July 23, 2020: My weeks have changed because of the Pandemic.

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

My weeks have changed over the last few of months. There are several reasons for it. First, the COVID-19 pandemic. I frequently wake up in the morning and I have to give serious thought to what day of the week it is. While each day seemed to have a specific feel, prior to March, those feelings have gone. Kids have not been in school and I don’t go to worship in our building on Sunday morning and the days that my wife, Vicky, works are different. She now has Thursday and Friday off and works on the weekend. Therefore, I have started to work on Saturdays while the kids are still sleeping and generally come home in the early afternoon.

Saturdays now look like this. I get up around 6:30am, with no alarm. Then I go downstairs and have a cup of coffee with Vicky before she leaves for work. Next, I go get donuts for breakfast. (While a lot has changed, Donut Saturday in our house has not!). Lastly, I head to church, and generally arrive by 8:30.

After I have written several pages of notes and gotten some form of outline down and feel comfortable enough with the sermon, I go and sit in the sanctuary. I have always enjoyed an empty sanctuary. Sometimes, while sitting there, I will run through my sermon in my head to ensure I know what I want to say. Other times, I try and empty my head and not think about anything. Most times, it is a combination between the two.

Sitting is the sanctuary is quiet and peaceful. It also is powerful and humbling. There is a sense of calm that comes over me because what I am going to talk about somehow feels engrained in me, as if it is an extension of who I am. There is also a sense of fear and trepidation that leads to humility, because what I am about to talk about is so much bigger than myself and there is so much I don’t know. Therefore, one thing I do know is I will some part of it will be wrong.

I think this gets at the essence of Martin Luther’s quote, “Sin Boldly.” It is not saying, do things that we know are wrong and do them anyways. Rather, Luther is trying to get across the idea that no matter what you do, you are going to mess up at some point. You are not going to get everything right. You can either let the idea of messing up stop you from trying, or you can embrace it and do the best you can, knowing you will get something wrong.

I hope you all can feel that in your daily life. You are not perfect. None of us are. We can live, being afraid of making mistakes and live a life that simply tries to manage it and make as few mistakes as possible or we can “Sin Boldly.” We can try. We can experiment. We can live. We can own our mistakes when they happen and try again. In the first way, we become hesitant and fearful and try to live in a bubble. The second way is exciting and terrifying and everything in between.

As a church, as individuals, and for me as a preacher, let’s try for the second way. (And have a donut while doing it!)

Peace and Grace, Pastor Tim

July 13, 2020: Fried Electronic Equipment.

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I write this Tidings article from my dining room table. Not because COVID-19 is keeping me at home, but rather, our building suffered a power surge from a recent storm on Monday afternoon. We didn’t lose power, but a few pieces of electronic equipment were fried as a result. Specifically, we will need a little work done to our fire alarm system and out internet hardware.

Why I bring this up, is because the repair, for the fire alarm system, is not as simple as replacing an electrical board and then we are back in business. We have an older system and new boards are not made for it anymore. Therefore, we are presented with a decision, do we try and scavenge for old parts, hoping there is someone else who, rather than throw their old system away when they upgraded, decided to donate it. Or do we upgrade the portion of the system which was damaged knowing it will need to be done eventually. The first (salvage) option is cheaper and quicker. But while it solves the immediate problem, it doesn’t take care of the larger issue, that we weren’t even aware of, and that is portions of our fire alarm system are out-of-date and need to be replaced. The second option (update), is more costly, takes a bit more time and leaves us a little vulnerable in the short term, but ensures our safety in the future.

I think churches are in a similar situation right now as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we are exiled from our building and needing to figure out how to be the church during this time, certain ways that we have grown accustomed to and relied upon are being exposed as out-of-date or potentially even broken. Some we knew about, others have caught us off guard. As we discern when we return to the building, we will have to make decisions, like the one we were faced with for the fire alarm system. Do we continue with parts that are out dated or learned that they are broken? Do we go for a short-term fix that will work immediately, but might leave us vulnerable for the future? Or are we willing to take calculated risks, that might leave us exposed and vulnerable short term, but will provide long term security for our future.

I want you to know, I am not thinking of anything specific as I write this. All I want to do is have you thinking about the question. Together we will move into the future and decide what it looks like for Holy Trinity. Perhaps, that is the most exciting thing of all, while there is a lot of unknown, that does not mean we are passively moving forward into the future. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit is beside us, behind us and in front of us, leading the way. With God, we have some say in what the future of Holy Trinity looks like. Some will be new, some will be old, together it will be good.

