This Week at Trinity

Sunday, August 17 9:00 am – Contemporary Service/Communion in Centennial Hall 10:30 am – Traditional Service/Communion in the Sanctuary 11:00 am – Traditional Service Broadcast on Cable Station 25   Monday, August 18   Tuesday, August 19 5:30 pm – Spiritual Growth Committee Meeting 7:00 pm – Orphan’s Ministry Meeting   Wednesday, August 20 10:00 am – Quilters   Thursday, August 21   Friday, August 22 9:30 am – Career Roundtable (Joel Grumm leads this group of people who are not working at the moment and would like to be working. This group is for those who are thinking of changing careers, as well.   Saturday, August 23 Announcements The Sanctuary Flowers Today are given by Mark & Gayle Rohde in celebration of their wedding anniversary and their family’s August birthdays.   Congratulations to Pastor Paul on the birth of his new grand-daughter, Emma June. Emma was born on Monday, August 11 to Pastor’s daughter, Amy and her husband.   Congratulations to Jeremy & Lisa Tesch on the birth of their new daughter, Chloe Morgan. Chloe was born on July 9, 2009.   Please Keep Karen Niemeyer and family in your prayers. Karen’s brother, Jeff Zink passed away this past week in Florida.   Gale Volkerding’s Father, Donald Dunn passed away August 4th in Illinois. Please keep Gale and her family in your prayers.   Thank you to all of the dozens of people who volunteered to help our recent guests from Interfaith Hospitality Network feel welcome at Trinity.  Your time and generosity are greatly appreciated.     It’s a Bright Idea for MapleCreek!! We have received very few bulb donations for MapleCreek…but there is still time!! Trinity is joining with other Lutheran churches in the area, to help replace nearly 1,000 incandescent bulbs currently in use on MapleCreek’s campus. Let’s help MapleCreek GO GREEN!! They are asking specifically for SYLVANIA COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS (13 Watt and 19 Watt). So when you pick up some energy-saving light bulbs for use in your own home, please remember to pick up an extra pack or two for MapleCreek and bring them to Trinity as soon as possible. (Please know that your donations of fluorescent light bulbs to MapleCreek Community will be handled and disposed of responsibly.) FELLOWSHIP EVENTS Dinner Groups Are Here! Yes, it’s that time again.  Sign up for dinner groups and you sign up for three meal nights throughout the year (Oct, Jan and March) with other people from Trinity.  You can host or just be a guest.  You can be young or you can be old.  You can be a chef or you can be a novice.  You can be anything as long as you sign up for these fun nights of food and fellowship! Sign-up sheets are in the Narthex and in Centennial Hall at the Kiosk. The Deadline is September 15th. Don't miss out! If you have any questions, please call Kris Shannon at 456-7642. Substitutes also needed for Dinner Groups! Can't make all three weekends or just want to see if they work out? Be a substitute for our Dinner Groups.  You will be called if there are cancellations, and you decide if it will work for you. This is a great way to 'test the waters' for these fun nights.  Being a sub is also a great help to the hosts and hostesses. So please consider signing up. The sign-up sheets are in the Narthex and Centennial Hall - you use the same one as regular Dinner Group attendees. If you have any questions please call Kris Shannon at 456-7642   P.T. Cruiser Crazy Card Party: Bruce and Joyce Schlanderer will host one of their “famous” card parties at their home (60 Forest Hill) on Saturday, September 20. Cost is $5/person plus A-L bring an appetizer and M-Z bring dessert (beverages will be provided). RSVP to the Schlanderers (949-4173) by Sunday, September 14. Who are the P.T. Cruisers? We’re a group of fun lovin’ people who worship at Trinity Lutheran Church and are somewhere between 40-70+ years of age (but much younger at heart!). Most of us are either empty nesters and/or baby boomers, and we’d love to have you come join us!   TRINITY FAMILY PICNIC AT CASCADE TOWNSHIP PARK Saturday, August 16th 4 – 9 pm. BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY!! We will be gathering at the pavilion for an evening of fun, food, games and more!! No need to worry about getting too warm – we have scheduled the Cascade Township fire truck to make an appearance to cool us off!! Trinity will provide: grilled hotdogs, buns, condiments, paper goods and bottled water Please bring: * lawn chair(s) or blanket(s)   * toys of your choice such as Frisbees! * a salad to pass if your last name begins with A - L * a dessert to pass if you last name begins with M - Z Activities: this 55-acre park includes softball/baseball diamonds, multi-purpose fields for soccer/football, a sand volleyball court, tennis courts, a one-mile pedestrian path, horseshoe pits, walking trails, playground equipment, and a 9-hole Frisbee golf course. Cascade Township Park is located approximately one mile south of 28th Street at 3810 Thornapple River Drive SE.   