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Trinity Team September 2013

The little guys were only a few weeks old: Young Bald Eagles, cud-dling in the nest placed in the pine tree right in front of my apartment win-dow in Sandspit at Haida Gwaii (former Queen Charlotte Islands). Their parents had begun teaching them how to fly when I left the island to come back to Edmonton and to my ministry at Trinity.

I will miss the diversity of wildlife that I encountered at Haida Gwaii. I will miss the simplicity of life living on a remote island, one day a time. That day spent find-ing beauty in the simple things of life like small flowers growing between rocks. That

day spent in silence and sunsets and re-freshing breezes from the sea. That day spent with thoughts of how to live mind-fully and how to really become aware of the present moment: “Do not worry about

tomorrow; to-morrow will take care of itself.” (Matt 6:34) Sandspit is a small village located on the northeast tip of Moresby Island at Haida Gwaii. Located close

to the sea you'll find the Lutheran Church “Lord of Life” (ELCIC). This small com-munity church welcomes people from eve-ry denomination and serves the community in various ways, e.g. through food banks, weekly potlucks for seniors and more. Pas-tor Jim Whaley from Prince Rupert travels to Sandspit several time a year in order to visit people, to celebrate communion and to encourage the congregation to move on.

Though the numbers are declining and the average attendance dropped from 12 to 8 in the last years, the congregation has been able to replace the church's roof in 2012 and is able to provide an apartment for guest preachers. This cozy apartment was my home for almost 6 weeks. I held worship services at Lord of Life, and I was-n't asked for more. So I have had time to study, to read, to hike, to meet the people of the community. The author Neil Carey is one of

them: “Betty [his wife] and I always wanted a simple life,” he told me,

“many people dream of such a life but find it slipping from their grasp as college or vocational training and then work and fam-ily responsibilities take control of their

...see Like an Eagle - page 2

Trinity Team

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 10014 81 Avenue

Edmonton, AB T6E 1W8 Phone: (780) 433 1604

Email: [email protected] Website: www.trinity-lutheran.ab.ca

September 2013

Reflections Fly Like and Eagle Bishop’s message Church Council News New Office Staff Interim Pastor’s Message Healthy Changes to Our

Park Reflections (Pastor

Markus’ time with us) Community Garden Up-

date Thoughts from Across the

Lane

1 3 4 7 8 8

9 8 10

11

Our Church Family I Lift Up My Eyes Neighbors in Need Special Music Thank you National Convention Re-

port Children and Youth Save that Date (Oct 19) Write Around the Church Caregiver’s Getaway Reformation Day Sympo-

sium

12 13 13 16

17 18 18 18 19

Looking Ahead 20

Inside this issue: “Fly Like an Eagle....”

Welcome Sunday Bouncy Castle

“God provides for us and we serve his people” – Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Haida Gwaii

September 2013 Trinity Team

lives.” Neil and Betty made their dream reality, trading the comforts and conveniences of life in Southern California for a cedar cabin at Haida Gwaii. “Leaving the anxieties and complexities of modern society behind helped us to focus on a lifestyle we really wanted to live: Closer to God and closer to nature.” It was they who strongly supported the building of a church in Sandspit. Jim and Gail Henry are members of church council. I asked about their thoughts concerning the future of the congregation. They answered: “Pastor, God just cared for our church by send-ing a pastor from Edmonton to us. God provides for us and we serve his people. That's our purpose.“

And I am glad to be back again, back to the big city,

quite relaxed and regenerated. Thank you very much for your generosity, that enabled me to serve in a very small community church (ELCIC) in Sandspit at Haida Gwaii. I will continue reflecting on my experiences of solitude and silence and will share my reflections with you in the next edition of the “Team.” It will be published at the end of November, the beginning of Advent, and will deal with the virtue of being still: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10).

Ongoing Changes

Trinity celebrated its 110th anniversary last year. We are deeply rooted in the prayers and ministry of those, who have built this church, of those who have loved and cared for this church throughout the many years. And at the same time, we are in a process of renewal, which is an on-going journey that actually began 110 years ago. For re-newal means to be rooted and to grow and, trusting in the strong foundation we have, to explore together what God is calling us to do.

