TRINITY

TOWER January 2018

Volume 26, Issue 1

Sunday Worship 8:45 & 10:15 a.m.

January 7 Epiphany of Our Lord Matthew 2:1-12

Holy Communion Baptism Celebration

January 14 Second Sunday after Epiphany

John 1:43-51 Chancel Bells

10 a.m. Altar Communion Reception for Pastor Carrie

January 21 Third Sunday after Epiphany

Mark 1:14-20 Youth Choir

Holy Communion

January 28 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Mark 1:21-28 Sanctuary Choir

10 a.m. Altar Communion Annual Meeting

FED: Faith & Finances is January 8

Are your kids ready for the real world of finances?

We had a great turnout at the FED event in October on mental health and wellness. We hope it has started a conversation in your home and opened a door to discuss a difficult topic. Please let us know if you need additional resources or support.

The second FED event will cover faith and finances so that your family can begin preparing for the future. Understanding finances at all levels is crucial, and it’s never too early to start the discussion as a family.

Does your child know how to…

• make a weekly or monthly budget and stick to it?

• open, use and balance a checking account?

• apply for a credit card and use it responsibly?

• save to buy a desired item?

• set aside money for charity?

Come together as a family to learn where and how to start discussing financial topics, as well as what life after high school is like. The event on January 8 will begin at 7:00 p.m. with a large group presentation by a few of Trinity’s Thrivent Financial representatives. We will then break into workshops covering age-specific topics. These workshops are for parents AND kids, so make sure to bring the whole family! (Child care will be provided for younger children. Contact the church office at 952-473-8577 if your family will need it.)

Breakout Sessions:

• Money 101 (Recommended for 3rd-5th grade families): It’s never too early to start talking about money. Learn how to begin a discussion about the influences and choices regarding money.

• Share, Save, Spend (Recommended for 6-8th grade families): Middle school is the time when children begin to make their own choices. Help your child become knowledgeable on how to make responsible choices with their money, including sharing, saving and spending.

• The Game of Real Life (Recommended for 9-12th grade): Are you ready for college? Do you know how to set a budget? Learn valuable and practical knowledge about life after high school and how you can prepare for it now.

Farewell Reception for Pastor Carrie Scheller

Sunday, January 14 Between worship services

Join us as we thank Pastor Carrie for her 10 years of

ministry at Trinity. For many of us, she has been at our side

when we needed prayer or support, or were facing a

life-changing event. We are grateful for her spirit of love

and commitment.

Thank you, Pastor Carrie! Please sign up in advance for breakout sessions:

www.trinitylonglake.org/FED

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Trinity Women

Progressive Adult Ministry

Trinity Kids

Celebration of Baptism on Jan. 7 after worship All who were baptized in 2017 and their families are invited to celebrate the milestone on Sunday, January 7 at 11:30 a.m. in the Great Hall.

The 4-year-old Grow in Faith Milestone will be celebrated Jan. 28 during Trinity Kids. They will lead a prayer for the preschoolers.

Pub Theology is Jan. 2 at McGarry’s in Maple Plain

Discuss “Skepticism” and ask any questions you have regarding your faith. Come for dinner at 7 p.m., and the conversation will start at 8 p.m. We will be at McGarry’s for the rest of the season: Feb. 13, March 13, April 3, May 8.

Why Lutheran? continues Sunday, Jan. 7.

Come learn about our Lutheran roots and traditions. We’ll meet at 10 a.m. in the Fireside Room.

The Greatest Gift of All—Thank you!

A huge thank you to all the wonderful women who attended our Christmas event on Dec. 5. We had so much fun, and almost $600 was donated to buy gifts for our neighbors at Orono Woodlands. Special thanks to Christy Morse for sharing her story and to the planning team led by Rebecca Furnival, including Eleana Bann, Rachel Dodge and Jennie Eastman.

Trinity Women SERVE: Days for Girls, Jan. 21 TW is hosting a sew-a-thon to make and assemble feminine hygiene kits for the nonprofit, Days for Girls International. Participants must be 5 years of age or older. No sewing experience is necessary! Visit www.trinitylonglake.org/TrinityWomen or the Sign Up Center at church for more info and to RSVP.

