Almost all of us have experienced a life changing event in our lives. It could be something full of joy…or it could be something tragic. But all of us at some point, have, or will experience something that suddenly, unexpectedly, causes everything to change. I’ve read interviews with people who worked at the World Trade Center on … More Holy Disruption
This morning I finished the next in my series of sabbatical books to read. Beyond Church Walls: Cultivating a Culture of Care by Rick Rouse. Trinity has worked hard in the last couple of years to think about how we connect and serve within our community. We were working to connect individuals to serve at … More Beyond Church Walls
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
Miss Lucille was a woman who lived in what was basically a plywood shack, in the small community of Morehead City, North Carolina. The youth group I was leading was there as volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, to work on her new home. Living with Miss Lucille was her daughter, who was herself a single … More #ForOwatonna Part III: Treasure
We are just one week away from the 2nd anniversary of the tornado that came through Owatonna, September 20th, 2018. Remember that one? For a couple of days, the power was out through most of the town, including here at church. We had to shout our way through the Saturday night worship service, and the … More Today We Start With Why
And God said, “it is good.” It is good. It is amazingly, astonishingly, good. And we are the beneficiaries of this goodness. The scripture tells us that there is an author, a creator, and that the creator is good. The creator is the source of all things good. The Hebrew word for God is Elohim…Elohim … More Created Fresh
I love almost everything about bonfires. I love the warmth that a bonfire gives. I love the color of the flames. I love the smell of the burning firewood. I love the crackling sound the fire makes. I love when the marshmallow blends over the chocolate in the s’more. I love the good conversations that … More Ashes
A sermon by Pastor Cindy, Deacon Kris, Pastor Todd and Pastor Amanda (in abstentia) In his book, UnChristian, researcher David Kinnaman studied the attitudes and perspectives of those who choose not to participate in a church, or a faith community. These are not necessarily people who don’t believe in God, or don’t have faith, but … More We are #ForOwatonna
This Lent, we are focusing our Wednesday, mid-week Lenten worship services on the word “Scarred.” God created the world and declared it to be “good.” But sin and brokenness entered the world. In our confession, we acknowledge that “we are captive to sin, and cannot free ourselves…” Sin shows up in broken relationships: Our relationship … More Scarred
The CAT survey (Congregational Assessment Tool) that Trinity undertook in late winter/early spring reports on the health and vitality of the congregation. As I’ve reported in my first blog post on the subject, as well as the second, I think we can feel pretty good about how our congregation is doing and the trajectory that … More CAT Results Part 3: Direction
Test Driving Theology 