What is going to happen now? Well, do you want the church pews filled with people sharing bread, sharing wine, sharing prayers and their hopes and longings? Do you want to see families with children attending, young people participating? Do you want people of every age

sharing a safe and loving environment? Do you want to reach out to our neighbors in the community? What is go-ing to happen now? Let’s roll up our sleeves again and get to work – as Trinity has always done. Let us transform this congregation together. Join us at council, join us on our committees, become a member of one of our groups or, if you miss something, please help us fill the gap. Support the youth, welcome the stranger, forgive others as you have been forgiven. And most importantly: Pray. Pray dai-ly. Pray for your church. Find a daily time of silence and pray alone. Pray with others. Gratitude is the heart of pray-er – we do have many reasons to be a thankful congrega-tion, and here is one: “God is able to bless us abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

I thought about this biblical word when I listened to Trinity's chairperson Frank Thede's farewell words to Pas-tor Markus Wilhelm Sunday September 8th: “A church family is constantly changing. It is right and important that we recognize these times of passage – of endings and be-ginnings. Today we share a time of farewell with Pastor Markus, whose time as Trinity’s pastor has come to an end. – Pastor Markus, during the past ten years you have proclaimed God’s Word, baptized new members into the Church of Jesus Christ, announced God’s forgiveness to us, and presided at our celebration of the Lord’s Supper. With the Gospel you have comforted us in times of sick-ness and trouble, and at the death of our loved ones. Shar-ing our joys and sorrows, you have been important to our life together in the Church of Jesus Christ and in our ser-vice to this community.“

And I would like to add: Thank you, Markus, for our team ministry during the last 7 years.

Thank you for advice, guidance, challenge, and support. For me, it was a time of growing and learning, and I surely will miss our long and/or short conversations from “door to door.” God bless!

We have said our Good-bye to Markus and we will say our Fare-well to Pastor Indra Grasekamp, our Pastor in Training, who arrived from Germany in June 2012. Indra, what a pleasure it has been to get to know you and your passion for ministry. Thank you for your enthusiasm and for the skills you shared with us here at Trinity. Thank you for your endurance in challenging times and for the sup-port you provided for Markus and myself. God bless your new ministry in Germany!

And we'll welcome Pastor Tim Posyluzny, our new in-terim pastor, who will be beginning his ministry on Sun-day, September 29th. Pastor Tim was most recently the senior pastor at Holy Spirit before he retired in 2011. It will be a pleasure to have him on our staff, as experienced and skilled and full of humour as he is.

So, what is going to happen now?

+ Pastor Ingrid

Like an Eagle (Continued from page 1)


Bishop’s Message

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, … May grace and peace be yours in abundance (I Peter

1:2a). Colleen Yip received an Honorary Award, “The Life

Long Learning Award,” at the June 8, 2013 Graduation and Awards Ceremony at the University of Calgary – and I will never forget it. This will likely mean little to most readers, however, let me share a little about Colleen and of her learning at the University.

Five years ago the Continuing Education Department at the University of Calgary, in partnership with the Synod of Alberta and the Territories, established a Calgary Senior College which offers courses to adult leaders with the pur-pose of promoting lifelong learning and enriching the lives of the students.

The three values of the Calgary Senior College are as follows: (1) we believe all older adults, regardless of aca-demic background or health status should have the right and opportunity to learn. We believe “to live is to learn, to learn is to live”; (2) we work diligently to provide adult learners with learning opportunities and options according to their interests and abilities; (3) and, we encourage older adults to take part in learning activities so that they can gain new knowledge, build up self-confidence, develop their potential, and contribute to their community.

Primarily from Hong Kong and China, many of the adult learners are recent immigrants to Canada who welcome the opportunities to study a variety of topics, such as: Eng-lish reading and writing, English speaking and listening, computer, PowerPoint, Chinese musical instruments, envi-ronmental health, Chinese traditional medicine, Chinese calligraphy, legal advocacy, and personal financial plan-ning.

With the continued leadership of The Rev. Peter Chau and others from Abundant Life Lutheran Church, Calgary, and the administrative support of the Continuing Educa-tion Department, the program continues to develop and to expand with 40, 80 or 120 non-credit hours, attendance participation and an Honorary Award, “The Life Long Learning Award.”

The Honorary Award recipient must be 80 years or old-er. He/she is chosen based on their attitude towards study, their attendance in class, and their commitment and effort shown in the program.

On June 8 I had the privilege of participating in the Cer-emony as Honored Guest with my wife, Cathy, and as Guest Speaker. And I will never forget it. Along with The Rev. Margaret Propp, Lutheran Chaplain at the University of Calgary, representatives of the Continuing Education Department, and faculty we witnessed the granting of this Honorary Award.