Grace and Peace, Pastor Tim

p.s. – If you are wondering what we decided to do about the fire alarm, we tried to salvage replacement parts, but there were none to be found, so we will have to upgrade. Sometimes, the decision is made for you!

July 2020: Communion, and Outdoor Worship beginning July 7

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The following message from me is a mostly repeat, with minor changes. Not because I am lazy, although that can be true at times, but rather the information you received last week is very similar to what I want to tell you again. We are resuming the practice of communion practice and starting Mid-week Outdoor Gatherings.

Communion:

We will begin with receiving communion this Sunday, July 12th. The elements to use can be picked up from our building beginning Monday, July 6th, during regular church hours. They will be available in the narthex, right when you walk in. When picking the elements up, there will be two options. One, you may pick up a prepackaged grape juice/wafer cup (looks like a coffee creamer). They will be set out and you can take as many as are needed for you and your family for the coming Sunday worship (please only take enough for one worship). Two, there are bags of ingredients to make you own communion bread at home with directions in the bag. Here is the video from the Small family on how to make the communion bread. Enjoy! (If you make the bread, you will need to supply your own wine/grape juice for communion.)

By picking up the communion elements from church, it allows us to still “distribute” them to you, as we would during a Sunday morning worship, just in a different way. If you are not able to come to church to pick them up, we can deliver them to you. Please email Mark at office@htelc.com if you would like them delivered.

There is a third option. If neither of the above ways work for you (it doesn’t matter the reason) you may always supply the bread and wine/grape juice yourself. It doesn’t need to be a special type, (but, here is a fun fact, Welch’s grape juice was originally made to be a non-alcoholic replacement for wine in communion!)

Weekly Outdoor Gatherings:

These will begin next week! There are 2 options for you to choose.

Tuesday at 7pm: This will consist of music played and sung for you, a conversation over the past Sunday’s sermon or the coming week’s Gospel lesson and prayers, specifically ending with the Lord’s prayer. Approximately 30 minutes long. Wednesday at 11am: This will consist of a camp song taught to the kids, physically distant from one another, a children’s sermon and prayers and concluding with the Lord’s prayers. (Approximately 30 minutes long.) A few items to note

• Sign-up through “Sign-up Genius” is required and we will have you sign-in again when you arrive in case contact tracing is needed in the future.
• 25-person limit for each gathering. No walk-ups allowed.
• Masks are required.
• Stay home if you are feeling sick.
• Bathrooms will be available, but you will be asked to wipe down anything you touch. Clorox wipes/disinfectants are in the bathrooms.
• Please maintain physical distance of 6’ between non-family members.
• We will be gathering under the tent in the fenced off area. Please enter through the gate on the right as you face the building.
• Please bring your own chair/blanket if possible. If you are not able to, there will be a place to indicate you need a chair on the sign-up and one will be provided for you. Lastly, this is all experimental and subject to change. Everything we are doing is the first time we are doing it. It most likely will feel awkward. When you take communion during the worship service on zoom, it may not feel the same way as when we do it on Sunday morning. That is to be expected. Remember, it is not the way it makes you feel that makes communion “work.” The feeling we get, often times, can be associated or enhanced with the circumstances that we are accustomed to, i.e. being in the sanctuary, being with other people. Communion “works” because God promises to be present in bread and wine when the words of God’s promises are spoken, despite the circumstances we are in. God’s promises remain unchanged. Trust God’s promises that are spoken and allow that to guide you in your feeling of love and forgiveness.

As always, thank you. Holy Trinity is a resilient and alive, whether or not we are meeting, physically, in our building. Thank you for the ways you are making that happen.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim

June 2020: Outdoor gatherings beginning in July.

I have good news! We are in the beginning phases of organizing outdoor gatherings AT OUR BUILDING in the near future. We don’t have the specific dates yet, but I do know they will begin in early July. Here is some basic information to know.

• Strict safety guidelines and protocol will need to be followed, further details to come.

• They will have a different format than our “regular” worship.

• They are not replacing Sunday morning worship, but will be a supplement to it.

• They will occur twice during the week, at various times and days, but will NOT be on Sunday morning. Specific days and time will be released in the next 2 weeks.

