Lay Preachers

Let's think together today about lay preachers.  We are blessed here at Trinity with four of them (see the worship piece on page 1), which is different than in many congregations. At many places, it seems that the word is, "If it's not a pastor, it doesn't count!"  How sad.

As Ray Jacobs mentioned last week in his presentations to all four worship services about his trip to Ethiopia, the congregation we might be paired up with there has 500 members, is growing, and has no pastor. Amazing! Who preaches? Lay members. Who ministers? Lay members! And that just might be why they are growing!

In congregations where the members say, "It's up to the pastor" there is usually little growth. "The pastor is to do the ministry and we are to simply sit and be ministered to." How very sad! 

Here at Trinity, members say, "We too can serve the Lord in all ways."  So members read lessons, do liturgy, serve communion, usher, greet, visit members in the hospital, visit the homebound, build ramps for persons who need to use wheel chairs, provide meals at funerals, and preach the Gospel in Sunday School classes, in Bible School, in the Summer Reading Program, and in home Bible studies.

So let us rejoice in our lay leadership. If one of our lay preachers preach something you don't understand, or question.....talk to them about it! Just like you do with me. And then let us give thanks to God for all the lay folk who don't get paid to serve Jesus, who simply do it out of their love for our Lord.

In Christ,                                                                                                                                                                                   

Pastor Mitchell

Serving Beyond Our Church

One of the six marks of discipleship is “serve at and beyond our church.” Serving seems to be in the DNA of Trinity folks and you don’t have to look far to find someone who walks the walk. From time to time, our “Think Piece” will focus on someone who personifies this principle. So far, we have looked at Meghan Mitchell and her ministry to young women with breast cancer. This week, we will take a look at Dick Obrecht, as an example of someone who lives to serve others.

Dick started his career as a History teacher at Ruggles-Troy High School, back in the early 1960s. Later, he became a Guidance Counselor at Ashland High School. After several years there, he took the position of Academic Counselor at Ashland College and retired as Registrar Emeritus from Ashland University in 1999.

After retirement, Dick began volunteering at Samaritan Hospital. Year after year, he receives the award as the volunteer with the most hours (by far). In addition to his scheduled hours, he often fills in when someone can’t serve a shift. He doesn’t do this to receive any accolades or honors, but because he has always wanted to help make others’ lives better. Dick has been a wonderful example to his family. His wife, Carol, also volunteers at Samaritan and his daughter, Kathy Shelly, fills in as a volunteer there, when needed.

Jill Hartson, Samaritan Volunteer Services Coordinator, says this about Dick...  “Since joining the Volunteer Program at Samaritan Hospital in 1999, Dick has volunteered 6,995 hours! That averages to around 500 hours a year! He is an outstanding community leader and a wonderful testament of God’s love through service. I am truly blessed and honored to work alongside Dick with the Volunteer Program. He is the first person I call when I need advice or need to hear a reassuring voice. I admire his commitment to serving others and I am so grateful our community has role models as gracious, humble, kind, and remarkable as Dick.”

Of course, Dick is very involved in serving at his church and can be found there every Monday morning as a money counter. He also serves as a Financial Secretary assistant & Choral Music Librarian. He kept the Rose Garden looking lovely for many years and has served on several committees, as well as Church Council. He and Carol have also been fixtures in the choir program for decades.

When we are face to face with God, we all want Him to say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”  He will surely say that to Dick. We are very thankful for him and for all of our Trinity folks who show the love of Jesus in their everyday lives.

Volunteers and Givers

Let's think for a minute about where your hard-earned money goes when you put it in to the offering plate, or mail it in to the church office.

We recently had a wonderful All-Daughter banquet. Almost 320 women packed Jack's Place and had a delightful evening. It took over 40 male volunteers to set up, serve, and clean up!  As one woman, not a member of our congregation said, "Our church couldn't do something like this. We just don't have the male volunteers!"  Someone has to recruit all those men and organize their serving. Pastor Jeff, a paid staff person, does that. Dawn Forbes, another paid staff person, starts All-Daughter planning months before. In fact she's well into planning for Bible School, which will minister to over 350 children, using many volunteers. At that Bible School we'll have about 50 Middle School students. Unprecedented! We added a small Middle School Bible School years ago simply to "hold" the 5th and 6th graders. It has grown in to a huge, happy week called ViBE.....under the direction of paid staff person Nate Ediger and 12 volunteers.

 

So....the next time you give to Trinity don't simply think, "There goes my hard-earned money."  Think, "I'm ministering to children, teens (from our congregation and from the community), the women of our congregation, to all of us through Mr. Marenchin's work with 13 choirs, and lots more.” Over half of your contribution goes to make sure we have staff members to organize the literally hundreds of volunteers who do ministry at Trinity.

 

Thank you volunteering and thank you for your giving!

In Christ,                                                                                                                                                                                   

Pastor Mitchell

Our Offerings to God

Let's think about a pretty mundane part of the worship service for a moment. We have exciting parts; like a marvelous hymn with brass choir, or a bell choir number, or a rousing worship song led by the Praise Band in Jack's place. 

And then we have parts of the service that seem pretty dull. Like when they pass an offering basket and we put in our offering envelope or put in some money. It comes, we do it, we pass it to the next person and that takes care of that.