Never was a graduate so pleased. Colleen is in her early 80’s. Her early education was

halted due to war and she came to Canada in the late 50’s. As an adult learner, with very little previous education, she demonstrated an intense commitment to life-long learning. She never missed a class – not in the midst of rain or snow. She travelled by herself to the classes using the Cal-gary bus system. Her teachers spoke highly of her motiva-tion to learn, to study, and to keep on learning.

After the Ceremony and a picture with Colleen, we spoke to her children and grandchildren, who were so proud and excited for their mother and grandmother.

A huge accomplishment. A milestone for this 80-plus year old.

The Associate Director of Continuing Education (International), Mr. Yassin Boga, leaned over to me fol-lowing the granting of the Award to Colleen and said, “This is amazing! I’ve seen this program but only on pa-per. This is amazing.”

I was proud to recognize the participation of the Synod of Alberta and the Territories of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada in this amazing partnership with the University of Calgary.

I was privileged to meet Colleen Yip and her family. Making a difference in people’s lives. In Mission for

Others. The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believ-ing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the

Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). In Christ Jesus –

Shalom, Larry

Rev. Dr. Larry Kochendorfer Bishop, Synod of Alberta and the Territories

Bishop Larry / Anna Thede - Ordination


The summer of 2013 turned out to be a very busy time at Trinity: Pastor Ingrid was away on her sabbatical/vacation; Pastor

Markus, Pastor in Training Indra and Karen Goldstone-Friedrich picked up the ministry load and kept things run-ning at Trinity.

During the Fringe theatre Festival Trinity hosted 3 differ-ent performance groups daily. Many members of Trinity helped to provide a concession for these perfor-mances. A special thank you to all who helped out and to Edna Jabs and Rosanne Thede for all their work coordinating the volunteers. The total contributions to Trinity from these events have not yet been totalled.

Church Council, on behalf of the congregation, presented a gift certificate for an item of art to Pastor Anna Thede at her ordination service on August 24.

Karen Goldstone-Friedrich, Pastor Markus and Andrea, our parish manager, have been working to address issues concerning the use of the park across the street from the church. The summertime “prayer and potluck” gatherings in the park and social workers meeting with residents of Trinity House has helped to improve the situation. Church Council and our social Justice committee continue to mon-itor the situation to determine if further action is required.

After several delays and miscommunication, our new church photo directories should be available within the next 8 weeks. This has been a problematic process, and we will need to look for other alternatives if we choose to publish a new photo directory in future.

Monica Gobeil has been filling in as our church secretary since April, but wanted to work fewer hours than the posi-tion requires. At the beginning of August we hired Kathie Goertz. She is sharing the secretary job with Monica. The job sharing seems to be working well. Both Monica and Kathie were introduced to the congregation and officially welcomed as our church secretaries on August 25 (see their brief introductions later in this issue of the Team).

Pastor Markus has been dealing with nerve issues in his neck since last fall. By the time he returned from National Convention in July the pain was quite debilitating, but with Pastor Ingrid away he continued to serve Trinity dur-ing July and August; I’m sure many members noticed how difficult it was for Pastor Markus to shake hands or even to serve communion. For some time already Pastor Markus had been grappling with the question of whether it was time to complete his time of ministry at Trinity. At the end of July Pastor Markus shared with the congrega-tion that he would end his time as our Pastor on August

...see Council News - page 5

Church Council News

Standing Ovation for our newly elected Bishop at Special Synod Convention - Oct 27, 2012

Trinitatis hatte sehr arbeitsreiche Sommermonate. Während der Abwesenheit von Pastorin Ingrid

(Urlaub und Sabbatzeit) übernahmen Pastor Markus und Pastorin i.Tr. Indra alle anfallenden Amtsarbeiten und pastoralen Pflichten.

Das Fringe Theater gab täglich drei verschiedene Aufführungen im Luther Centre. Viele Gemeindemitglieder halfen beim Verkauf von

Erfrischungen für die Theaterbesucher. Der Gesamterlös für Trinity wird noch ermittelt und später bekanntgegeben. Am 24. August schenkte der Kirchenrat im Namen der Gemeinde der Pastorin Anna Thede anlässlich ihrer Ordination einen Gutschein für einen Kunstgegenstand. Pastor Markus und Parish Manager Andrea haben versucht, die durch die

Benutzung des Parks gegenüber der Kirche aufgetretenen Probleme zu lösen. Die „Prayer und Potluck“ Kreise und Gespräche von Vertretern der Sozialfürsorge mit Trinity House Bewohnern trugen sehr zur Verbesserung der Situation bei. Unser Social Justice Komitee wird sich weiterhin mit dieser Angelegenheit befassen.

