Trinity Lutheran Church Christian School & Child Care

Rev Dr. Brian J. Hesse, Senior Pastor

Mr. Rick Ryan, Principal

Pastor Rick Black, Trinity Lutheran Woodlands

November 2019

Sunday Services At Trinity

8:00 A.M.,10:30 A.M.

& 6:00 P.M.

Sunday School & Bible Class

9:20 A.M.

You are Cordially Invited to Attend

Non Profit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Amarillo, Texas

Permit No. 307

Trinity Lutheran Church

5005 I-40 West

Amarillo, Texas 79106

Return Service Requested

Trinity Epistle November 2019

Pastor Hesse

This is a month where we will be moving into a season where everyone talks about how full

our calendars will be. Our church, school and child-care will be no different. Before the “busy

season” strikes I want to print for you the words that I read on Sunday, October 20, 2019.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

On Sunday, September 15, I shared with you the news that I had received a divine call

to serve as senior pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lapeer, MI. In that

announcement I quoted to you St. Paul’s words from Philippians 1:12, “I want you to

know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the

Gospel.” Over the past 4 weeks it has been my prayer that the Gospel would be

advanced through this process. In the last 4 weeks many of you have been praying and expressing your words of

support to me and my family. St. Paul Lutheran church has offered many reasons for

me to become their pastor and all of you have offered many reasons to remain pastor

here at Trinity. Each congregation represents a myriad upon myriad of both challenges

and blessings in the ministry that Christ has called us to pursue in His name. After

much fervent prayer and deliberation, the decision reached (one of the toughest of my

life) is one that I believe best advances the Gospel of Jesus Christ using the gifts and

talents alongside the opportunities he has given me at this time. I have been led by the Holy Spirit to return the divine call to St. Paul Lutheran Church

in Lapeer, Michigan and remain the Senior Pastor here at Trinity Lutheran. I want to

thank each of you for your prayers, encouragement and support during this time of

deliberation. It is my prayer that we will continue our God-given mission together of

reaching, teaching and encouraging others through the saving love of Jesus Christ.

Declining the divine call to serve at St. Paul Lutheran in Lapeer means that we still have

ministry to undertake in Christ’s name. Declining that call was also a reaffirmation to partner

with each of you. I firmly believe we, as God’s people have work to do with His gifts and

blessings. Your support, participation and partnership in this ministry is something to be deeply

treasured. Please consider how you will continue or recommit to supporting, participating,

and partnering in our ministry together in the coming “busy season.” Blessings to you in Christ.

Pastor Hesse

Inside this issue

Pastor Black……...…..2 & 3

School News….……....4 & 5

Ladies Day Guild...………6

LWML……...………………...6

Elders…...…………….……..7

Youth.…………….………….7

November Birthday’s…...….8

November Calendar……...9

Special points of interest

Stewardship - Pg. 6

Good Sam - Pg. 6

Evangelism - Pg. 7

Child Care Ministries - Pg. 7

Ushers/Greeters - Pg. 8

CEF - Pg. 10

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Live JOYfully! Love JOYfully!

with Pastor Black

As we continue to dig deeper into the book, “A Little Book on JOY”, we dive right into chapter 3 “The

Greeting about Jesus: Rejoice!” and chapter 4 “The Joy of the Holy Spirit: A ‘Joy Set Before’”. As we dig in

remember again our theme this year at Trinity is Live JOYfully! Love JOYfully! Based on the Gospel of John

15:11 where Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy

may be full.” I truly pray that you are feeling the JOY of Jesus as you are reading through this book with me.

I feel so happy when I am reading the book that sometimes I wish that the moment would not go away. The

JOY is so uplifting and JOYous that you just can’t help but have a smile on your face. If you are just now joining us in this Journey we are reading through the book “A Little Book on JOY”, by

Matthew C. Harrison. Next month we will be talking about chapter 5 “The Joy of Repentance: A Joy without