Save the date: Be the Light Retreat, Feb. 9 & 10 The spring retreat will span two days, starting Friday night and ending Saturday. This is not an overnight retreat. The event will involve fellowship, food and fun! It will also feature guest speaker, Jodi Houge. Jodi is the founder and leader of Humble Walk Church in St. Paul, a church that

began 8 years ago out of a neighborhood coffee shop. This is a retreat you won’t want to miss! Registration will open mid-January. Watch the E-News for details.

Youth Fundraiser Gala Sunday, February 25th, 2018

Silent Auction 3-5pm Dinner Theater 5-6:30pm

It’s that time of year again… Trinity’s 17th Annual Dinner Theater and Silent Auction! Set aside

February 25th for an afternoon you won’t forget!

Donation collections have begun. Forms can be found in the office or at trinitylonglake.org.

Tickets for the dinner will go on sale Sunday, February 4th.

The fundraiser supports all High School and Middle School trips this summer.

We are so grateful for your support!

Middle School & High School

Confirmation Lenten Mentors are due Jan. 31 During Lent, Confirmation students meet with adult mentors on Wednesday nights. All 6-8th graders are expected to ask an adult from the congregation. If you need help finding a mentor, contact Tyler or Kelsey.

Ultimate Lock-In is Jan. 19-20 in Maple Grove Come for an overnight adventure at the Maple Grove Community Center with hundreds of middle school youth from all over the West Metro. The event is free for all registered confirmation youth. Register online: www.trinitylonglake.org/lock-in-registration. HS youth are needed as volunteers (earn service points!).

Fundraiser Meeting #1 is Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. If you are going on one of the MS or HS trips this summer, come and learn how you can earn up to 50% of your trip cost.

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Congregational Life Together at Trinity

Membership If you are interested in membership, please talk with a pastor or complete

the form found on the website.

A New Member Orientation will be January 28 at 11:30 a.m. Please

RSVP at the Sign Up Center.

Funerals “I am the resurrection and the life.”

William Loe

Financial Update Through November – Thank you for your giving and investment in Trinity. Giving in November was $8,600 higher than budget. Through November, giving is now just ($2,100), or (0.2%) below budget. As always, we encourage you to continue your generosity in 2018. An easy way to stay current on your giving is through electronic giving. Please contact the church office for a form, or visit the giving page: www.trinitylonglake.org/giving. Over 80 families are already giving electronically!

Trinity also accepts stock gifts, and if you’re 70½ or older, an IRA Charitable Rollover may be right for you. Contact Rindee Erdmann, Financial Manager, by email at rindee@trinitylonglake.org or by phone at 952-473-8577 x136 for more information.

The Grief Coalition meets Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. This winter, the group is meeting at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church in Minnetonka.

Go paperless! Sign up to get the Tower electronically.

Help us save paper by switching to the Tower email list. You’ll get the newsletter at the beginning of the month via email. Call the Trinity office at 952-473-8577 to make the switch. Thank you in advance.

This month’s Community Meal is Thursday, Jan. 25, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Trinity. Volunteers are needed to help – please see the Sign Up Center if interested. All are welcome–bring the kids, too!

ELCA Boundaries Workshop Recap. At the end of November, six staff members attended an ELCA training about fostering healthy relationships while maintaining boundaries. Topics discussed included defining boundaries, naming power and reporting misconduct.

Thank You from Terrie Allen

Thank you for your kind words, warm hugs, beautiful cards, and very generous gift. What an honor it has been for me to serve Trinity these past 16 years. I am so excited about Julie. She is going to be a wonderful addition to the Trinity staff, and you will love partnering with her. Please introduce your family to her and be sure to support her by stepping forward when help is needed.

Warmest regards, Terrie Allen

P.S. See you in church!

Feed My Starving Children MobilePack, April 13-15. Trinity’s planning team will begin meeting soon to plan the 5th MobilePack event. To join the team, contact Jill Cornell at jillc@trinitylonglake.org.

Thanks to Buzz Hanning and Tom Lane, we have retrofitted the high bay fixtures in the Great Hall with ballast bypass LED lamps.

The new Sanctuary Projection System & Screens have been installed, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. A very special thank you to all those who assisted with the funding for this project. Trinity is blessed by amazing, supportive, generous and dedicated believers. With the new system, we are also looking for more volunteers to operate the system and streaming camera during worship. This is simple, and we offer training. See Mark or Charlie if interested.