Die neuen Mitgliederbroschüren sollten nach mehreren Verzögerungen spätestens in 8 Wochen erhältlich sein – es war diesmal ein besonders schwieriger Prozess, und wir überlegen, ob wir in Zukunft eine andere Firma dafür nehmen werden.

Monica Gobeil ist seit März unsere Sekretärin, hatte jedoch den Wunsch weniger Stunden/Woche zu arbeiten. Seit Anfang August teilen nun Monica und Kathie Goertz die Arbeitswoche, was sich als eine gute Lösung erweist. Beide Damen wurden der Gemeinde am 25. August offiziell vorgestellt (s. Weiteres dazu an anderer Stelle in dieser Team-Ausgabe).

Pastor Markus litt seit dem Frühjahr an Nervenschmerzen im Nacken, die nach seiner Rückkehr von der Landeskirchenkonferenz im Juli verstärkt auftraten und sehr behinderlich wurden – Sie haben sicher seine zunehmenden Schwierigkeiten besonders beim Händegruß und bei der Austeilung des Abendmahls wahrgenommen. Schon seit langem fragte er sich, ob es nicht Zeit sei, seine Tätigkeit bei Trinitatis aufzugeben. Ende Juli teilte Pastor Markus der Gemeinde mit, dass er Ende August seine Amtszeit bei Trinitatis beenden würde, um seine Nervenschmerzen zu heilen und die inzwischen

...siehe Kirchenrat- Seite 5

Mitteilungen des Kirchenrats


31, in order to take some time to deal with his nerve pain and regain some of the strength he had lost. Short-ly after announcing his resignation from Trinity, the congregation of Glory Lutheran Church in Sherwood Park extended a call to Pastor Markus. At the begin-ning of September Pastor Markus accepted the call but negotiated a delayed start date of December 1, 2013, in order to have some time to recuperate. Pastor Markus has served Trinity faithfully as one of our shepherds for the last 10 years; Church Council, at the special meet-ing on September 10, decided to provide Pastor Markus with one additional month of salary beyond his August 31 resignation to provide some in-come during his period of conva-lescence when he will be without call.

On September 8 we celebrated Welcome Sunday, which marks the official start of all of the usual fall activities at Trini-ty. In the services that morning we also formally said goodbye to Pastor Markus, offering our prayers, bless-ings, and support during his convalescence and as he starts his new call at Glory.

This weekend (September 13-16), Trinity along with St. John’s Lutheran is hosting the Delkina conference. Delkina offers an opportunity for leaders from congre-gations in North America that provide services in Ger-man to get together and share information about their ministries.

We have been blessed to have Pastor in Training Indra Grasekamp with us since June 2012. Pastor Indra has helped to support all aspects of the ministry here at Trinity over the last year, and her help was invaluable this summer while Pastor Ingrid was on sabbatical. Pastor Indra has a call to a congregation in northern Germany, and will be leaving us on September 25. On Sunday, September 22 Pastor Indra will host coffee and goodies in the Luther Center after each service to per-mit us to say our farewells and our thank you’s to her. We will formally say goodbye to Pastor Indra during

Council News from page 4


verlorene Muskelkraft zurückzugewinnen. Kurz nach der Bekanntgabe seiner Kündigung erhielt er einen Ruf von der Glory Lutheran Church in Sherwood Park, den er Anfang September annahm mit der Bedingung, dieses neue Amt erst am 1. Dezember anzutreten, um etwas Zeit für seine Gesundung zu gewinnen. Pastor Markus hat Trinity 10 Jahre lang als Hirte treu gedient; in einer Sondersitzung am 10. September beschloss der Kirchenrat, Pastor Markus ein zusätzliches Monatsgehalt anschließend an die Beendigung seiner Amtszeit am 31. August zu zahlen – eine Überbrückungsleistung für die Genesungszeit bis zu

seiner Neuanstellung. Der 8. September war Trinitys „Welcome Sunday” und der Auftakt zu den üblichen Herbstaktivitäten in der Gemeinde. Gleichzeitig nahmen wir in den Morgengottesdiensten Abschied von Pastor Markus und gaben ihm unsere Gebete und Segenswünsche mit auf den Weg zu seinem neuen Wirkungsbereich an der Glory Kirche. Vom 12. bis 15. September sind

Trinitatis und die St. Johannesgemeinde Gastgeber der DELKINA Konferenz. Die Tagungen der DELKINA (Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Konferenz in Nordamerika) dienen dem Informationsaustausch über die deutsche und zweisprachige Kirchenarbeit in Nordamerika und fördern die Verbindung mit Deutschland und den deutschsprachigen Gemeinden im Ausland.

