Hi, Everybody! Just when you thought it was safe to open your email, I’m back!
It’s been a month since my last email blast, so some of you may not have heard that long time Holy Trinity member Bertha Van Dusen passed away on August 11. Please keep her family and friends in prayer at this difficult time. A memorial service is planned for some time in September. Details will be forthcoming.
This Sunday, August 27, is the 13th Sunday after Pentecost and Lutheran Loose Change Sunday. Sunday School will be starting up again soon. If you’ve ever wanted to teach Sunday School, there’s a meeting at 9:15 am this Sunday where you can find out how. The youth of HRLC have a tradition of raising money for a good cause by offering parking at Holy Redeemer during Newark Days for a suggested donation. It’s also a good chance for our youth to hang out together and build friendships. If you are interested in helping out with this event (both youth and adults from both HRLC and HTLC), please come to a meeting after worship this Sunday at about 11:15 am. Many thanks to Jay Schaefer who is leading this effort. Newark Days are September 14 through 17.
The church office will be closed on Labor Day, September 4. (I need a day to recover after having had only a month off!)
Then it’s Rally Day on September 10 – the kick-off for our fall Christian education schedule! We are still having a single worship service at 10 am and Sunday School will be at 11:15 am (or so – depending on how long-winded Pastor Tim is!). Sunday Adult Forum and Tuesday Bible Study are still in the works.
I will be updating the Prayers of the Church which are printed in the insert and sent in the emails for each Sunday. Please resubmit any names you want to remain on the list, along with how long you would like them to remain there. You can do this by filling out the prayer request cards provided in the pews and putting them in my box, or by emailing me. People often neglect to tell me when prayers are no longer needed, and the list tends to get longer and longer and needs to be purged every so often. Let’s not pester God with outdated prayers!
Also, some may be confused about the difference between the Prayers of the Church and our Prayer Chain. The Prayers of the Church are more public and are printed in the insert and emailed to everyone on our email list. The Prayer Chain is a group of people who have expressed a willingness to pray when requests are made by contacting Donna Lee or Briana Holland. They take the request for prayers and notify only the Prayer Chain people by email or telephone. We ask in both cases that you limit yourself to prayer requests about people you know personally (for example, “world peace” is not a person). If you would be willing to pray as a member of the Prayer Chain, please contact Donna Lee.
Security alert! There have been several instances lately when doors at the church have been found unlocked or not shut all the way, and windows have been left open. Please, everybody, before you leave, make sure to walk around the buildings and try every door and check each window to make sure they are all completely shut and locked!
– Keith
your friendly Parish Life Coordinator (i.e. Church Secretary)