• Each gathering will be the same for the week, but vary week to week.

• To attend, you will need to sign-up using “Sign-up Genius” or call the office. There will be a limited number of people who can attend at one time.

• Worship on Zoom will remain our primary weekly worship experience as it allows for the largest gathering of our community at one time.

• More specific details will be released within the next 2 weeks.

I know this is not ideal. Many people are craving and aching to resume worship in our building and are frustrated. If your question is, “When will we resume worship in the building?” the honest answer is, “We do not know.” There is simply too much unknown to make any kind of prediction and I believe it would be misleading and give-false hope to attempt to do so.

I do recommend you read the following article as it does a fine job of laying out the concerns that I have regarding in-building worship and why it will be a while until it resumes. It is an interview with Dr. Michael Osterholm, a leading epidemiologist in the world and has been on the forefront of COVID-19 research. On a side note, he is also a practicing ELCA Lutheran!

https://www.bluezones.com/2020/06/covid-19-straight-answers-from-top-epidemiologist-who-predicted-the-pandemic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covid-19-straight-answers-from-top-epidemiologist-who-predicted-the-pandemic&fbclid=IwAR280W1hUSdKHip2W3qLRHdgmgFVy7ARQk3JmN4Pzew3U4wWx_rMvmXM-j0

What I hope will reassure you is, except for not gathering in the building, we have not missed a beat. We continue to gather for Bible Study. We continue to provide resources to organizations in our community and have even given more, financially, than we were anticipating this year. We haven’t had to decrease any of our spending, specifically payroll and were able to do this without a PPP loan from the government. In fact, we are “in the black” regarding our finances this year!

This weekend, we were supposed to have our Semi-annual meeting. In place of it, Cristina Dolcino, the council president, and I will record a “State of the Church Address.” In it, we will share a bit more of where we are as a church and update everyone, as much as possible, of where we hope to go. It will be broad strokes that we hope will enable all of us to continually be encouraged during a time that can be so discouraging.

One last note (MORE GOOD NEWS!), we are going to resume communion in the near future as well. The synod has given churches recommendations and questions to answer in order to start this practice again. Soon, please look for more information on how this will happen and what you might want to do to prepare.

As always, thanks for allowing me to be your pastor during this time and for your presence in my life.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim

June 8, 2020: A boring but brief talk on the Trinity, by Mark Edwards

Pastor Tim had a bit of fun in his recent sermon ribbing me as a potential source for boring distinctions in the theology of the Trinity.

I smiled when I heard it, because there are few topics more difficult than explaining the Christian understanding of the Trinity. A friend of mine and ministerial intern at UniLu in Cambridge, once remarked in her sermon on Trinity Sunday that teaching about the Trinity was like eating a bony fish: best done very, very carefully!

Pastor Tim handled this choke hazard well!

I also took Pastor Tim's teasing as a challenge: how might I bore you with an academic point or two?

I am a historian of Christianity, not a theologian, so I’m not going to "explain" the theologies of the Trinity. (As if I could!) But I’m going to offer a historical observation.

Yes, I said theologies of the Trinity—plural—because there have been many different attempts to make sense of the Christian teachings about the Trinity, both before and after the framing of the formal Trinitarian doctrine established in the Ancient Creeds, especially the Nicene Creed that was settled upon over the course of the fourth century.

Why so many theologies over the centuries? Christian theology is human systematic reflection or commentary on,

• the experiences of God retold in what Christians call the Old Testament;
• experiences of the man Jesus retold in what Christians call the New Testament;
• experiences of the Christian communities over the centuries.

And here is where the words “human” and "systematic" are important. What might human beings turn to to interpret systematically the experiences of God recounted in Scriptures, Sacraments, and experiences of the Church in the world?

An answer: theologians have generally used the most approved wisdom (philosophy) and science of their times. And, important to historians, that approved philosophy or science has changed!

In the centuries around the framing of the Nicene Creed, that wisdom or science was what we historians name, using shorthand, as "middle Platonic" philosophy; it tended to be hierarchical and tended to favor unchanging essences and dualities. In the so-called "Middle Ages" that wisdom or science was more Aristotelian; hence more lawlike and a bit more dynamic. And in the last century or so, some theologians have been more comfortable adapting modern scientific notions of change, psychological insights regarding inner relationships, and modern philosophies such as existentialism.

