PASTOR’S PEN

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Dear Holy Trinity Family,

“Joy comes in the morning” – and sometimes at 6 p.m., too! How you blessed Mark and me by your presence at our wedding on July 21^st! Thank you, dear ones, for being there in person or in Spirit on that very special day. So many of you came that the worshiping community overflowed into Fellowship Hall, as if it were Christmas or Easter… We were enveloped in love, surrounded by family, including each of you. How proud I was of our faith family as you welcomed and literally made room for Mark’s family and for his co-workers and parishioners from the Fort Monmouth Chapel. Bishop and Mrs. Riley were with us, as were Ministerium members from our local churches. Thank you all for laying out the welcome mat and raising the rafters with song and praise! Thank you for caring and loving and pouring yourselves out, as always.

We’re guessing there were about 350 worshipers at our wedding. (Wow!) Between Mark and me we knew everyone. That’s unusual. Usually there are at least a few visitors who join us every weekend for worship at Holy Trinity. Most weeks I know almost but not quite everyone by name. I know it’s much harder for you, because other than the pastors and director of music, most people attend one service and not three! On my wedding day I had parents, sister, niece and nephew, neighbors who knew me from the time I was born, a friend with whom I taught school in Georgetown in my 20’s, and new relatives (“in-laws”) on board at Holy Trinity. I knew they were safe in your care! I didn’t doubt for a moment you would greet them and make them feel at home. I knew that even though most of you didn’t fill the official role of usher or Communion assistant, you would be present to serve. Thank you, family, for welcoming my family.

Thank you, too, for welcoming the rest of the family, other members of Jesus’ family whom we haven’t met yet, when the Holy Spirit leads them to our sanctuary on “garden variety” days, during the dog days of summer, on lightly attended holiday weekends and on heavily attended holydays. We knew why people came to worship on July 21^st. That’s not usually the case. How can we really know why someone approaches God’s altar? For healing? Forgiveness? Acceptance? Strength? Guidance? Peace? Hope? Our human welcome lets many know they receive a divine welcome too. Let’s open the doors of our hearts as well as the door of our sanctuary to all.

Our ushers welcome members and visitors alike by greeting, guiding, serving from the back to the front. Our Communion assistants extend the Lord’s welcome, too, by distributing the Holy Supper to the holy people of God. Our lectors share Good News by proclaiming the Word. We are always in need of people to serve as worship assistants in these ways. Please thank those who do, and consider doing so yourself. Whether people come for a wedding, a funeral, a baptism, or simply for Holy Communion itself, let’s extend God’s own welcome. Thank you for doing just that on July 21^st and every other day of the year.

Gratefully,

Pastor Mary Virginia Farnham

WELCA

Circle of Hope will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9 in the church. Health kits are on the agenda. Direct questions to Nancy Smarr (732) 681-3369 or Karen Jeffray (732) 223-8255.

Elisabeth Circle will meet at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11 in the church. This circle will also work on health kits. Direct questions to Louise Moenke, (732) 899-6846.

Louise Circle will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11 in the church. Please bring health kits to the meeting. Ruth Walsh and Ronnie Reed will hostess. Ruth will also prepare devotions. If you have questions or would like more details, call Ruth (732) 528-7695.

Trinity Crafters meeting times will be posted in the weekly church bulletin and can also be obtained by calling Ronnie Reed at (732) 701-1160.

HANDS TO WORK; HEARTS TO GOD

Pieced fabric and yarn, creatively transformed into quilts by the Trinity Blanketeers, are donated to Project Linus, which presents the blankets to children suffering from serious illness or trauma.

If you sew, knit, crochet or quilt, please share your talent and time with the Blanketeers!

If you have an interest in learning to quilt, you can get the basics from instructor Pat Saklas at the next Blanketeers meeting.

The group will gather at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in the back room in Fellowship Hall. Please come!

Upcoming meeting times will be posted in the weekly church bulletin.

For more information or if you would like someone to pick up a blanket you made at home, please call Gloria Smith at (732) 449-1942.

YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRY

BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSINGS

Children and adults: bring your book bags, backpacks, lunch boxes and brief cases to the 8:45 a.m. service Sunday, Sept. 3 and receive a special blessing.