Compare” and chapter 6 “A Just Joy”. So if you will be reading along with me please read pages 35-47. You

can dig a little deeper by going through the questions at the end of each chapter. As I continue to read through “A Little Book on JOY,” I find myself sitting in my chair and wearing a rally big

smile at one moment and having tears run down my face the next. I wish that other people could read this

book and feel the love of Jesus and the JOY that He brings even in the sad times. In chapter 3 we see the

good news of great JOY. God’s grace is the source of JOY. Let’s look at some of the questions from chapter 3

page 25. Q1 – Read Luke 1:28-30 and Matthew 28:9-10. How does the Lord’s joy dispel and displace fear? The

greetings are greetings for rejoicing. For Mary she had found favor with God. In other words, she was

approved by God for the task set before her. And for the disciples it was the presence of Jesus that caused

them to rejoice. The greeting in both instances are a time of rejoicing in the presence of the Almighty. Q2 – How are joy and grace related in the New Testament? Grace is the source of joy. On page 20 of the

book we see the common cognates for joy (chara, “inner joy,” and chairein, “to rejoice”) and these come

from the root word (char) in Greek that means “grace”. “But surprised by joy, they (Mary and the disciples)

were comforted by grace and given the gift of rejoicing. I have to admit that the tears came in chapter 4. How many of us have been in that situation with a friend or

even with your own self? Yes, I am a sinner! Yes, I believe that Jesus died for me! But why can I not walk the

walk. And here is where the tears came in. “Jesus came for sinners. For Pete’s sake, Jesus died for sinners!

Come join us sinners at church!” (page 29) And as I read this they were quickly turned to tears of JOY. The

JOY of knowing that Christ has covered me with His righteousness and that I have the hope,

understanding and promise that He will come to take me home to be with Him. The end of Psalm 22 is great

– after a Psalm outlining past promises kept and present suffering the Psalmist points to the future: that HE

HAS DONE IT. The smile is back. Let’s look at some questions from chapter 4 page 33.

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Page 10 Page 3

Q1 – What is the “secret to living a good news life in a bad news world?” Christians are not always

going to be happy or joyful. Q2 – How would you distinguish happiness from joy? Happiness is what people see on the outside.

Joy is connected with our hope which is inside of us and it shows. Please go over the other questions and the “Something to think about” in each chapter. If you have something you would like to share with me please email them to me at rblack@trinityama.org, or you can text me at 806-881-5027. Please remember that you may be the JOY in someone’s life so live JOYfully and love JOYfully each and every day. May your days be filled with JOY! Live JOYfully! Love JOYfully! Walk with Light Pastor Black

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THANK YOU! Fall Festival 2019 was another fun time with our hallways filled with so many people. It was a huge success and YOU are a BIG reason why! So again, we want to say THANK YOU to all of our congregational members and families for your support and contributions made to our Fall Festival! Your great support and encouragement never ceases to amaze us, and the

partnership we share is a blessing to the school ministry and its mission to share our JOY in JESUS with all God’s children and their families. Once again came together as one family to enjoy another successful

Fall Festival! A great time was had by all!!!

THANK YOU again for… Those special individual contributions! All those FABULOUS Silent Auction Donations! Volunteer Help…it was TREMENDOUS! Your support of our Raffle…Hope you won a Three Night Stay or Gift Certificates! And especially THANK YOU for being there to share this traditional event again with us!

We look forward to spending next year with you! Because we Live JOYfully! and Love JOYfully!

Our School Ministry Continues to GROW…Together!

Special NOVEMBER 2019 Calendar Dates to Look Forward to: Live JOYfully! Love JOYfully!

Sharing Our JOY in JESUS!

Celebrating 72 Years of Trinity Lutheran Christian School Ministry…

Friday, November 1

st...TLCS Cookie Dough and Cheesecake Delivery Day…Come by the school between 12:00 – 5:00p.m. and pick-up your order!

Monday - Friday, November 4th – 8th...TLCS Scholastic Book Fair

Friday, November 22nd...Join us as we share in the blessing of our 72nd year as a School Ministry as

we come together to celebrate our Thanksgiving Luncheon together. Friday, November 22nd… TIGER SPIRIT DAY & SCHOOL Store Sunday, November 24thh – Tuesday, November 26th...Faculty attends the Professional Educators

Conference in Houston. Monday - Friday, November 25th – 29th…Fall Break/Thanksgiving Holidays – NO SCHOOL. Monday, December 2nd...Classes resume at 8:15a.m.

Tiger Spirit Items… NEW Trinity T-Shirts, Tiger Mugs, Athletic Bottles, Baseball Caps, and Tiger Car

Decals, and many other items that will help to show the Amarillo community your true Tiger Spirit.

Get your spirit items from our Tiger Spirit Store NOW!

They make GREAT Christmas Gifts! Catch that TIGER spirit!

FIND OUT THE LATEST ABOUT YOUR TRINITY TIGERS BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE at www.trinitylutheranschool.org or

follow us on our Trinity School Facebook page!