Julie Vagle will be installed during worship on Sunday, Jan. 21. Come welcome Julie as our new Director of Children & Family.

The Annual Meeting is Jan. 28

Join us Sunday, Jan. 28 at 9:30 a.m. We will approve the 2018 Ministry Plan and elect new leadership.

All annual reports are due Jan. 12. Please turn into Cindy in the church office at cindyp@trinitylonglake.org.

Adults needed for Lenten Mentoring. During Lent, Confirmation youth (6-8th grade) meet with adult mentors on Wednesday nights. Some youth have trouble finding mentors. If you are willing to help, please email Kelsey (kelseya@trinitylonglake.org), and we will partner you with a student. Lenten mentoring runs Feb. 14-March 21. Learn more at www.trinitylonglake.org/FaithMentors

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Volunteer Opportunities

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as fa ithful stewards o f God’s grace.” –1 Peter 4:10

Worship Assistants. No experience is necessary! Please consider giving it a try. Sign up as a family or individual. See the Sign Up Center or email Linda Koltes at lindak@trinitylonglake.org.

Wednesday Interfaith Outreach Night, Jan. 10 (ReSale Store) & Feb. 14 (Food Shelf), 5:30-8 p.m. 8-10 volunteers (12 & older) are needed.

Crisis Nursery Breakfast, Jan. 13, 6:30-9:30 a.m. 4-6 volunteers (12 & older) are needed.

Simpson Shelter Breakfast, Feb. 3, 5:30-8:30 a.m. 10-12 volunteers (any age) needed.

Sign up for these opportunities in the narthex or online at www.trinitylonglake.org/signups-media

Look what we are collecting — Can you help?

Items for Interfaith Outreach: Cleaning supplies (e.g., Windex, Lysol wipes, furniture polish, etc.)

Items for the 2018 AGAPE Market: Qt-sized jars.

Ongoing Donations: Used cell phones/batteries; travel-size shampoo, soap, cream rinse; grocery/coupon books (expired no more than 30 days); paper bags; diapers (any size and quantity); socks (men’s & women’s); reusable bags; women’s bras (any size, new) and feminine hygiene products.

Place donations in the bins at the Sign Up Center.*

*Please note: While we appreciate the many donations received monthly, we often get items that we are not collecting. If you have items to donate and aren’t sure where to take them, please contact Jill Cornell at jillc@trinitylonglake.org.

2017 AGAPE Gift Market Totals

The AGAPE Gift Market and Mini-Markets far exceeded our goal as a team and enabled us as a church to support multiple organizations. We can’t thank you enough for the many ways you have supported this year’s market. Your gift of time, donations (cookies, items to repurpose, raffle items, handmade items, and vintage/home décor) and shopping the market was appreciated and truly made a difference!

All vendors donated 20% of their total proceeds to the general market in lieu of a space/table fee. Some vendors even chose to donate significantly more. This totaled $3,024.04. We are grateful to all the vendors for their support and participation.

This year, the total impact of the market was $25,304.49 – compared to $20,011.15 in 2016!

The distributions from the net proceeds of $20,178 from the general market were as follows:

Local ($6,726)

• $1,200 to Greater Mpls Crisis Nursery (purchased items of critical need)

• $2,835 to Simpson Shelter (purchased 10 mats and mattress covers that are rip-, stain- and pest-proof)

• $2,691 to the Link (works with families and youth to overcome poverty and social injustice)

Disaster Relief ($6,728)

• $6,728 to the ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response, directed to support Puerto Rico

Global ($6,728)

• $6,728 to the ELCA Good Gifts Program, supporting women and children with education, microloans, farming, and food (crops and animals)

In addition, the other ministries impacted from the market totaled $5,126.70:

• $812.50 to HS youth (SOH and Mission Trip)

• $330.40 to Prayer Shawl Ministry

• $651.20 to Dorcas Circle

• $168 to El Salvador Women’s Co-op

• $1,116 to Resurrection Church in El Salvador

• $25 to San Pablo Women’s Leadership

• $693.60 to Peru Orphanage/Hospital

• $516 to Seeds of Hope, El Salvador Education (sponsorship & university funds)

• $814 – Seeds of Hope, El Salvador Education (University fund, Sale of Sonshine Candles)

We are very grateful to Thrivent Financial for the donations of funds through Thrivent Action Teams. These helped off-set many of the expenses allowing us to donate more money to organizations.

