Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,

With Holy Week and Easter just around the corner, there is much going on in the congregation.

• The April Messenger was mailed out earlier this morning. We are hoping for another quick delivery like last month

• With the threat of rain Saturday morning, the Litter Pickup Day will be rescheduled to a later date.

• With Sunday being Palm Sunday, for those able to do steps, the congregation will gather on the sidewalk outside the front of the church to begin our worship service. We will be carrying palm branches and “reliving” the procession of Christ into Jerusalem.

• On Palm Sunday, as part of our worship service to begin Holy Week, we will again be doing a Passion Reading with the congregation participating. This will be in the place of the sermon. Many Lutheran congregation have been doing this reading for quite some time. Last year we did this for the first time and it was well-received.

• We will have two worship services for Maundy Thursday, one at 12:00 Noon and the other at 7:00 p.m. Both services will have Holy Communion and are identical, except the 7:00 p.m. service will have the Stripping of the Altar at the conclusion of the service.

• Then we will offer two worship services for Good Friday, one at 12:00 Noon and the other at 7:00 p.m. Both services will be identical, except that our Anglican brothers and sisters in the Lord from Church of the Ascension will be joining us for the 7:00 p.m. service.

• As you make your Easter planes, we will return to our pre-COVID worship schedule of offering two services for Easter Sunday. We will have an Easter Sunrise Worship Service with Holy Communion at 7:00 a.m. and another Easter Holy Communion service at 11:00 a.m. Both services will be identical. Please keep in mind there will be no Adult Sunday School class this day as we will return to have our much-enjoyed Easter breakfast following the 7:00 a.m. service. A nursery for children 3 and younger will be provided for the 11:00 a.m. worship service.

It is my sincere prayer that you will join us in as many of these special worship services as you able.

Pastor Fischer

Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity,

Here are a few things to pass along to you this week:

• Men, don’t forget that our monthly Lutheran Men In Mission supper meeting is at a different time and date for March.  It is actually TONIGHT at 6:30 p.m.  All of the men of the congregation are invited to attend.

• We have discovered that the zip code for Bob and Janice Davenport is incorrect in the Church Directory.  It should be 29625 not 29621.

• Thank you for your response concerning the need for more Easter Lilies for Easter Sunday.  As of today, we only need 11 more. If you would like to place an Easter Lily in the sanctuary In Honor Of or In Memory Of a loved, please contact Pat in the church office of fill out the form in the bulletin this coming Sunday and drop it into the offering plate.

• For those interested, we will be picking up litter together as a group on Saturday, April 1.  There is a sign up sheet in the room off the Narthex.

• We now have a date for this year’s Deutsches Fest.  It is Saturday, October 21.

• Sunday, I will be preaching on our First Reading, Ezekiel 37:1-14 and our Gospel Reading, John 11:1-45, as we cover our Lord’s conquering of death.

• Wednesday evening, will be our final Lenten Supper.  This will be a Potluck Meal so please bring a dish to share as we gather at 6:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.  Afterwards, we will cover the 5^th Word of Christ from the Cross, “A Word of Suffering” at 7:00 p.m. in our Midweek Lenten worship service.

In Christ,

Pastor Fischer

Dear Members and Friends of the congregation,

Here are this week’s updates to pass along to you:

• If you despise seeing trash on the side of the road as much as I do,  come join us on Saturday, April 1 from 9:00-11;30 a.m.  Our Service Committee is sponsoring a Litter Pick Up day.  To date, we have 8 who have signed up and we would like to get a few more to join us.  There is a signup sheet in the room off the narthex (or email me back and I will add your name to the list).  All supplies will be provided (bags, gloves, grabbers, reflective vests). If you have questions, call Leslie Cox @ 301-788-9035 or Jamie Corrigan @ 864-224-8070. 

• With Easter fast approaching you have the opportunity to provide Easter Lilies in the sanctuary In Memory Of or In Honor Of a loved one.  We will be placing a total of 35 lilies in the church on Easter. To date we only have 6 flowers spoken for. If you are interested in doing this, please fill out the form in your bulletin Sunday and drop it into the offering plate, or use the form in your March Messenger and mail to the church or contact Pat in the office by phone or email.

• This Sunday I will be preaching on the miracle of Jesus healing the blind man, recorded in John 9:1-41 as our gospel reading.  We will take a look at the questions we grapple with in life.

• Wednesday of next week, March 22, the Youth will be providing the supper for our Lenten Meal at 6:00 p.m.  They will be providing grilled cheese sandwiches and vegetable soup.  Then at 7:00 p.m. we will gather for our Lenten worship service, continuing our series on “The Seven Last Words of Christ,” as we look at Jesus declaring, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” from Matthew 27:46.

  Under our Prayer Concerns we keep in our thoughts and prayers the following members:

  • Thomas Hartle, on the death of his son, Kevin.
  • Chad Evans, on the death of his grandmother, Imogene Brown.
  • Bob and Janice Davenport, on the death of their son, Ron.  I will be conducting the funeral service for Ron tomorrow morning, Friday, at 10:30 a.m. at The Standard Cremation and Funeral Center in Anderson, if you would like to attend.

In Christ,

Pastor Fischer