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November 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Men’s Bible Study

Breakfast - 8:00 am

Set up for Good

Sam Harvest

Festival - 9 am

3

Good Sam Harvest

Festival - 8 am-3

pm

4

5

Ladies Day Guild/

Parlor - 1 pm

6

Confirmation - 5:45-

7:00 pm

Child Care Bd. Mtg./

Woodlands - 6:15

pm

7

Life Light/Parlor -

9:30 am

Bd. of Ed. Mtg. -

6 pm

8 9

Evangelism Mtg. - 9

am

10

Faith Milestone 4th

Grade

11 12

Quilters/Parlor - 9

am

Elders Mtg./Parlor -

6 pm

13

Junior Youth 5:45-

7:00 pm

14

Life Light/Parlor -

9:30 am Church Council/

Fellowship Hall - 6

pm College Planning

Workshop/Parlor

6:30-8:00 pm

15 16

17

Voter’s Mtg./

Fellowship Hall -

12:30 pm

18

LWML Mtg./Parlor -

6:30 pm

19 20

Confirmation - 5:45-

7:00 pm

21

Life Light/Parlor -

9:30 am

22

Thanksgiving

Luncheon/Trinity -

11:00 am

Mountain Toppers/

Parlor - 6:30 pm

23

24 25 26 27

No Confirmation

Thanksgiving Eve

Worship/

Woodlands - 7 pm

28

No Life Light

Office Closed

29

Office Closed

30

Professional Educators Conference—Houston

FALL BREAK - November 25-29

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Bob Robison 11/1

Paul Borchardt 11/2

Paisley Fehr 11/2

Hope DeWald 11/3

Jacob Mendez 11/3

Trent Barclay 11/4

Jeff Tormey 11/5

Brynlee Jo Ledford 11/6

Karmyn Seaberg 11/6

Diana Koerting 11/7

Joshua Beggs 11/8

MaKenna Schneider 11/8

Juliet Greim 11/9

Alex Hoot 11/10

Evelyn O’Connell 11/10

Josh Evans 11/12

Sabrina Parker 11/13

James Wells 11/13

Misty Wilkins 11/13

Gene Bernhardt 11/16

Becky Burt 11/16

Neal Offerdahl 11/16

Carol Froeschle 11/17

Lisa Johnson 11/17

Dona Swygard 11/17

Paula Borchardt 11/20

Troy Edwards 11/20

Linda Moldenhauer 11/20

Lisa Bonin 11/21

Audrianna Cantu 11/21

Kim Reynolds 11/21

Brad Riffel 11/23

Fain Kaspar 11/25

Melva Kardos 11/26

Audrey Ryder 11/27

Olive Young 11/27

Rusty Johnson 11/28

Allen Richter 11/28

David Brooks 11/30

Alyssa Jackson 11/30

10:30 AM Service

Steve Hauter

Daryl Hurst

Garrett Hurst

Justin Hurst

Ronnie Roberts

Join Us For Sunday School - 9:20 AM

Class Topic Location

Pastor Hesse Prophet Isaiah Fellowship Hall

Rick Ryan A Look at Corinthians Parlor

High School Enduring Faith Basement - Youth Room

Jr. High “ “ Rm. 3/School Hall

Grades 3-5 “ “ Rm. 2/School Hall

Grades K-2nd “ “ Rm. 5/School Hall

Grades PK3 & PK4 “ “ Rm. 5/School Hall

Remember that Sunday School for children and youth

PK-8th grade begins in the music Rm/Rm #3 with an

Opening Worship before dismissal to individual classes!

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COOKIE DOUGH FUND-RAISER UPDATE Your Cookie Dough & Cheesecake orders will be here on Friday, November 1st! Come by the school between 12:00 – 5:00p.m. to pick up your order. Thank you again for your support in helping us exceed our goal of $4,500!

NOVEMBER’S CHAPEL OFFERINGS – HIGH PLAINS FOOD BANK… Once again, our chapel offerings for November and

December will be going to the High Plains Food Bank. This is our annual special service project supporting our local area food bank. Our young people at both campuses will not only collect chapel offerings throughout the next two months, but will also challenge themselves and you to fill TEN barrels of non-perishable food items. There will be seven barrels on our Trinity campus and three barrels on our Woodlands campus. It would be fantastic if we can fill all those barrels and have to request even more barrels. Join our efforts to support those in our community who do not have the blessings of being able to provide food for their families. If you would like to support these efforts through any monetary gifts to

our designation, please see Mr. Ryan for ways you can be part of our mission project this month. Please keep this chapel designation in your prayers!