BIBLES FOR THIRD GRADERS

A child is never too young to learn to love the Bible! Parents of third graders are urged to attend the Adult Forum Sunday, Sept. 17. You will receive a Bible for your child so you can personalize it with passages marked by family and friends. The next step is easy: return the Bible to the church before it is presented to your child during the 11:15 a.m. worship service on the weekend of Oct. 29.

CROP WALK

The Shore Area Crop Walk will take place on Sunday, Oct. 22, stepping off from the Ocean Grove Pavilion, Ocean Ave. at Ocean Parkway, Ocean Grove.

All families and Confirmation Connection members are encouraged to participate. Registration begins at 12:45 p.m. and the walk starts at 1 p.m.

Money raised will go to local, national and international food banks, as always.

Please support Holy Trinity walkers with a monetary donation by bringing a jar of peanut butter for a local food bank. If you have further questions, please call Karen Astrom (732) 223-9862, or send an e-mail to kra728@optonline.net.

CHRISTIAN ED

With the arrival of the academic school year comes the opportunity to make arrangements for your child’s spiritual education, too.

Sunday School begins Sunday Sept. 10, and Confirmation Connection begins Saturday, Sept. 16.

We hope our classrooms will be filled to overflowing! Please bring a special young person to Holy Trinity to register for the appropriate group. There is no charge and there are many rewards!

For more information, please call the office (732) 223-3570 and leave a message for Sunday School co-superintendents Cathy Taft or Sheila Wall.

CONFIRMATION CONNECTION

KICKS OFF

The Confirmation Connection season begins Saturday, Sept. 16 with dinner immediately following the 5 p.m. Holy Communion. The Large Group lesson begins at 6:30 p.m., with all loose ends tied by 8 p.m. We’re thrilled to welcome back our second year learners and welcome aboard our first year learners.

If you or someone you know is a member of Holy Trinity, in seventh grade, and has not been invited to join Confirmation Connection, please let the office know immediately! We are happy to welcome you.

Parents, please remember that if you did not make it to the parent orientation on August 21 the make-up date is Sunday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m.

Life of Pi IN WEEKDAY SPIRITUALITY

From the front cover flap: A boy, a tiger, and the vast Pacific Ocean. This is a novel of such rare and wondrous storytelling that it may, as one character claims, make you believe in God. Can a reader reasonably ask for anything more?

It was a phenomenal hit with broad appeal, a bestseller, suggested as a “beach book” in some circles, and winner of the Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002. Now, Weekday Spirituality sets sail with Life of Pi this fall.

It is the story of Pi, a boy who follows Christian, Muslim and Hindu worship practices simultaneously, and his fight for survival on a lifeboat with no company…except a tiger. It is a tale full of adventure and brimming with faith themes, the perfect read for Weekday Spirituality.

Embark on the adventure with us!

We begin on Wednesday Sept 13 with a 10 a.m. group and a 7:30 p.m. group. Contact the office or sign up in Fellowship Hall to order a copy (cost approx $15). For additional information, please contact Pastor Leitzke at pastortal@holytrinity-nj.org or (732) 292-3020.

UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS

Holy Trinity always welcomes everyone to every worship service; that invitation can seem lost or too vague, sometimes. Also, many regular worshippers only see the people who worship at the same time as they do. What is one to do?

Bring your family to worship!

Starting on Sept. 10 with the Welcoming of the Nursery Class, Holy Trinity begins Bring Your Family to Worship weekends. Over the course of the year our weekend Holy Communion services will intentionally welcome each Sunday School class (and their parents, siblings, and other friends and relatives). Are you curious about what goes on upstairs in the sanctuary? Did you ever wonder what it’s like downstairs (or tucked into any other available space!) in Sunday School? Now is your chance to find out.

See the Sunday School calendar for a complete listing of dates.

LIBRARY

Please visit our new library kiosk in Fellowship Hall. In it you will find books for readers 8 years old and older as well as a section for adults, including books on parenting, family devotions and religious novels. Books may be borrowed for a 2-week period. Follow the borrowing procedures posted on the kiosk. We hope you will enjoy this “appetizer” and visit the Sunday School library downstairs for more good reads.

JAVA JIVE

“No, we don’t need your help!”

Until the day when we’re able to utter these words, we do need and want you to come to Coffee Hour on September 24 to see what Christian Education is all about.

Make suggestions. Ask questions. Tell us you want to help raise your (our) children in a way that glorifies God. Whatever. We will also be helping to raise funds for Seprian, our Compassion International child, so come eat, drink, and show your support of all we do at H.T. We’re having too much fun not to share it.