I am also very grateful to the AGAPE planning team for their MANY hours of meeting, planning, creating and working the market: Resa Larson, Cari Bullemer, Eleana Bann, Barb Whitney, Susan Vickerman, Ruth Bash, Jennifer Larson, Chris Sweeney, Judy Platt-Nelson, Shelley Souers, Sharon Bergh, Laurann Patterson, Jenny Aleckson.

–Blessings, Jill Cornell

The AGAPE team will begin planning in February for the November 2018 market.

We always welcome new members! Let us know if you are interested.

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Ponderings from Trinity’s Outreach Team...

Did you know Trinity has an Outreach Team that meets monthly to discuss, decide and review our Outreach Ministry initiatives, both local and global? Since October, our team has been reading When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor.. and Yourself. This book has allowed the team to reflect on Trinity’s own ministry. One of the first steps is to think about our work and discern whether we are providing relief, rehabilitation or development efforts. All are needed in different situations, but long-term, which is most helpful?

The Outreach Team is open to all. If interested in joining, the team meets the first Monday of each month, 7:30-9:30 a.m. Contact Jill Cornell or one of the team members to learn more: Chuck Ritchie, Pastor Carrie Scheller, Julie Morrison, Julie Wiens, Susie Eastman, Vicki Brink, Jerry Paulson, Shirley Hemenway, Tina Gabos, Melanie DeLuca, Susan Vickerman.

2018 El Salvador Mission Trips

Thrivent Builds/Habitat, March 24-31: Spend spring break building relationships and homes – and experiencing the area’s Holy Week celebrations.

Sister Church/Seeds of Hope, July 7-16: Spend time with our sister church, visit Seeds of Hope students, and learn the history of the country.

Details and forms are available on Trinity’s website.

Note: The Thrivent Builds/Habitat trip deadline has been extended to January 3.

Thank you for another overwhelming response to the Giving Tree!

Over 600 gifts were collected! Your generous donations helped the following organizations:

• Interfaith Outreach: 20 individuals from three families received Christmas gifts

• Families Moving Forward: 55 children’s books and games, 17 tins of cookies and gift cards were given during the FMF Christmas party

• LSS Homeless Youth: Given 70+ gifts and gift cards

• River of Life: Over 300 gifts and wrapping supplies were donated to the Christmas Store. (Charleen Baller’s company donated many of the items.) 111 children shopped at the store for their families.

• WeCan in Mound: Given $300 in gift cards for the Adopt-A-Family Christmas Program

• San Pablo Church in El Salvador: $300 sent for Christmas gifts and their Christmas celebration

• St. Stephen’s, Simpson House & Crisis Nursery: Many socks, hats, mittens, gloves and hand warmers were given for men, women and children

Thriven Action Team funds were used to supplement the giving. Many thanks and appreciation for the volunteers who make this program possible: Kari Newell, Mary Meyer, Karen Jackson, Joan Ziemer, Tara & Sadie Koltes, Laurann Patterson, Amy Lundell.

Special thanks to Marlys Jenson for coordinating the team and efforts this year on behalf of Trinity!

Thank you for supporting Orono Woodlands

On Dec. 3, Walter Royal and his confirmation group hosted a Kid’s Market to raise funds for iPads and cases needed by Woodlands staff.

“We raised $1,075, more than enough to buy three iPads and cases! The sale wasn’t just a success monetarily, but mentally as well. My friends and I were happy because the residents who came and their supervisor were very happy!” –Walter Royal

The AGAPE Gift Market Team

Giving Tree Volunteers

Kid’s Market supporting Woodlands

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

POSTMASTER: DATED MATERIAL

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 4

Long Lake, MN

High School Sleep Out

Mpls Crisis Nursery

Trinity Women: Greatest Gift of All

HS Christmas Cookie Decorating

Setting up the Nativity

Simpson Shelter Breakfast

River of Life Christmas Store

Farewell Reception for Pastor Carrie Scheller

Sunday, January 14 Between worship services