Seit Anfang Juni vorigen Jahres war Pastorin i.Tr. Indra Grasekamp eine segensreiche Assistentin für unsere Gemeinde, da sie – besonders auch während Pastorin Ingrids Abwesenheit – bei allen Aufgaben sehr wertvolle Unterstützung leistete. Sie wird uns am 25. September verlassen, um ihr erstes Pastorenamt in Norddeutschland anzutreten. Am 22. September nehmen wir in beiden Gottesdiensten Abschied von Pastorin Indra und haben auch nach den Gottesdiensten im Luther Centre bei Kaffee und Kuchen Gelegenheit, ihr persönlich zu danken und uns zu verabschieden.

Kirchenrat von Seite 4

...siehe Kirchenrat - Seite 6


the Sunday services on September 22, and send her back to Germany with our prayers and heartfelt blessings. We are asked to continue to keep Pastor Indra in our prayers, particularly on Sunday, October 27 when she will be or-dained.

On September 10 Church Council, with the help of Bishop Larry Kochendorfer, held exit interviews with both Pastor Indra and Pastor Markus. Their feedback will be very helpful as we plan for the on-going ministry at Trinity.

At our church council meeting in August we began the discussion about what future ministry at Trinity might look like. We all agreed that we were not ready to simply call another full-time Pastor to support our ministry, rather that we would take some time to seriously consider what the future ministry at Trinity should look like and what staffing would be required to make that a reality. We will continue this work this fall, and look forward to engaging all members and the congregation in this conversation. However, Church Council unanimously agreed that it would be unrealistic for us to expect Pastor Ingrid to carry the ministry at Trinity as the only pastor, even though we have a gifted group of staff people working with her. We also agreed that interim pastoral help did not need to be bilingual, but that we would look at other possibilities to provide worship leadership to the German congregation.

After our church council meeting in August, Pastor Ingrid and I met with Bishop Larry to discuss opportunities for interim ministry at Trinity. Bishop Larry shared that find-ing pastors to support interim ministry is one of the most difficult parts of his job. Pastor Ingrid, Karen Goldstone and I met in early September to review all the ministries at Trinity and decide what interim staffing we should pursue with Bishop Larry. We agreed that we required a part-time Pastor (three-quarter time) to maintain our current ministries; we will use the salary for the remaining quarter position to support our work in defining Trinity’s mission and provide German language support for the members of the German part of the congregation.

At our special church council meeting on Septem-ber 10 we agreed with Bishop Larry’s recommen-dation to hire Pastor Tim Posyluzny, the former senior Pastor at Holy Spirit, as our interim Pastor (three-quarter time) effective September 29, 2013. We will officially welcome Pastor Tim to Trinity during the worship services on September 29. Pastor Tim is excited to begin his ministry with us and has provided an article (later in this TEAM) introduc-ing himself to us.

As is our custom, we are collecting towards a farewell gift for both Pastor Markus and Pastor Indra. We will contin-ue to collect for these gifts until September 22. If you would like to contribute, please designate an amount with



Wir möchten sie weiterhin im Gebet halten und Gottes Segen wünschen, besonders am Tag ihrer Ordination am 27. Oktober.

Am 10. September hielt der Kirchenrat mit Hilfe von Bischof Larry Kochendorfer Exit Interviews mit Pastorin Indra und Pastor Markus. Die Ergebnisse werden für unsere Zukunftsplanung sehr nützlich sein.

In der Kirchenratssitzung im August begannen wir mit Überlegungen über die zukünftigen Amtsaufgaben und Pflichten in unserer Gemeinde und kamen zu der Übereinstimmung, dass die sofortige Berufung eines zweiten, vollzeitigen Pastors verfrüht wäre und wir zunächst und mit Zeit ernsthaft und sorgfältig über Trinitys Zukunft nachdenken und später die nötige langfristige Personalplanung vornehmen sollten. Diese Überlegungen werden jetzt im Herbst unter Einbeziehung der Meinungen aller Gemeindeglieder fortgesetzt. Andererseits ist es natürlich undenkbar, dass Pastorin Ingrid in der Zwischenzeit allein alle pastoralen Aufgaben erfüllen kann, obwohl sie eine Gruppe fähiger Mitarbeiter um sich hat. Wir sind auch der Meinung, dass eine zwischenzeitliche Amtshilfe nicht unbedingt zweisprachig sein muss, sondern in dieser Hinsicht anderweitige Lösungen für die deutschen Gottesdienste möglich sind.

