Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity,

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

• We thank the Playground Committee and a few others (Christopher Caldwell, Kevin Lockhart, Claude Calloway, Mike Oates, and Chris and Anna Caldwell) who spread mulch in our playground last week.  It looks and smells wonderful!

• Sunday evening, we had a great turnout of people and pets for our annual Blessing of the Animals Service.  We had 23 pet owners and 22 pets, even a horse and a duck for the first time ever.  Photos will be in the next newsletter.

• The October newsletter went out Monday to the Postal Service.

• Our Annual Deutsches Fest will take place this coming Saturday, rain or shine, from 4:00-7:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall and the back parking lot (if it is not raining). Don’t forget that we will begin eating at 5:00 p.m.  There will be a serving line this year, and you will have a choice of eating in or taking out (but not both).

• Sunday, I will be preaching on the gospel reading, Matthew 22:1-14, as we explore the significance of wearing the proper attire to the wedding feast.

• On Wednesday of next week, our next Family Fun Night will take place at 5:30 p.m. Supper will be provided.

• Then on Thursday, a week from today, the Luther’s Ladies Circle meeting will gather in Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m.

• We are still in need of folks to help with our Trick-Or-Trick-So-Others-May-Eat project on Sunday, October 18 and 25, after the Late Service.  This is one of AIM’s largest food collection events of the year in which their shelves are restocked.  Please see your Sunday bulletin or newsletter for the details and reach out to Amy Goodson for more information or to help out.

• We keep in our prayers:
  • Don Simon – who is in Room 308 at the AnMed Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Beth Passow – who had hip replacement surgery yesterday

In Christ,

Pastor Fischer

We remember Martin Luther, born in 1483, nine years before Columbus discovered America. He studied law at the age of 21; became a priest at 23 and a doctor of theology at 28; wrote and nailed the 95 thesis at age 33 and 34; was ex-communicated and became a fugitive at 38; translated the Bible into German at 40; and died from a stroke at the age of 63, an internationally admired leader. His teachings stressed justification by faith, universal priesthood of believers; and supremacy of scripture which form the cornerstone of Protestantism. [Please wear red on this Sunday.]
Martin Luther was eight years old when Christopher Columbus set sail from Europe and landed in the Western Hemisphere. Luther was a young monk and priest when Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome. A few years later, he was a junior faculty member at a new university in small-town Germany, intently studying the Scriptures, “captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans.” In these days Luther was tormented by the demand for righteousness before God. “I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God.” Then, in the midst of that struggle with God, the message of the Scriptures became clear, like a long-shut door opening wide. When he realized that a “merciful God justifies us by faith … I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.” What Luther discovered is the freedom of Christians trusting God’s mercy in Christ. As he later wrote, “Faith is God’s work in us. It changes us and makes us to be born anew of God. This faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that believers would stake their lives on it a thousand times.” This discovery set Luther’s life on a new course —both his own life and his public service as a preacher and teacher. When a church-endorsed sales team came to the Wittenberg area in October, 1517, Luther was concerned that the promotion and sale of indulgences undermined the promise of God’s unreserved mercy in Jesus and the faith that trusts that promise. His 95 Theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences became the first of a life-long stream of books, sermons, letters, essays, even hymns in which he expressed his confidence in this life-giving promise from God, the Gospel, and its liberating implications for all of life in church and society. [Please wear red on October 25, Reformation Sunday.]

Dear Members and Friends of Holy Trinity,

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

• I am happy to report that Chris Dafoe is expected to return home on Saturday, after several weeks of physical therapy.

• A reminder that the Memorial Service for Jan House will be in our sanctuary on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Immediately following the service, you are invited to join the family for conversation and a meal in Fellowship Hall.

• I apologize for misleading you last week in the announcements. The last day to purchase Deutsches Fest tickets is October 4, not this coming Sunday.

• Sunday, though, is the last day to give your suggestions for those you feel would be good candidates to serve on the church council. If you have not already done so, please fill out the advisory ballot in Sunday’s bulletin and drop it into one of the boxes located in the narthex or sacristy.

• This coming Sunday is WELCA Sunday, when the women of our congregation lead the worship service. We are honored to have our own Jane Cahaly bringing us God’s Word.

• After taking the summer months off, the Lutheran Men in Mission will gather Monday evening at 6:00 p.m. for their supper meeting.

• On Thursday of next week, the Dining Divas will gather at the Public Well Café and Pizza at 6:00 p.m. for their monthly time together.

• Several new addresses for you:
o Ellen Walters has moved to Clemson Heritage Senior Living, 140 Cambridge Drive, Room 111B, Clemson, SC 29631.
o Barbara Thomas has moved to Summit Place, 107 Perpetual Square Drive, Room 134, Anderson SC 29621.
o Ben Fortner has been approved and is taking part in a long-term program over the course of the next 3 months to a year to help him work through some mental health and behavioral challenges. Ben would love to hear from his church family while he is away. Letters and cards can be sent to:
The Crossings, Benjamin Fortner, 5000 Hwy. 39 North, Meridian, MS 39301.

In Christ,
Pastor Fischer