Mark your calendars NOW!! The Trinity Fall Golf Scramble will take place at Centennial Country Club on Sunday, September 28th - 2:30 registration/3:00 shotgun start. The cost is just $30, which includes 9 holes of golf, golf cart and buffet dinner (we will eat in the club house if it is chilly weather). If you would like dinner only, the cost is $9. The Golf Scramble is a great day of fun, fellowship and of course, GOLF! We are fortunate to have many generous people at Trinity who so willingly DONATE PRIZES each season to this traditional event. If you have prizes to donate, please contact Sylvia Stouten at 949-2492 x 21 or Pastor Paul at x 15 or simply drop your items off at the church office at your earliest convenience. Sign-up clipboards will be available next Sunday in the Narthex and in Centennial Hall. In order to secure your reservation for golf, $10 per person will be required in the church office by Sunday, September 21. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!   Bonding Boomers will be attending “A Tribute to Billy Joel – Music in the Park” at Centennial Park in Holland on Friday, August 22 at 6:30 pm. We will be sitting with or near the Singles by Design group. Look for a blue flag to the left as you are facing the stage. Please bring your own chair, drinks, and bug spray. If you’d like to car pool, let Linda Taffs know (340-5901). The park offers a few food vendors, but it’s best if you bring your dinner with you – or grab something on the way. This is a free concert and a lot of fun!! See you there!   “Don’t Forget Your Backpack!” – how many times, as a parent, have you said that to your children as they walk out the door for school in the morning? Trinity is, once again, gathering school supplies and backpacks to go to students in IHN and other area shelters. Pens, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, paper, note books – all the typical items a child of school age would need (a complete list of suggestions can be found in the August Messenger). In order to gather and distribute Trinity’s collected items and help the children start the school year out right, please have your backpacks and/or supplies here at church by Sunday, August 24. So when you come to church next week, “Don’t forget your backpack!” Thank you for your continuing support of Trinity’s community projects. Youth and Family News and Calendar of Events! MAKE A DIFFERENCE & CHANGE A LIFE! How many of you remember a moment when something you learned in Sunday School made a difference in your life?  It might not have been Earth-shattering at the time, but it led you in the right direction or helped you to make the right decision?  Well, now is the time to make a difference in the lives of the children who attend our Sunday School Program at Trinity.  Please prayerfully consider volunteering to teach Sunday School next year.  We will be adopting a brand new curriculum called Akaloo (which means “to follow”) that is web-based, easy to use, and will motivate and inspire our young people “to follow” Christ’s teachings.  Even the “teacher training” segment is web-based so you can pick the time and place to “train” yourself!  For every child who is baptized, we each make a commitment to “help that child grow in Christian faith and life”.  Our Sunday School Program needs volunteers to teach and to make this growth possible.  Contact Mary Kovac at 949-2510, or email her at mary.kovac@tlcgr.org if you are someone who is ready to make a difference and change a life.   SUNDAY SCHOOL REGISTRATION INFORMATION….Not again! ... Well, maybe not…. Read on Please review the information on the copy of last year’s registration form that you should have received in the mail recently. If the information is correct (other than the age and/or this year’s grade of your child), then no further action is necessary and you may discard this copy.  (Hooray!)…  Your child will be automatically enrolled in this year’s Sunday School Program.  If your phone number, email address, or home address have changed, or if new medical concerns related to your child have been identified, then simply make the necessary corrections on the enclosed copy and return it to my mailbox so that I can update your child’s information.   Akaloo? What is it?  Good question!  The ELCA has created a new education curriculum for all ages.  It is called “akaloo” which means “to follow”.  It is a bible-based, web-based program, full of amazing resources such as online lessons, teacher training, home activities, videos, and interactive games for all ages (to name a few.)  There is one catch though, it’s extremely important that we have the most current email address for each congregational member or family.  If you have not received a mass email from Trinity (on any subject) within the last 30 days, please send an email with your first and last name and your primary email address to:  sharon.flink@tlcgr.org  The fun starts on September 7th, SO DON’T DELAY!  