Weitere Unterredungen im August mit Pastorin Ingrid, Karen Goldstone und mir ergaben, dass für die vorübergehende Übernahme und Vollziehung aller derzeitigen Verantwortungen und Programme die Anstellung eines Teilzeitpastors (3/4 Zeit) die beste Lösung wäre. Das verbleibende Viertel des Gehalts dieser Position soll der Arbeit zur Definition von Trinitys Mission sowie für deutschsprache Unterstützung in den deutschen Gottesdiensten zur Verfügung stehen.

In der Kirchenratssondersitzung am 10. September wurde auf Bischof Larrys Vorschlag hin

beschlossen, Pastor Tim Posyluzny – ehemaliger Senior Pastor bei Holy Trinity – als Interim Pastor (3/4 Zeit) ab 29. September anzustellen; wir werden ihn am 29. September in beiden Gottesdiensten offiziell vorstellen und begrüßen. Bitte lesen Sie Pastor Posyluznys Artikel an anderer Stelle in dieser Team-Ausgabe.

Wie es bei Trinity üblich ist, werden zurzeit bis zum 22. September Gelder für Abschiedsgeschenke für Pastor Markus und Pastorin Indra gesammelt, die Sie entweder der Sonntagskollekte beifügen oder im Kirchenbüro abgeben können.


...siehe Kirchenrat - Seite 7


your Sunday offering, or drop by the church office to make your donation.

It is always both exciting and challenging when there are major changes in our life together. There are many important decisions that will need to be made over the next while, and we ask that you continue to keep church council in your prayers, that we may have the wisdom and discernment to understand God’s call to ministry in this place we call Trinity.

Thank you for your interest and on-going support. Respectfully,

Frank Thede, Church Council chairperson


Größere Veränderungen in unserem Gemeindeleben sind stets interessant und herausfordernd. In nächster Zeit werden viele wichtige Entscheidungen auf uns zukommen, und so bitten wir Sie, weiterhin für Ihre Kirchenräte zu beten, dass sie klug und im rechten Verstehen des Auftrags Gottes an unsere Gemeinde hier in Trinity handeln mögen.

Wir danken Ihnen für Ihr Interesse an unserer Arbeit und für Ihre fortwährende Unterstützung.

Frank Thede, Vorsitzender des Kirchenrats


For those of you who may not know me yet, my name is Kathie Goertz. I’m delighted to be able to job-share this position with Monica Gobeil here at Trinity!

I was born in Three Hills, Alberta, but spent my childhood/teen years in several different places. Ultimately my family moved to Calgary and most of them still live in the Calgary area.

I moved to Edmonton when I got married in 1976 and have lived in Nor-degg, Calga-ry, Slave Lake, Stony Plain

and Spruce Grove, prior to moving back into Ed-monton in the summer of 2012. Now divorced, I’m blessed to be a mother to five children – aged 36, 34, 25, 22, and 18 – three sons and two daugh-ters. Both of my daughters live here in Edmonton, two sons live in Vancouver and my oldest son and his two children live in New York. Needless to say, I miss them all dreadfully but savour the times I am able to spend with them!

I’m passionate about my walk with God and sharing His love with this hurting world. My desire is to be a channel of God’s grace and love as I en-deavour to serve Him with you here at Trinity. Thank you for welcoming me into your church family!

MEET OUR NEW OFFICE STAFF: In July we had the pleasure of hiring two administrative assistants who are sharing the position at Trinity. They are both won-derful; check out their short bios below, and take a minute during office hours (Tues to Fri 9am-2pm) to say hello to them!

Guten Tag und Hello! My name is Monica (Moni) Gobeil (nee

Busse), and I have grown up here at Trinity. I was baptized, confirmed and also married here to my wonderful husband, Vincent. We have been married for 29 years, have two children, Ryan and Jayde, and also two grandsons, Ash-ton and Ayden and a soon to be daughter-in-law, Jessica.