Let's ponder that instant for a moment. How often do we get to give something to God? Oh, to be sure, we say, "I'm giving my whole life to God."  Well, perhaps. In that instant when the offering envelope or money hits the plate we can say, and perhaps even should say under our breath, "God, I give this to you. Here is a part of my income, of my very being, that I offer as my gift to you, in thanksgiving for all you have done for me." It is indeed a holy moment, between us and God.

Up at Mt. Zion church in Cleveland (the large, black Pentecostal church we have partnered with for over 30 years), they take up the offering differently. To loud and happy music, people get up, march down the aisle, and place the offering in baskets held by the deacons at the head of each aisle. It's a dramatic moment. Well, Lutherans tend not to get very dramatic. 

But the next time you give your offering to the Lord, note well what you are doing. "Jesus, I don't often have a chance to give to you, who have given me so very much. But here...I give this specifically to you and the work you do among your people. My gift to you."

It's a holy moment in our worship service. A chance to give a gift to God.

In Christ,

Pastor Mitchell

Tithes

Think with me for a moment about the financial potential we have here at Trinity. I asked Cindy Funk, who has worked in the financial offices of Ashland county for years, what the median household income is. For Ashland County - $45,641. For Ashland City - $40,503. I asked Dan Scott, our Financial Secretary, how many giving units we have at Trinity, minus high school and college students. He said 716. 

Let's suppose that we at Trinity make only the median income. (Although from the number of persons with excellent jobs in our congregation we probably do much better than that. But let's suppose!)  Let's suppose that all of us live in Ashland City (Although we don't! But that makes the number smaller by over $5,000 per household unit. So let's use the smaller number.) 

So let's multiply 716 (number of households) by the median household income, using City rather than County. What financial potential is there in our congregation to do good works? What income do we have.....together as a congregation? $29,000,148. That's a little over 29 million dollars. Amazing!

If we all tithed to Trinity (...and none of us do. All of us, I hope, give money to other worthy causes.), Trinity would have received $2.9 million last year. That's a lot of money. 

Think with me for a moment what percentage of your income you gave last year to the work that the Lord does through Trinity Lutheran Church. As you can see from the above, we have room to grow before we bump into that 10% mark. As we fill out our income tax returns perhaps now is a good time to calculate the percentage we gave. Can we grow a percent next year? To what is God calling us?

In Christ,

Pastor Mitchell

Is Ashland a Mission Field?

Think with me this week about a very famous missionary from the last century, Leslie Newbigin. He worked with Christians in India, who had to explain the faith to people there with radically different values from those taught in church. Teachings there had to spell out Christian personal and corporate behavior patterns that distinguished them and showed Indian society what the kingdom of God was all about. 

When he returned to England after decades of being away, Newbigin found things had changed dramatically. Society, which in England had been a very "churched" society, was now indifferent to or hostile to Christianity.  (Presently in England 6% of the population is at worship on any given weekend.)  But the church kept acting like everybody went to church all the time, and nobody needed to invite anybody to worship with them.

Newbigin said the church needed to act like the one in India. Realize that there is a "mission field" out there with thousands of people who are not a part of the people of God. (In Ashland 70% of the population is NOT at worship on any given Sunday.)  The church needed to be an inviting church, a church that lived out their faith on the job, in the neighborhood, at school. 

It seems very strange to think of Ashland as a mission field. And two generations ago that was not the case.  But it is now.  Are you and I living in such a way that others see our behavior and think, "I'd like to know where that person got his or her goodness and faith."?  Are we inviting them to join us at worship? If we don't.....who will?

In Christ,

Pastor Mitchell

Girlfriend's Corner

We all possess a special package - a spiritual gift package. It consists of our God given spiritual gift(s), the way we like to work,  our passions and life experiences. All of these things combined, create what we do in Christ. It is the answer to the question: to what is God calling me?

Megan Mitchell has taken her life experiences, gifts, and style to create a non-profit ministry, called Girlfriend's Corner.  Founded in 2010, after her own treatment for breast cancer, Megan was prompted to bring good out of a bad situation and felt a desire to help other younger women diagnosed with the disease. The mission of Girlfriend's Corner is to give the younger woman diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoing chemotherapy or having a mastectomy, a gift bag that contains many items that helped Megan through her treatment for breast cancer. Valued around $250.00, some of the items included in the gift bag are an iPod Shuffle, pashmina scarf, lip balm, and gift cards, among other items that bring comfort. These women, some of whom are single, young marrieds, young mothers, and even pregnant, need to know that someone acknowledges and understands their journey.  During her journey, Megan was supported and helped by others.  She also became aware that while there were resources for research, which is good and necessary, there were less resources for younger women diagnosed with cancer.  In addition, because of their place in life, many of these women have very limited resources. Treatment can take up to a year or more, so this simple act of kindness shows these women that someone knows where they are and gives them something tangible to show them someone cares.

In 2012, 45 bags were distributed from Girlfriend's Corner through doctor's offices in Wooster, Canton, and Akron. Megan usually does not meet the recipients unless they request a special meeting. She has received much positive feedback from those distributing the bags reassuring her that this is a valuable ministry to many. Funds for the gift bags are raised through small fundraisers or personal donations. In addition, an original bracelet was created for sale to help fund the bags.  The bracelet is a subtle reminder for support of the cause or as a support for a loved one who is on or has taken this cancer journey.  For more information about purchasing a bracelet you can visit the website www.thegirlfriendscorner.org or Boland Jewelers. 

Megan reminds us that we can bring good from our difficult situations and utilize our gifts to serve the Lord in amazing ways! To what is God calling you?

Michelle Vanderzyden