To sum up: theologies are attempts to make sense of experience, using the best science or wisdom of the time. Theologies are secondary to the experiences themselves: the experiences of God's self-disclosure in Scripture, God's self- disclosure in the Sacraments and ceremonies of worship, and God's self-disclosure in our lives, our experience of others, and our experience of the world.The reality to which these commentaries attest has not changed, or at least Christians generally confess that they have not. But the human attempt to explain that reality has demonstrably changed over time.

When we Lutherans confess the Trinity in, say, the Nicene Creed, we are pledging solidarity with Christians who came before us, Christians who live around us, and Christians who shall come after us. A solidarity rooted not in a shared understanding of words but in a shared experience of an ultimately mysterious encounter with the divine in Scripture, in Sacraments and Worship, and in life and service in the world. We distinguish these experiences using the names like "Father," "Son", "Holy Spirit" or "Creator," "Redeemer," "Advocate" for different ways in which we encounter what we confess is one God. And some of us go further and insist that these differences go beyond encounters and disclose something "real" about God's own nature.

Ultimately, we are only human beings trying to explain to ourselves our encounter with a grand mystery. We hope that we've got it at least a bit right; we trust, however, that the relationship depends not on whether we've "got it right" but on the fact that God has created and sustains this relationship. Our faith relies ultimately not on our intelligence and wisdom but on God our creator’s love for us disclosed in Christ and attested to by the Holy Spirit.

—— (An aside: Autocorrect initially changed Nicene to niceness in the paragraph on the Creeds—niceness creed—a particularly inappropriate "correction" given how much strife and even bloodshed that has been occasioned in the church over the meaning and extent of the Nicene Creed and the "right" understanding of the Trinity! A topic for a boring talk some other day!) 3

March 26, 2020: Online Worship Extended until Further Notice

To the Holy Trinity Family,

How are you holding up? We have a lot of people in different situations in our congregation. Some of you are still going to work, like any other week. Some of you are working from home. Some have had vacations cut short. Some have had loss of income or potential job loss. Some are confined to their home and can’t even go to the store. Whatever your situation, you are loved and God is with you, and so is your Holy Trinity Family (even if we aren’t together in the same physical space. Remember to give yourself and everyone else a little extra grace during this time as we are all just figuring this out.

I wanted to give you all an update on how we are handling everything at church and what you can expect from us in the coming weeks.

• Worship, both Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, will continue online while all building related activities will remain suspended until further notice. We will consult CDC guidelines to help us determine when it is safe to resume use of the building.
• We will have Holy Week services online. Additional resources for ways to remember and celebrate them at home will be provided.
• We will still order Easter Lilies to give you the opportunity to honor or remember someone in your life. Look for more information to come.
• We want to recruit “Shepherds.” They will have the responsibility to call 4-5 people from the congregation once a week to check-in. Please email Cheryl Bringham at brnghamca.cc@gmail.com if you are willing to be a “Shepherd.”
• New content for home devotions and videos are constantly being added to the church website. It is under the tab “Virtual Church.”
• Thank you for continuing to give. You can mail in your offering, text, use the Elexio app on your phone or give directly through our website, www.htelc.com/giving-online. (We had a great response last week. THANK YOU!)
• The best place to find up-to-date information is our website, www.htelc.com. All Zoom links for worship and any other meetings will be found there.
• Lastly, be aware of other non-profit, service-oriented organizations, local businesses and neighbors who need help at this time.

I have had questions about finding a way to do communion during this time. Bishop Hazelwood, for various reasons, has asked all churches in our synod to fast from that sacrament during this time. Don’t worry, even though communion is something we usually do every week, its “power” doesn’t wear off over time, as if we had a “communion gauge” on our bodies that is now reading “low.” God's forgiveness doesn’t “go low.”

Remember, we are not using the word “closed” during this time. The church is not closed. The building might be, but the church never closes. This is because the church is wherever you are. God and us are not dependent on the building. We are dependent on the Holy Spirit breathing new life into us, which happens anywhere and everywhere. May you experience the Holy Spirit in new and unexpected ways d

Thanks for your work, your presence and your love.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim

Online Worship on March 22 & Ways to Give

Grace and Peace to my Holy Trinity Family,

We are 2 for 2 at this point. As we try and worship and gather in new ways (primarily using Zoom), we have had two attempts so far, Wednesday Morning Bible Study and Wednesday Evening Lent Worship. Both went off with minimal issues and several people contacted me afterwards to say how pleased they were with how it went.

