Fall at Holy Trinity is a fun time to catch up with our church family after a busy summer, when so many of us are busy with our gardens and home projects, out enjoying favorite places, and coming together with friends and family. Fall is a celebration time for the harvest. This fall we celebrate Confirmation for three of our youth on Sunday, October 27th at the 8:30 service. We celebrate a new Wiggle Room for our young children and families. We celebrate coming together in faith formation learning groups to grow in relationship with our faithful God, who calls us to Him. We are investing time to know him better through Bible lessons, to serve him with God's work, Our Hands service projects, and to praise Him with uplifting worship.
In Faith Formation, our lessons in faith learning groups have shared the Bible adventures about Joseph and his journey to Egypt, as well as his reconciliation with his family. God was faithful to him and to all of his family, providing for their every need and staying close as Joseph endured the frightening trip to a foreign land away from the security of his own family. God was will Him through many years in prison, as well as carrying his family through the fear of famine. I often wonder how hard it must have been for Joseph to remain hopeful that God was still with him. How did he trust the Lord for every need when things seemed over in his life? And how was it for his father and his brothers? The grief and guilt they felt must have been so hard. I believe it was Joseph's faith formation in his home with his father's teaching that saw him through. We see how strong Joseph's faith was as he revealed to his family God's vision revealed in his dreams. In our world today, we have so much going on, but I believe that to be true of Joseph's family too. Keeping up with the herds of sheep and providing for such a large family must have had its challenges too. They still made time for the Lord. Under Jacob's leadership, and with Joseph's longing to know and serve the Lord, Joseph's faith was formed, and this faith helped him overcome the adversities of life. Our hope is that the programs we share together at Holy Trinity will provide all of us with fortitude in our faith, as well as inspiration for each of us to spend time each day with the Lord, praying for His guidance in our lives and reading the Bible to remember how God has always provided for the needs of his people. We are his people. He knows our joys and our sorrows, and everything in between. He loves us and blesses us with His word, so that we are uplifted and encouraged to continue trusting in our savior, Jesus. His word helps us to follow the Lord's leading through the Holy Spirit. His word helps us to respond to His call to serve Him in our lives, so that we may personally know His joy. The journey may seem long at times, but like Joseph, we will see the fulfillment of His plans in our lives. God's love is freely given for all of us. We pray that you will be blessed in every way in each of your lives, and we cherish each and every one of you in this precious family of God at Holy Trinity.
We pray for every blessing for you,
Lara Scammon and the Faith Formation Team