The season of Advent often feels like you’re standing just at the edge of dawn. Have you ever been up in the morning for a sunrise? Then you know exactly what I’m talking about: The sky is still dim. The world is quiet. Yet there is just enough light on the horizon to tell you that morning … More Hope Refines
Whether you’ve been part of Trinity for decades or you’re walking through the doors for the first time on Christmas Eve, we want you to feel at home. Christmas worship is one of the most beautiful nights of the year here, and a little helpful info can help you relax, settle in, and simply enjoy … More A User’s Guide to Christmas at Trinity
Christmas. Just hearing the word fills our hearts with warmth. It brings memories of glowing lights, joyful gatherings, candlelight, and music that stirs our very soul. But beyond the joy and tradition, Christmas is the season of love coming to earth; a celebration of the child who changed…well, who changed everything. Today, through these beautiful carols … More This is Christmas
Pastor Alan Sherouse writes a story about preparing for Christmas with his children. He wanted his kids to understand the real meaning of Christmas. So, one night, in the middle of December, he sat down at the kitchen table with his youngest child, and they began to assemble a cardboard cutout nativity scene: a stable, a manger, Mary and Joseph, … More You Are a Blessing
Dear friends, As we enter the sacred season of Advent, we are invited to embrace a theme that resonates deeply with the yearnings of our hearts and the promise of our faith: “Those Who Dream.” Inspired by the opening lines of Psalm 126, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those … More Advent Dreams: Journeying with the Dreamers of Faith
I’ve read these scripture passages, probably hundreds of times. This week, I noticed something new. This week, I noticed that when the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary, to tell her about her upcoming pregnancy, the scriptures say that Mary was “shaken” by the angel’s words. Other translations use the word “perplexed.” Mary is shaken not by the presence of … More You are Favored
In his great book on adaptive leadership, “Canoeing the Mountains,” Tod Bolsinger tells the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In August of 1805, Captain Meriwether Lewis stood at the freshwater spring that was the source of the Missouri River. It had been a long and painful journey. He and his company had been … More Way Off the Map
This has been hard. I know this to be true. Since mid-March, we have struggled with COVID, with a deepening racial divide and with a toxic election. And so much has been taken away. Not the lease of which has been our ability to gather together for worship every Sunday morning. A couple of weeks … More It Might Be Time to Build Some New Habits
Dear friends, This is not a note I’d hoped to be writing to you. Trinity has made the difficult decision to again suspend in-person worship, effective immediately. There are three sets of data to which we have been paying close attention: The number of cases per 10,000 in Steele County The positivity rate in Steele … More Trinity Suspends In-Person Worship
I am an impatient person. When I spot something I want, I want it right now. If there is an idea that I think is great, I want to implement it. Right now. Lori has sometimes referred to me as “Mr. Immediate Gratification.” So I understand the desire to move straight to Christmas. We want … More Don’t Skip Past the Waiting
Test Driving Theology 