Now comes the real test. Sunday Morning worship. If you are not aware, we are gathering virtually using software called Zoom. Businesses and all kinds of people have been using it for a while now. It allows us to all meet in an "online room." Below will be the pertinent information you need to join this online worship.

Please note, we will only have one online gathering at 9:30am EST. You will need to download the Zoom software in order to participate and it is best if you do this in advance. Simply click on the link below titled "Join Zoom Meeting" and it will take you through the steps. Then, at the time of our worship, open this email, click on that link again and you should be participating.

If you are having trouble with internet or it is not working for you, there is an option to "call in." There are two options to do this, either through a cell phone or a landline. This will allow you to hear everything that is going on, but not see each other. Also, you will find a link to our bulletin for this Sunday.

Download and print it off if you can or have it available on another device. I would still like us all to recite the prayer of the day, read the Psalm responsively and even sing one hymn (I will unmute us so we can hear each other at that time).

As always, remember to have peace, patience and a bit more empathy than normal during this time. This too shall pass and God is with us during it all.

I give thanks for all of you.

Pastor Tim

Tim Krick is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Sunday Morning Worship

Time: Mar 22, 2020 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/451770672

Meeting ID: 451 770 672

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Dial by your location

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Meeting ID: 451 770 672

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adNjGH0o5m

WAYS TO GIVE

As we all know, during this time, many families and small businesses will be hurt financially during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Holy Trinity is not immune to that either. We receive a good portion of our offering on Sunday morning. Therefore, if we do not gather together, we do not receive that offering. Below are various ways for you to continue your giving during this time.

1. Drop of your offering at the church and place it in the mailbox. We are still checking mail on a daily basis.

2. Go to the church website to give. www.htelc.com/giving-online. There are directions there for how to give. You can make it a one-time donation or a recurring gift. Personally, my family does this and makes it a recurring gift so our offering is not dependent on our attendance.

3. Give by TEXT. This is new. After an initial registration to give this way, texting will be the easiest way to give from home. Below you will find a graphic with instructions and here is a link for a video for the same purpose. https://givinghelpdesk.com/video-tutorials/text-giving-made-easy/. The number that you will be texting to give directly to Holy Trinity is 207-222-7676. The default fund you give to through text is our general operating fund. Scott Carson is willing to help anyone who is having trouble navigating this. His email is sdc1338@gmail.com.

4. Give through the ELEXIO app. If you have already downloaded the ELEXIO app to your phone. When you open the app on your phone, there is a "Give" option. Click on it and a screen pops up that allows you to make a "One Time Gift."

5. Lastly, don't forget non-profits that rely on donations and generosity during this time. Crossroads is one that we support that has given guidelines on how to continue giving. Here is a link from them with those guidelines and suggestions. https://mailchi.mp/0ddcd9b72f85/crh-volunteer-update-from-martha-stone-2713049?e=317555d563

Thanks for all the ways you have supported Holy Trinity and will continue to support us. It makes a difference.

An Updated Response to COVID-19

To my Holy Trinity Family,

I just came for a meeting with church council and we discussed how to best proceed with being the church as we grapple with the spreading of COVID-19. The discussion was honest and open with many and varied opinions and options being discussed.

In a nutshell, here is what we unanimously decided.

• We will have a stripped down version of worship on tomorrow, Sunday, March 15. It will not include communion and we will not Sunday School or our regularly scheduled forum on Reconciling in Christ.
• After those worship services, we are suspending all church related activities, including Sunday morning and Wednesday evening worship. Tentatively, we hope to resume all church functions beginning on Palm Sunday, April 5.
• We are closing the church to all outside groups, except for the three AA meetings as we will allow them to make their own decision.
• We are doing all of this to "flatten the curve." Meaning, COVID-19 is going to spread. We know we can not stop that from happening, but can we slow the spread of the virus so our healthcare system is able to handle it.

There was great discussion around this next point. The church is to be a place of refuge during times of stress and danger. There is something that doesn't feel right about closing our doors, suspending worship and other gatherings and being limited to finding ways of being together solely through technology. Yet, if we continue to operate normally, we become a place of stress and danger. Simply by gathering together, we are putting people at risk. Therefore, we wanted to find ways to "flatten the curve" concerning gatherings. To do this, the sanctuary will be open, during set times that are yet to be determined, to those who want to come and be in a place that offers great comfort to them. During these times, there will be no formal worship offered, simply a place to sit and be quiet while music is played in the sanctuary. I will be available for pastoral counseling and conversations. By doing this, we hope to honor the social distancing that is being required during these times, but not allow it to move to social isolation. At the end of each of these times, we will take the appropriate measures to clean and disinfect well.