If you would like to give it a “test-drive”, simply go to www.akaloo.org and sign up for a one week “trial membership”.  Not to worry, after your seven day trial is over, there is no cost to you …Trinity has already purchased the program, we just have to get you registered for it which is why we need your email address.   CHRISTMAS PROGRAM “TRY-INS” If your child(ren) would like to “try-in” for a speaking or dancing role in this year’s Christmas program, “Mayhem in Bethlehem”, please meet in Fellowship Hall at 9:00 am on Sunday, September 7th.  All children are welcome to come and join the fun!  All Sunday School-aged children will be learning a song or two during the regular 10:00 am Sunday School program to perform with the cast so everyone will be included.  If your child is unable to be here on September 7th, but would like to be part of the cast, please make arrangements for your child to “try-in” before that Sunday by emailing me at mary.kovac@tlcgr.org or call (616) 949-2492 ext. 14.  We will then know how many children will make up the cast and can make sure that every child who wants a part gets one.  HEALTH MINISTRY Blood Drive Your donation is critical to help those in need with cancer, traumatic injuries and other conditions. Many in our own church family have benefited from your blood transfusions. Please take a little time from your day on Monday, August 18 to help those in need of blood. You can sign up in any of the following ways. (Child care will be provided.) If you haven’t already signed up, please do it NOW! * At church – look for the sign-up sheets in the narthex and Centennial Hall. * By phone – call Peggy Fetting @ 648-1757– leave your name, phone number and preferred time of donation. * By email – peggy49306@yahoo.com - leave your name, phone number and preferred time of donation. James 5:15 ~ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well   Stephen Ministry News It’s YOUR Ministry! Stephen Ministry is YOUR ministry. It is an important way we at Trinity care for one another. If you are going through a difficult time, consider having a Stephen Minister. If you know of someone else who is facing difficulties, suggest that they request Stephen Ministry. Make use of it. Stephen Ministry belongs to you! Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Pastor Paul (949-2492 x 15) Vicky Carron (949-2492 x 19) or Karen Niemeyer (949-2492 x 12) P.S. The Stephen Ministries celebration has been postponed until the fall. Look for more details later this summer. FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE MILITARY Carl Jacobson (son of Jan Jacobson) is stationed with the NSA in Washington DC. His address is Carl Jacobson, 2000 Eagle Landing Way Apt. 304, Odenton, MD. 21113 Jason Morrison (son-in-law of Dolly Savage) David Fredregill (nephew of Steve and Helen Johnson) is stationed near Oceanside, California. Lt. Jg Nicholas Malokofsky, (nephew of Carrie Stine) Spec/4 Andy Patton, United States Army, Andy is the son of Bill and Patti Patton, (grandson of Dick and Greta Breyer, nephew of Dan Breyer, and Roger and Jessica Marks. Andy is stationed at CampCasey in South Korea. Lcpl Michael J. Molesta (son of Paul & Sheree Smith) 2/7 F CO., Unit 4155, FPO AP 96426-1555 AIC Daniel J. Lanning (son of Grace Lanning) 386 ELRS/LGRS/ETDC, APO AE 09855 Captain Robert Nolan (friend of the Shannon family) is stationed in Iraq as an ER Doctor at the base in Mosul. It's What We Do . . . . God calls us to live our faith every day. One way we do that is by supporting those in our own church family. How does Trinity do this? Here are just a few of the ways:   Prayer Chain - If you have a prayer request, contact one of the captains: Midge Reges (676-2231) or Anita Huizenga (949-2329), or email Chain Captain Steve Cairns (slcairns@iserv.net). If you'd like to join the prayer chain, sign up on the clipboard today or contact Steve Cairns.   Helping Hands - All members of Trinity may be called upon to assist other members at times of illness, grief and special circumstances with meals, transportation, child care and other support. Contact Karen Niemeyer.   Stephen Ministers - Are trained caregivers who work one-on-one with those in crisis or with special needs. Call Vicky Carron to request a Stephen Minister or to serve.   Stephen Friends - are people who call on other Trinity members regularly for a friendly visit. Call Karen Niemeyer to request a Stephen Friend or to serve.   Helping Helpers - Many of us are caring for aging parents or other family members. Helping Helpers is an education and support group for caregivers. Call Laurie Freshour, 458-6440.   Small Groups - In a large church like Trinity, it's nice to have a place to get to know a few people well. Check out the red "It's What We Do . . . LEARN" booklet for a complete listing.   And More - Altar flower distributors, homebound communion distributors, funeral reception helpers, new member mentors, and so many more help make Trinity a place where people feel loved and supported.