TLCS Scrip Program! This is our annual fund-raising program for everyone! We are so blessed by the support we receive from so many of you. The holiday season will be here soon! Our Scrip Program is a perfect opportunity to meet all those Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday needs. You can use gift cards for those special holiday menu items, as well as making sure you have all your gift choices covered! Remember that we will be selling gift cards every Sunday (located in the hallway leading into the school) and every Wednesday morning at school! Your support of our Scrip Program continues to provide so many important items for the ministry here at Trinity! Please contact Kara Starbuck for more information on how to get your cards. Scrip is a great opportunity for everyone!

SPECIAL THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON…Get ready to mark your calendars for Friday, November 22nd for our annual traditional Thanksgiving Luncheon celebrating the many blessings God has given to our school ministry as we gather on this special day. We will share our traditional Thanksgiving meal during our lunch hour as our students and staff gather in the Family Life Center (gym) for this special opportunity. Please join us as we give thanks for all God’s blessings for seventy-two years of ministry through the mission of our school! Be on the lookout for more information or call the school office on

how you can be part of this special day on Friday, November 22nd. Let us ALL come together to share our JOY in JESUS!!!

Leave a Legacy of Love for Trinity! Please consider how you can support your school ministry for 2019-2020!

There are MANY ways to help that will impact lives forever… ♥ Ruth Stelzer Memorial Endowment ♥ Trinity Scrip Program ♥ 2019-2020 Scholarship Needs…We have a greater need this year for financial support! ♥ Thrivent Action Teams… Consider using your two (2) $250 opportunities to support projects for the church, school, and child development centers. Our next school project/event will be our children’s Christmas Program in December. There will be many projects to choose from and it is easy to do! Please contact your Thrivent representative or Mr. Ryan for details. ♥ CHOICE DOLLARS…Don’t forget to designate those free dollars! ♥ Any Special Designated Gifts

BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION UPDATE: The board worked on sections of the accreditation self-study and looked at other potential

needs for our accreditation visit in the spring 2020. The strategic planning was scheduled for the first of the new year. Enrollment continues to be stable. We have 82 students at the Trinity campus and 25

students at the Woodlands campus. We have a total of 205 children and their families impacted by our child development center and school ministries. Please keep our children ministries in your prayers.

The new playground addition is almost complete. The board would like to thank Mr. Jerry Schlegel for his leadership on this project.

PLEASE CONTACT MR. RYAN…IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY SCHOOL MINISTRY NEEDS

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4th & 5th Grade News Fall is in the air! The First Quarter has ended and we are well on our way to a very busy time of year. God has blessed us with wonderful students, staff and teachers. The 4th and 5th graders have been really busy with Science, Reading, and Language Arts. 4th graders are learning about the Lone Star State and the 5th grade have been learning about American history. They are working really hard this year. We want to say thank you for all of your prayers and support for our school. In His service, Mrs. Lisa Johnson

LADIES DAY GUILD

Day Guild will meet Tuesday, November 5th at 1 p.m. in the parlor. Hostesses will be Pam Russell and Cheryl Awe. November is Thanksgiving month so our service project is bringing non-perishable food items for High Plains Food Bank (HPFB). Also, we're donating our offering this month to HPFB. Sharon Ackley has the closing devotion and our closing hymn is Now Thank We All Our God.

The monthly meeting will be November 18 at 6:30 pm. We will be putting together bean bag chairs for the Trinity school library. Coming soon will be our cookie and candy baked goods sale on

December 15 following both 8 am and 10:30 am services.

The Good Samaritan Harvest Festival will be on Sunday, November 3. The ham dinner will be served from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and the Country store is open from 9 am to 1:30 pm. There will be a free will offering for the dinner. All proceeds will be donated to the Good Samaritan Campus of Bethesda Lutheran Communities in Cypress, Texas to enhance the lives of people with intellectual and Developmental disabilities through services that show the good news of Jesus Christ.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 18, 1546, Martin Luther closed his eyes forever. And the hand that hammered the 95 Theses into the door of the Castle Church in