Sermons for the next two Sundays will still be given, just in different ways. Think of when church is cancelled due to a snowstorm. They will be posted on facebook, youtube, podcasts and directly on the church website. Please use all of those platforms to gather digitally during this time. In addition to the sermons, we will provide other faith formation content to be used individually or as a family.

Lastly think about who might be isolated during these times. Who will the measures that we are taking as a society have a largely detrimental impact? Is there someone who needs help with childcare because schools are closed? Is there someone who is quarantined to their nursing home in which you could reach out to with a phone call? Is there someone who is homebound that you could arrange a safe visit with? As a council, we ask each of you to call 5 people from the church and ask how they are doing, and to make 2 of those phones calls to people you do not know. Even though we are not able to meet in our "church" we are still called to "be the church." We just have to figure what that looks like.

Thank you for your patience, faith and courage during this time.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim

A message from Pastor Tim about Coronavirus precautions, and Upcoming RIC Conversations

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I’m sorry to write such a long letter to you and I do ask that you take a couple minutes to read it in its entirety. I want to cover two topics, the upcoming vote on becoming Reconciling in Christ and Holy Trinity’s response to COVID -19.

First, an update on the RIC process. Approximately 2 years ago, a simple question was asked in a church council meeting. “Can I put a rainbow flag in the parking lot?” Council felt this decision should not be made without have wider conversations among the people of the congregation.

A team was put together to develop a plan to guide us through that process. This occurred through educational forums in which we have brought in speakers, had conversations, listened well and shared personal stories. Topics covered have ranged from “What is a RIC congregation and would would it mean for us?” to “What does the Bible say about same-gendered sexual relationships?” and “A Pediatrician’s Understanding of LGBTQ” (to name a few).

The RIC team believes we are in the home stretch of this process and there is wide ranging support for us to take this step. The following is a timeline for the final dates and in which we will meet, with it culminating in a congregational meeting and vote to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation.

March 22 and 25 - RIC team will present the draft of the Welcome Statement and some ideas on how this will be implemented and advertised. The congregations feedback will be asked for and wanted.

March 29 and April 1- After receiving feedback from the congregation, a revised Welcome statement will be presented to the congregation.

April 19 - A congregational meeting will take place between the services and we will vote on becoming a Reconciling in Christ congregation.

Secondly, one can not look in any direction without hearing about COVID-19, the corona virus. It is having an impact on our world in a way I have never experienced before. Here in New Hampshire, there have been several reported cases, and so we want to take every precaution to be part of a solution and limit its impact.

To learn more about this virus, it’s symptoms and up-to-date information please visit the Center for Disease Control’s website. It is easy to navigate with up to date and accurate information. It is www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.

In deciding how we react, let our faith always guide us. A hallmark of the Lutheran tradition is asking how does something affect my neighbor. When deciding our response to COVID-19, we want to ask how does it affect my vulnerable neighbor. Even if we do not feel personally at risk, we want our actions to be ones that keep those who are vulnerable safe and healthy. Let us pray that when this has passed we might look back and be grateful we took the necessary steps (even if it seemed to be an overreaction at the time) to limit the impact this virus had. Therefore, at least through the time of Lent, we will do the following…

• Greeters will greet with a smile and not a handshake
• Use other, non-tactile ways, to pass the peace during worship
• Not hold hands during the benediction
• Limit communion only individual cups
• Hand sanitizer will be used immediately before communion by those distributing the wafers
• All doorknobs and handles will be disinfected before worship on Sunday morning
• We will continue with food and coffee in between services, but parents we ask that you serve your child the food and not allow them to take it themselves

If you are not feeling well, it is okay to stay home. If you find it becomes necessary to self-quarantine, and would like to receive communion during that time, let the church office know and we can arrange a visit. We will not cancel our worship unless we are told it is no longer in the public’s safety to gather together. If that happens or you cannot join us on Sunday morning, you can watch the sermon on facebook live or listen to it through a podcast (available through our website, iTunes and stitcher).

