03/31/24 Weekly Congregational Updates

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Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,

 

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

 

  • Our 12:00 Noon Maundy Thursday service is now in the books. Tonight, our second Maundy Thursday Service will take place at 7:00 p.m.  This worship will have Holy Communion and at the end of the service, the altar will be stripped, symbolic of Jesus’ humanity being stripped from him at the hands of the Roman soldiers.

  • Tomorrow, we offer a choice of two worship services for Good Friday, one at 12:00 Noon and the other at 7:00 p.m.  Both services will be identical.

  • As you make your Easter plans, 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 Sunday School classes this day as we will have our much-enjoyed Easter breakfast following the 7:00 a.m. service in Fellowship Hall.

  • Dave Korn will be available after both Easter Worship Services to take your photo as we update our Congregational Photo Directory.  If you will not be here on Easter, he will be available after both services on April 7.

  • Don’t forget your flowers for the wire cross that will be in front of the church on Easter Sunday.  If you choose to do this, you may bring flowers from your yard, if available, or they can be purchased at local stores.

  • We now have 17 signed up for our Congregational Litter Pick Up event.  This will take place on Saturday, April 6, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. If you have not yet signed up and want to join us, it is not too late.  Simply call Leslie Cox or Jamie Corrigan to find out our location to meet.  All supplies for this event will be provided, including: gloves, safety vests, grabbers and plastic bags.  

 

In Christ,

 

Pastor Fischer

 

4/6/24 Litter Pick Up Day

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Service Committee News

No one likes litter! We are blessed to live in a beautiful community and we want to keep it that way. On April 6th, the Service Committee will be sponsoring a Litter Pick Up Day from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. Supplies for this project (e.g., safety vests, grabbers, gloves and bags) will be provided. The specific location/locations will be announced prior to the date.

Sign-up sheets will be available in the room off of the narthex beginning on March 17th. Please join us, even if you can only come for an hour. This is a wonderful activity for families with older children. Come help the Holy Trinity Litter Warriors beautify our community.

In case of rain, the project will be rescheduled for Saturday, April 13th.

The Service Committee is also requesting ideas about areas in our community that need to be cleaned. If you have an idea, please contact Leslie Cox at 301-788-9035 or Jamie Corrigan at 864- 224-8070.

ENDOWMENT FUND CHARITABLE GRANT RECIPIENTS

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ENDOWMENT FUND CHARITABLE GRANT RECIPIENTS

The Endowment Committee will be meeting in early April to select the charities that will receive grant funds in 2024.
As in the past, if you have a charity that you would like to have considered for a grant, please send an email to Dave Rasche (aes4dr@gmail.com), or any committee member or the church office, listing the charity, what they do and any comments why they should be considered.

Thank you

Breakfast Blessings

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BREAKFAST BLESSINGS
Hope Missions of the Upstate, a charitable and religious non-profit organization in Anderson, provides a safe place for the homeless population to come and enjoy breakfast, coffee, juice and fellowship Monday through Saturday (except the last Saturday of the month) from 7:15 – 10:00 a.m. In 2023, from January 1 through November 11 they served 25,729 meals and this year the need is even greater.
When we reached out to Hope Missions to see how Holy Trinity could support their efforts, we learned they were in immediate need of packets of instant oatmeal, instant grits, ground coffee and powdered creamer.
We can support Hope Missions by gathering the following items to send “Breakfast Blessings” their way:
•
Boxes of Individual Packets of Instant Oatmeal
•
Boxes of Individual Packets of Instant Grits
•
Ground Coffee (like Maxwell House, Folgers, etc.)
•
Powdered Non-Dairy Creamer
We are asking for donations Sunday, February 25 and Sunday, March 3 or during the weeks previous to those dates. Donations may be placed in the gray bin on the table in the room off the narthex. Donated items will be taken to Hope Missions on Tuesday, March 5.
If you have any questions about this project or suggestions for future “Gathering and Giving” projects, please contact Jamie Corrigan at (864) 224-8070 or Leslie Cox at (301) 788-9035.

Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday

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SOUPER BOWL OF CARING SUNDAY
On Super Bowl Sunday, on one of the biggest eating days in the U.S., our congregation will be focusing on hunger in our own community. On February 11th the LCY will once again be participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring. The youth will be in the back of the church after both worship services with large soup pots to collect funds which will go to AIM. Your generosity is appreciated. Following the Late Service that day, the LCY will meet in the Fellowship Hall for their monthly meeting and a Super Bowl party of their own.

Weekend Snack Notes of Encouragement

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Weekend Snack
Notes of Encouragement
Saturday, February 24, 2024
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Office Conference Room

Childhood hunger is real. In South Carolina, 60% of school-age children qualify for free or reduced breakfast and lunch at school. But what happens on the weekend when these children aren’t in school. The Weekend SnackPack Program, sponsored by the United Way of Anderson County, steps in to fill the gap. Through this program, teachers and guidance counselors at area elementary schools identify children who fall into this weekend hunger gap. On Fridays, each child enrolled in the program receives a bag of child-friendly, ready-to-eat foods to take home for the weekend.
The first thing a child sees when they open their bag is a colorful, handwritten note of encouragement made by volunteers. This note is a simple message to let each child know someone is thinking about them. Over 800 SnackPack bags are distributed weekly – almost 30,000 cards are needed throughout the school year which is why your help in making these cards is greatly needed!
Back, by popular demand, the Service Committee invites you to join us on Saturday, February 24 from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. in the Office Conference Room to make notes of encouragement to be included in the Weekend SnackPacks. Supplies and suggestions for making these cards will be furnished. Of course, if you can’t join us that day you can still make the notes on your own. Just keep in mind the messages may not contain any religious references. These messages are distributed to elementary age children who may not be able to read cursive writing, so please print. If you choose to make cards on your own, please leave your completed notes in the designated box on the table in the room off the narthex. The Service Committee will collect these by March 4.
If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Corrigan at (864) 224-8070 or
Leslie Cox at (301) 788-9035. We hope to see you Saturday, February 24 10:00-11:00 AM.

Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner

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Our Community Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will take place on Tuesday, February 13 at Boulevard Baptist Church.  We hope to have tickets available this coming Sunday (we are waiting for them to be dropped off at the church).  The cost is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children (12 and under). If you prefer, you can get your tickets online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shrove-tuesday-pancake-supper-tickets-794365958967?aff=oddtdtcreator    All proceeds will go to the Westside Community Center.

Why Enjoy Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday

1/21/24 Weekly Congregational Update

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Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity,

 

Here are this week’s updates:

 

  • With all the cold weather we have been having and will have this week, I thought it is a good time to remind you of our weather decision making process for cancelling worship services.  In the event that we are expecting inclement weather (ice, snow, power out, etc.), the President of the Congregation and I discuss whether we need to cancel our worship services.  We watch the weather forecasts and whether other congregations are cancelling worship.  We check the roads, if possible, to see if they are passable.  Just a couple of years ago, the roads were clear but when I arrived at the church, the steps and ramp were completely covered over in ice, and so we cancelled worship as we did not want anyone to slip and fall.  When the decision is made to cancel worship, the President of the Congregation will call the members of the Church Council and they in turn have 10-11 church members to contact to inform them of the decision.  In the upcoming Year Book, is a page dedicated to the Congregational Call List with the names and phone numbers of each family.  If you have any questions on this, please reach out to me.

  • Our Community Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will take place on Tuesday, February 13 at Boulevard Baptist Church.  We hope to have tickets available this coming Sunday (we are waiting for them to be dropped off at the church).  The cost is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children (12 and under). If you prefer, you can get your tickets online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shrove-tuesday-pancake-supper-tickets-794365958967?aff=oddtdtcreator    All proceeds will go to the Westside Community Center.

  • Sunday, I will be preaching on the First Reading from Jonah 3:1-5,10 as we look at the story of Jonah and those times in our lives when we refuse to do the will of the Lord.

  • We still have 5 remaining Sundays that need altar flowers.  If you are interested in one of these dates, please contact Pat in the church office and leave a message on the answering machine or wait to contact her on Monday morning.
    • April 28
    • June 30
    • August 4
    • September 22
    • December 8

In Christ,

Pastor Fischer

Angel Tree

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Angel Tree
All the tags on the tree have now been chosen.
Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!

A reminder as you return the gifts:
1. Please wrap gifts.
2. Leave gift, with tag attached, in the church office parlor
(use door code).
3. Gifts should be returned NO LATER than, Tuesday, December 5th, after which, you will be responsible for delivering your gifts to A.I.M.

11/26/23 Weekly Congregational Updates

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Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity,

 

Here are these week’s TOP TEN items to pass along to you:

 

  • First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!  My prayers go out to you as you travel and enjoy time and God’s blessings of food with your family.

  • I am happy to report the safe arrival of Lilian Ruth Bannister who entered this world on Monday!  Congratulations go out to her parents, Davis and Sarah Ann Bannister, and to proud grandparents, Jay and Suzie Bannister.

  • We keep Ben Emanuel in our prayers after his recent hip surgery.

  • Richard Polsdorfer continues to recover and is now at the AnMed Rehabilitation Hospital.

  • I have spoken with the Cole family recently and they have asked me to pass along to the congregation an update on Allan.  Sadly, his cancer has returned and Allan has decided not to seek further treatment. Instead, he will soon be going into Hospice care.  Please keep Allan and Jeri, as well as their family, in your thoughts and prayers.

  • This coming Sunday is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Church Year.  The theme for our worship service is, of course, the kingship of Christ.  I will be preaching on the Gospel text, Matthew 25:31-46, as we explore our Lord’s story of the separation of the sheep and the goats.

  • On Sunday, December 3, our Congregational Family Advent Event will take place in Fellowship Hall at 3:00 p.m.  Whether you are “family” of one or ten, you are invited to join us as we prepare for the Advent season by creating Advent crafts.  A signup sheet is in the narthex to help us with the planning.

  • Thank you for removing so many name tags from our Angel Tree this past week.  We started with 70 and we currently have 25 tags remaining.  We would like to make sure that every child is taken care of this Christmas season so if you have not yet taken a gift tag or you would like to do another, please let yourself into the church using the front door code.  A small change from years past, this year we have been asked to wrap each gift (attaching the tag on the outside) or placing the gift in a gift bag.  Now you have another option – we have several volunteers who have said that they would be glad to wrap gifts.  Whatever you decide, place all gifts in the Church Office Parlor (the room with the fireplace) NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5. If you have any questions on this, please contact Nancy Scalf or Beth Fischer.

 

In Christ,

Pastor Fischer