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
My first car was a 1978 AMC Concord DL (DL for DeeLuxe!) For those unfamiliar with the AMC Concord, it was a small car, a compact, but it was a bit of a beast. I think the bodies were made out of cast iron. But the thing that my particular AMC Concord DL was known for, besides … More The Moment That Changed Everything
This past week, Lori, Sam and I watched a documentary on Netflix called “14 Peaks.” It is the story of a man from Nepal, named Nimsdai Purja. Nimsdai grew up in Kathmandu. After he finished school and graducated, he decided to join the British army. (Nepal is a British protectorate). After serving four years, Nimsdai tried out for, and was … More What Do You Expect?
Sam, our youngest son, and I were on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip a couple of weeks ago. We’d been paddling up along the Canadian border. It was our last night in the wilderness and we were looking for our camp site. Paddling on two different lakes, Alpine and then … More Crossing Boundaries
Human beings have an interesting and sometimes complicated relationship with our own emotions. As children, we try to learn to manage them. Everything is immediate and everything is a crisis. Then we hit puberty, and our emotions become a hormone fed firestorm. As then as young adults, we begin to learn to regulate our emotions, … More From Compassion to Action
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
Dear friends, Two weeks ago, I was made aware of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by James Oakland, who served as an associate pastor at Trinity from 1976 to 1980. A victim has carried the pain of this experience for forty years, and in May, filed a report with the Evangelical Lutheran Church … More An Important Announcement for Trinity Members
We’ve come to the end of the season of Lent. In just a couple of days, we celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week and the journey to the cross and then the empty tomb. During our midweek Lenten worship services we have been thinking together about the scars that we carry in … More Wounds + Healing = Scars
I carry my scars. You do too. I have experienced heart wrenching loss. I have experienced painful, broken relationships. I have made choices that I regret…and in some cases, people I care about have made choices…that I regret. These hurts have caused scars. And as a pastor, I’ve spoken with too many people who have … More Emotional Scars
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
Test Driving Theology 