I do want to mention one thing that might be awkward to say, but it is necessary. If we have a decline in worship, it will affect our finances. Much of our offering comes in on Sunday morning and if attendance goes down, so too does offering. While we are not in a dire situation by any means, I also don’t want it to become dire. Remember, you are able to give online through our website at www.htelc.com/by-giving/financially. Please consider doing so if you not be able to join us, in person, during this time.

In life, many things are uncertain. This can and does cause fear and when our actions are based solely on fear, little good comes from it. One of the most common phrases in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid.” May we be people who act out of hope and love trusting that no matter what happens, God is in the midst of it all.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim

February 2020: Church, with a capital "C"

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It has been a long time since I have written to you here. I have no excuse except to say I am sorry, and I will strive to make this a monthly article, like it was supposed to be when I first came.

There is a lot I could write about, and I suppose the topic will change each month. It will depend on what is going on in the life of the church and my own life, as well. I hope that through it, we will stay in good communication and you will have a deeper understanding of who I am as a pastor and what our dreams are for the church, both Holy Trinity and the larger Church (with a capital “C”).

To start off with, I would like to reiterate some of the things I said at the closing of the Annual Meeting from this past Sunday. I began by explaining why Joan Bauer was stepping down from council. Simply put, there was so much in life going on that she had to say “no” to something in order to be able to breathe a little easier.

As I said on Sunday, that is important advice for all of us, both individually and collectively. You (We) don’t have to say “yes” to everything, even if it is a good thing. Sometimes we have to be able to say “no” in order to be able to say “yes” later on. Those are difficult decisions. We have a lot of opportunities in our life to do a lot of good things, but time is not limitless and neither is our energy. As I always preface anytime that I ask someone to do something at church, “No is an acceptable answer.”

As we move forward into the future of Holy Trinity, we will have some decisions to make. The world is changing around us and we will have to change accordingly. We will have to try some new things and say goodbye and thanks to some ministries that we have done in the past. We will get excited about the possibilities that we want to try but we will have to say, “No, this isn’t the right time for us.”

As we do this as a church and as you do it in your personal life, please know that I give thanks for you and the Church (both the capital “C” church and Holy Trinity).

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim

An update from the 2018 NE Synod Assembly

Originally posted on Thursday, June 21, 2018 @ 2:44 PM

I just returned from the New England Synod Assembly (think a congregation’s annual meeting but on the synod level that takes place over the course of 2-3 days). Therefore, I thought I would give you all a quick update on the happenings around the synod.

There really is only one big update. We re-elected Jim Hazelwood as the Bishop. A bishop’s term is 6 years, and Bishop Hazelwood was finishing up his 6th year. Bishops are allowed to serve multiple terms and Bishop Hazelwood was willing to be re-elected if that is what people wanted at the assembly.

It did take a little longer than expected and it is a complicated process to explain. What you need to know is someone is elected bishop based on how many votes they receive. Depending on “the round” of voting, one would need as much as 75% or as low as 66% of the vote. Each round of voting narrows down the list of people who are in the running for bishop. When the amount of people was narrowed down to 3, Bishop Hazelwood received the required 66% of the vote needed to “win” re-election.

It was an interesting process to be part of and I was grateful for the conversation that it allowed as we heard from candidates about their hopes for the future of the church. I was grateful for the outcome, not because I felt the other candidates were not capable of the job, but I believe Bishop Hazelwood is doing a fine job as bishop and is the best person to lead us over the next 6 years.

The other information that I wanted to share with you, was from a video we saw that was a summary of some of the work the ELCA accomplished during 2017. You can watch the full video by going to YouTube and searching “ELCA 2017 year in review.” But, here are some highlights.

* $1.7 billion in unrestricted offering was given by it’s members to their respective congregations
* There are 180 campus ministries across the country
* In 2017, there were 431 new ministries under development
* 59 “new starts” (congregations) approved
* 56% of them were in multi-cultural settings
* Through Lutheran Disaster Relief, we provided 30 responses in 21 countries and 17 responses in 15 states
* Through Lutheran World Hunger, we supported 518 projects in 62 countries, and 9 new projects in 6 countries
* There are 93 Young Adults in Global Missions

We are part of a church that is not waiting around and passive. We are a church that is active in the world and doing its best to join God in the work that needs to be done. Thanks for the way you support and participate in that work. The world is a better place because of it.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Tim