Working in the office has been such a bless-ing for me and how everyone has welcomed me, very overwhelming to say the least. Not to forget the "kuchen", hugs, chocolates and lots of laughing, it's wonder-ful!!! I always say life's too short so enjoy it. I luv being able to use my German language more.

I have been involved in many things here in Trinity, from the good old "German Saturday School", to "Posaunenchor", youth, council, choir, sunday school, VBS and many other groups and activi-ties.

I also have a lot of fun doing competitive adult Tap and Variety.

Two years ago Vince convinced me to take up curling and we are having a blast. Our first year we took the "B" division in mixed, Vince the skip and three rookies, plus, we won the commercial league as well. Begin-ner's luck! Believe me, it's not as easy as it looks. You might have seen us volunteering as Bartenders at the Brier this past

year, it was so much fun meeting all of the Canadian teams. Most of all we luv to golf and go to Palm Springs every year. I also golf in a ladies league. This is what Vince and I luv to do. Or you may see us around town riding our bikes.


Message from our New Interim Pastor Grace to you and peace-- In response to Council Chair, Frank Thede's invitation to write a

brief biography of myself as a means of introduction, I offer the fol-lowing:

On February 28th, 1950, in Vancouver, BC I was born and named Timothy (Honour to God) Nicholas (Leader of the People) Posyluzny (Obedient). I grew up in that city's now notorious East End graduat-ing from Britannia High School in 1968. After a brief stint as a bank-er I returned to school receiving a BA from the University of British Columbia. Immediately after completing first year Carollyne Grace Scott and I married--May 29th, 1971.

After six months abroad which included volunteer service on a kib-butz in Galilee we returned to Canada and made preparations for our move to Saskatoon and seminary. In 1978 I received my MDiv from Lutheran Theological Seminary. A year later I graduated with an STM--my thesis entitled "The Pastoral Care and Counseling of Par-ents of Mentally Retarded Children (today we speak of children with developmental delays/disabilities)."

After receiving and accepting the Call to serve as pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in High River I was ordained on July 27th, 1979 at Redeemer Lutheran in Vancouver. While in High River our two children were born, Jennifer ('79) and Trevor ('81).

1983 thru 1992 I served at Augustana, Saskatoon. Beyond parish duties I served as a board member for a shelter for battered wom-en. Palliative Care became a field of great interest to me. With the support of the parish I was able to lecture and write in this area. I also researched and wrote a journal article on the pastoral care of the elder-ly.

From 1992 to 2011 I served as senior pastor at Holy Spirit Lutheran, Edmonton. During this time issues of social justice and pastoral care deeply impacted me and to which I remain committed. The parish af-forded me sabbatical leave and while on sabbatical I researched the issue of how congregations might better support the spouse of their pastor and had the results published in the Canada Lutheran. While serving Holy Spirit I was also elected to two terms as conference dean and am presently serving in my second term as chairperson of our Synod.

Carollyne and I are the "pleased as punch" grandparents of four amazing little people--Judah (4) and Lexei (17 mos.) sons of Jennifer and Martin and Annastasia (3) and Nicholas (7 mos) children of Tre-vor and Shawna.

In conclusion, if asked, "What do you like best about being a Lu-theran?" my one word answer, like the one that so many of us would give, is "Grace--knowing that there is nothing so good I could do that would cause God to love me more and nothing so bad that God would love me less." For me it is important that both individuals and con-gregations live out their appreciation for this gift of grace expressly in care of neighbour. Social justice, hospitality, and inclusion are our expressions of thanks, expressions I already see here at Trinity.

Carollyne and I are looking forward to worshipping with you, work-ing with you and getting to know you. Thank-you very much for ap-pointing me as your interim pastor.

Yours in Christ and mutual ministry, Pastor Tim

Thank You I would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to you all for your understanding, well-wishes, gifts, prayers, and blessings during this time of transition. It is with particular sadness that I say good-bye to the church that has been part of my life since I was a bewildered teenage immigrant from East Germany. But it is also with a good portion of gratitude. We are on the road as Christians, on the sea of life, on the journey of faith. And I'm glad we were able to share the road, the boat, the camp-fire for ten years. I will cherish many good memories of our life and ministry together. May our faithful God bless and keep you, and may we keep each other in prayer and thankful memory.

