg Wetterich

6 Prayer Request To add someone to the Sunday morning prayers, please call the Church office or speak to Pastor Preus on Sunday morning. The Lord s Cupboard We are collecting any brand of Pork and Beans for the month of February to be given to the Lord s Cupboard. Please place your donations on the table in the Narthex. Your participation is greatly appreciated! Newsletter Deadline This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for the March Newsletter will be Tuesday, February 20th, Please information to Fred Grover at blindboyfred@hotmail.com. If you would like to receive an version of the newsletter, just call the church office or e- mail Linda at trinitysecr@centurylink.net with your address. Thank You - Fred Grover. A sincere thank you to everyone for the outpouring of donations, yummy cookies & candies, supplies and help for the Cookie Walk held on December 2nd. LWML realized a profit of just over $1100! We will be donating $100 to LWML Mites which supports many different missions. One thousand dollars will be donated to Trinity's general fund. The next LWML meeting will be held on Monday, March 5th at 6 pm at the church. Agenda: Devotions Old Business New Business Confirmation Reception Graduation Reception Rummage Sale or other Spring Activity Look ahead to Fall Trinity Lutheran Ottumwa Needs/Missions Social Event Plans Close with Prayer Are you interested in praising our Lord with music? Please consider joining the Chime Choir! These instruments are very easy to use and make a joyful noise unto our Lord! We are seeking a few ringers for short time commitments of about 4-5 practices before playing a piece for church. No previous experience required, we only require that you be able to read music. If you are interested, please contact Janis at

7 Trinity Lutheran Church 295 Shaul Ave Ottumwa, IA, (641) (641) (Pastor)

8 ~ February 2018 ~ Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 6:30 a.m. Men s Bible Breakfast at Country Kitchen 2 3 6:00 p.m. Divine Service 4 8:45 a.m. Sunday School/ Youth Group/ Adult Bible Study 10:00 a.m. Divine Service 11:00 a.m. Adult Instruction Class 11 8:45 a.m. Sunday School/ Adult Bible Study/Youth go to Adult Bible Study 10:00 a.m. Divine Service 11:00 a.m. Elders Meeting 18 8:45 a.m. Sunday School/ Youth Group/Adult Bible Study 10:00 a.m. Divine Service 11:00 a.m. Adult Instruction Class 25 9:15 a.m. Theologian in Residence (cont.) at St. John s in Hubbard, IA 8:45 a.m. Sunday School/ Adult Bible Study/ Youth go to Adult Bible Study 10:00 a.m. Divine Service 11:00 a.m. Adult Instruction Class Acolytes 4 th Lucas Matthiesen 11 th Jadyn Hallgren 18 th Erynn Ward 25 th Sam Matthiesen :45 p.m. Wednesday School 7:15 p.m. Vespers :45 p.m. Wednesday School 7:15 p.m. Ash Wednesday Divine Service 19 6:00 p.m. Council Meeting :45 p.m. Wednesday School 7:15 p.m. Lenten Service :45 p.m. Wednesday School 7:15 p.m. Lenten Service Ushers Altar Guild Communion Elder Scott Hallgren 8 6:30 a.m. Men s Bible Breakfast at Country Kitchen 15 6:30 a.m. Men s Bible Breakfast at Country Kitchen 22 6:30 a.m. Men s Bible Breakfast at Country Kitchen :00 p.m. Swaddling Clothes 6:00 p.m. Divine Service :00 p.m. Divine Service 23 7:00 p.m. Theologian in Residence at St. John s Lutheran in Hubbard, IA 24 9:00 a.m. Theologan in Residence (cont.) at St. John s in Hubbard, IA 6:00 p.m. Divine Service