Wittenberg on Oct. 31, 1517, penned its final words: “We are all beggars. This is true.” And this is the truth that our Lord says makes you free. Ironic, isn’t it? That, in order to be free, you must be a beggar; you must be utterly dependent and reliant upon God. This makes us uncomfortable – the way we’re uncomfortable when someone gets us a Christmas or birthday present when we haven’t gotten them one. We feel we owe them. And we don’t much like being in someone’s debt. But what Luther would remind us is that we are all indeed beggars. But we’re not just anyone’s beggars. We’re God’s beggars. And this is His legacy to the Christian Church. Christ came for sinners. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to heal the sick and raise the dead. He came for sinners, and He dwells only with sinners. And, if we are to be where He is, we must be willing to be counted among the lost, the sick, and the dead. We must be willing to be beggars. We must cry out for mercy, for grace, and for his undeserved love and kindness. We must be dependent solely on Him and what He gives. And here’s the beauty: He gives us everything. Everything – forgiveness of sins, salvation from death and the devil, and eternal life. This is not because of any worthiness or merit in us, but it is because of His divine goodness, mercy, and grace. On account of Christ’s death and resurrection, the Father forgives you, saves you, and is pleased with you. And you receive. You receive His love, His righteousness, His holiness, His acceptance, and His inheritance. We are all beggars. This is true. So inexhaustible are the riches of this grace – the Gospel in sermon and absolution, in Baptism and Holy Communion – that our cups overflow. We, who are God’s beggars, are not only inexhaustibly satisfied but have something to give back in thanksgiving and praise. Your Stewardship Board

High School Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and Families Thrivent Financial will be hosting a College Planning workshop at Trinity on Thursday, November 14 from 6:30- 8:00 pm. This workshop will cover: resources to evaluate schools, choose majors and careers, and finances, including the process of calculating the "expected family contribution" that is used by all colleges to determine eligibility for financial aid. In addition, each family will be offered a one on one, online consultation with a workshop leader in the 2-4 weeks following the workshop. Please make plans to attend this very informative evening. Contact Pastor Hesse or Stacy Tormey to sign up.

Elder’s Duties for November: ●Worship Assistant – Mandrup Skeie; Alternate: Brett Mackey

●Hospital Visits – Dee Goff

Transfers: ●Greg Terrell requested a transfer from our congregation

to Good Shepard Lutheran Church in Midwest City, OK. ●Joe and Carol Froeschle transferred from Beautiful

Savior in Amarillo. ●Brian, Alyse, Grant, and Sloan Lindstrom transferred

from Peace Lutheran Church, in Flagstaff, AZ. There were 366 participants in the BBQ Sunday making it the best attended Sunday service (aside from Easter) in 2 years. Worship Calendar Items: ●Thanksgiving – 7:00 p.m. at the Woodlands Campus. ●Advent – “Behold the Lamb” theme. ●Christmas – Christmas Eve service will start at 6:30 p.m.

Christmas Day service will begin at 10:00 a.m. ●New Years Eve service will begin at 6:30 p.m. Pastor Black and Rev. Hesse received numerous favorable

comments around the fellowship among the two

campuses at the BBQ Sunday event. The overwhelming

communication was to have joint services with

communion at various times throughout the year. It was

proposed and agreed that every month with five Sundays

that the 5th Sunday we have a joint campus service with

communion. These joint services will be held at the

Trinity, I-40 campus until our Woodlands campus is able

to also hold these services.

Pastor Sefu requested to hold an African gospel concert to be held on November 9, 2019 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Sanctuary. Free will gifts will be accepted following the concert.

Invitations were given to each family in Child Care, for FRIENDSHIP SUNDAY. Trinity’s Combination Friendship Sunday, New Member Sunday and BBQ Sunday was a huge success. We pray for our new

members and their families to grow with us as ONE TRINITY. Ongoing monthly Ronald McDonald supply and snack drop off under the mailboxes. We would still like to hear some of your pocket cross testimonies. Email kgray@trinityama.org to share. Pick up one or two from the church restrooms.

Child Care Ministries As of our October 2 meeting, Child Care enrollment was 82 students with 26 staff members at TLC, and 86 children with 20 staff members at TLCW. God’s blessings to Leslie Hill, the new director of TLC, and her family on the arrival of Ian David. Angie Lewis, Mercedes Gutierrez, and Melia Cox will continue to take care of our kids, parents, and staff during Mrs. Hill’s maternity leave. We appreciate the prayers and encouragement we receive each day from our congregation. Please remember to participate in the Trunk or Treat festivities at Trinity Woodlands. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6 at 6:15 pm at Trinity Woodlands.

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