SUMMERTIME COOL AT

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Vacation Bible School got off to a very hot start this year: the hottest summer on record. Since there was no air conditioning, the program (which began July 31 and ended Aug. 4) moved along quickly.

Money raised was given to two local organizations. More than $700 was collected and doubled by a very benevolent family. We experienced a complete changing of the guard this year. Also, there was no 5^th or 6^th grade class.

Few children from Holy Trinity attended this summer, but we were well represented by the teaching staff.

Eric McLaughlin, director of the music program, played piano for the children each day as they attempted to perfect songs for the final program.

Andrew Strucek and his sister Kate served as music assistants. (Andrew and Kate are the late Herb Strucek’s grandchildren. Andrew has been a member of our bell choir.) They taught the lyrics and melodies to the children.

Andrew Flores, Kaitlin McLaughlin and Nicholas Vandermolen ran the Phys Ed program – not an easy feat in the heat J.

Diane Vandermolen was a third and fourth grade teacher, Candy Flores assisted in the second grade classroom and Allison Morgan was a pre-K teacher. Debbie Vogel taught kindergarten, Vanessa Flores assisted Debbie Vogel, and Timmy Vogel helped in the kitchen serving drinks and snacks to the students.

Many thanks to all who gave their time and talents.

SOCIAL MINISTRY

NEARLY NEW CLOTHING AND MORE

Don’t let the name confuse you – Social Ministry’s Nearly New Clothing Sale isn’t restricted to second-hand apparel. The sale will feature linens and curtains, too.

Social Ministry needs your help to make this a successful event. Please donate items for the sale and/or volunteer to help set up, sell and clean up after the sale.

The Nearly New Clothing Sale will be held between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 and from 9 a.m. until noon Saturday, Oct. 7.

Bargain hunters, note: Saturday is “Bag Day.”

Your gently-used, clean clothing, linens and curtains may be dropped off on the stage in Fellowship Hall beginning Wednesday, Sept. 20 and will be accepted through Wednesday, Oct. 4.

A sign-up sheet for volunteers will be posted in Fellowship Hall. It isn’t necessary to stay throughout the sale. Sign up for an hour or two!

Thank you very much for your anticipated support!

Come, hear a man named Juan Melendez, who spent years on death row and was finally exonerated; listen, too, to Vicki Schieber, the mother of a young woman who was murdered. They

will share their stories and their deeply held conviction that the death penalty should be abolished.

In January of 2006, the New Jersey Legislature became the first in the United States to impose both a legal and judicial moratorium on the death penalty. The legislators instituted a study commission, scheduled to report back by Nov. 15 of this year.

Join in on the discussion, close to home! Our Manasquan Area Ministerium (pastoral leaders of local churches) is sponsoring this evening of discussion. Pastor Bruce Davidson, the Director of our Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry, will lay out the issues and introduce the speakers. Abraham Bonowitz, of New Jerseyans for an Alternative to the Death Penalty, will also be present, as will Lorrie Post, the organization’s founder.

GROUP OFFERS COMFORT

TO THE BEREAVED

Grieving the loss of a loved one? The newly-formed Holy Trinity bereavement group can be a source of great comfort.

Chris Ann Waters, an author and speaker whose focus is transition, change and grief, will lead the group, which will meet once a month.

The first meeting will be between the hours of 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 24 in the Sunday School room behind the first floor kitchen. Subsequent meetings dates and times will be announced in the weekly bulletin.

LAY PASTORAL CAREGIVING TRAINING

Holy Trinity has been blessed for about five years with the ministry of lay members who are specially trained to visit others who are in need of extra emotional and spiritual support. The person receiving the visits may be stressed because of illness, loneliness, job loss, divorce, or a host of other reasons. The caring visitor extends the care of our congregation in a personalized, confidential, ongoing way. Most lay pastoral caregivers visit the same person on a regular basis. Would you like to join the ranks??

Our existing Stephen Ministers are excited to welcome new members into our lay pastoral caregiving ministry. Pastor Mary will begin training a new group in the fall, beginning on Tuesday, September 26 (7 to 9 p.m.). We will take a break from Thanksgiving through Christmas, and resume training in January. Our new lay pastoral caregivers will be commissioned in the spring.

If you are a compassionate person, able to listen to others, able to resist the urge to “give advice,” blessed with a couple hours each week to dedicate to someone outside of your immediate circle of family and friends, please consider joining this life-giving ministry. Caregivers say, without fail, that they receive more than they give… We are in special need of men who are willing to perform this ministry. At the moment the group is entirely female. We pair up people of the same gender, so at this time we have no lay caregivers to serve men. Could the Holy Spirit be calling you?? To sign up or ask questions, please contact Pastor Mary!

EVANGELISM

SHOW THEM WE CARE

The Evangelism Committee will prepare our famous goody care packages to mail to all college students on Nov. 6.

We are asking parents with college students to please contribute a jar of your child’s favorite peanut butter and a box of crackers. Please leave these in the church office in a bag with your child’s name on it. A list of the children’s names and addresses will be posted in Fellowship Hall on the Evangelism bulletin board. Please check to be sure we have the correct mailing address and add your child’s information if they are not on the list.

Other members of the congregation may also want to contribute; we will accept donations through Oct. 29. See below for ideas. That gives us a week to inventory items and make the shopping list for any additional items we may need to “round out” the packages.

Should you prefer to make a cash donation and let us do the shopping, please put your donation in an envelope marked “Care Packages” and put it in the offering plate or leave it in the church office.

If you would like to bake goodies or if you have questions, please call Pat and Chuck Augustine (732) 282-0813. Homemade items may be brought in Saturday, Nov. 4 and left in the church kitchen. They will be included in the packing on Sunday Nov. 5.

Suggestions for items to be donated:

Home baked cookies and brownies

Canned fruit or snack size pudding

Popcorn Instant soup mix

Raisins Individual bags of chips

Hard candy Tuna fish

Gum Lifesavers

Granola bars Peanut butter

Juice boxes Crackers

Pretzels Cookies

No glass containers or personal items, please.

Thank you for supporting this very special outreach to our college students!

WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT …

Information for three of our college-bound students was forwarded to the office after the summer Lamplighter was published. Thanks very much to the proud parents who took the time to share their joy!

Join us in congratulating:

Callie Peters, who was accepted to Loyola University, Maryland.

Wall High School graduate Anders Boodey, who received four local scholarships for architecture and service: The Phillip Harris Memorial Scholarship, Jayeff Architectural Scholarship, Spring Lake Garden Club, W. H. S. P. A. Swim Team and a Senior Academic Award for Technology/Design. Anders is a freshman, majoring in Landscape Architecture, at Philadelphia University.

Manasquan High School graduate Kevin Kmetz is a freshman at Stevens Tech., majoring in electronics and electrical engineering. Kevin received The Edwin A. Stevens and the Presidential Scholarship from Stevens Tech; the South Monmouth Board of Realtors Scholarship; the Bob Hacker Scholarship; The Women’s Club of Brielle Scholarship; The Brielle PTO Scholarship and the MHS PTO scholarship.

LET’S HAVE COFFEE!

It’s that time of year when Sunday School resumes and so does Coffee Hour. We all enjoy this important opportunity for fellowship between services and during Sunday School!

If you would like to host an upcoming Coffee Hour, please sign up on the sheet posted on the Evangelism/Stewardship bulletin board in Fellowship Hall. The Evangelism Committee is grateful to any group, family or committee willing to volunteer their time!

LOVE AND MARRIAGE

Our prayers and love are with Pastor Mary and Mark Farnham, who were married July 21 and extended to Pastor Timothy Leitzke and Emily Hollars, who will be married Sept. 1.

CHILDREN OF GOD

During the months of July and August, Holy Trinity welcomed the following children into the Body of Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism:

Erika Andersen

Brielle Trzeciakiewicz

Darien Trzeciakiewicz

Angelina Terranova

Tess Terranova

Sophie Marie Quakenbush

Rylie Grace Eldridge

REST IN PEACE

We offer our love and to the families of our departed brothers and sisters, Herb Strucek, who entered into eternal life on June 23; Robert Queen, on July 15; Francis “Pat” Hinkman, on July 29; Grace Wilson, on Aug. 7; Edith Welton, on Aug. 13 and Harrison Pearce on Aug. 18.

MAIL BAG`

Dear Faith Family,

Bob and I would like to express our sincere gratitude for all of your prayers, cards, kind words and flower arrangements during our difficult loss.

Kindness, compassion and generosity are reflections of God’s love. You are all truly blessed.

Sincerely,

Bob and Mary Mallue

♥