In Christ, Pastor Markus Wilhelm

Prayer, Communication, Education and Community

Bring Healthy Changes to Park

Early this summer some issues arose with the park across the street. The residents of Trinity Lutheran House and others reported a dramatic increase in unacceptable behaviour in the park, including fighting, and drug and alcohol use. A multi-pronged approach was used to address the problems; it was addressed by church council, a workshop was arranged on interacting with the homeless, community resources provided their wisdom, and the residents of Trinity House joined others, including some Trinity staff, for "Potluck and Prayer in the Park" weekly. By all accounts the park has become a safer, more peaceful place.

Karen Goldstone

Delkina Delegates visit the Community Garden


Reflections


Trinity Community Garden Update

As we reported here before, the garden became an offi-cial community garden in the spring of 2013. "Trinity Community Garden", as it is called, has eleven members who signed up and paid a fee at the beginning of the grow-ing season and tended the garden all summer. Five of the members form the garden's board; three of those are also members of the church. Both the beds in the park and the beds in front of the church belong to the community gar-den.

In the spring, two raised and two in-ground beds were added in the park, and the soil in the bed close to "The Paint Spot" was amended through sheet mulching (aka la-sagna gardening). Vegetables were planted in the park and in the raised beds in front of the church. The ground-level beds in front of the church had nothing but weeds growing for a while – thank you, Trinity, for putting up with this! We eventually planted a variety of donated squash there, and these plants have just thrived! The two lush squash beds have garnered positive comments from many a passer-by. One mom and her young son walk by daily and try to spot the growing squash fruits. Ella, who visited all com-munity gardens for her summer job, said ours is one of the best-tended!

The squash are not the only thriving plants, and the member gardeners are now also har-vesting. While they have agreed on donating some of the harvest to

Trinity's social ministries like the community dinner, most of the harvest will go to the member gardeners. In other words, the garden is no longer a service garden that is "free for all". If you want to take veggies out of the garden, we ask you to talk to one of the member gardeners, or to sign up next spring and become a member gardener yourself.

In June, we submitted a proposal for a grant from Sus-tainable Food Edmonton. We expect to hear from them this month and hope to receive funds to erect a shed in the park, purchase gardening tools, and so on. Major landscap-ing in front of the church will likely happen next year, due to the delay in the grant.

In the meantime, we have received donations of water barrels, vegetable, flower and herb plants. One neighbour came over during our last workbee, turned the compost for us and offered to build us more compost bins. Another

neighbour, semi-homeless, helped on several occasions. A plant vendor at the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market has promised us free bedding plants for next year, and some church members have offered perennials. The Lotz family will donate a bench and a fruit tree. We are very grateful for all the support!

As you can see, the garden is grow-ing not only vegeta-bles and flowers, but also "community". The member gardeners, most of whom are not connected to Trinity but live close by, are get-ting to know each other during work-bees and some oth-er sharing of work. When working in the garden, they are meeting passers-by and more neighbours. Some problems with abuse of the park (drug use, drinking, partying, etc.) have led to im-proved communication with the residents of Trinity House, the police, area social workers, and visitors to the park. In July, the park became a place to meet once a week for pot-luck and prayer. Thank you for all the prayers you have sent the garden's way! We think this park and garden are intended by God as a place of blessing for all who visit or use it.

Andrea Wilhelm Secretary, Trinity Community Garden


As I sat and listened to everyone talk at the communica-tion meeting about what we would like in this TEAM pa-per, I heard about all the changes that have been happen-ing or are about to happen at the church. Some of the news was surprising and new since I missed some of the updates over the past few months. When I got home I thought about the word ”change” and was reminded that the sum-mer is coming to an end as I looked at the tree in our back yard where the leaves are already changing and it's only the middle of August.

It reminded me of something I wrote one Sunday after a Thanksgiving church service some 15 years ago. I was sitting in my favourite armchair having a cup of tea after a late lunch. I was watching a movie, when my eyes shifted towards my balcony window watching a storm roll in, and the winds blew everything into a whirlwind. My inner voice spoke these words to me that I thought I would share with you. They express that change can feel scary.

Leaves

With the coming of the season, the emerald col-ours began to change with the passing of time.

A new cascade of colours began to shine. With shades of a brilliant kaleidoscope of oranges, tange-rines, crimson of red that filled the land.

With the golden yellows, and the amber tones, with a sprinkle of copper thrown in to show their burning colours. Each one with their own contour, adapting to the new responsibilities as each day passes.

With the warm breezes and the shortening of the beaming rays of sun that stream down upon the ground. Each leaf holding on with a passion to the tree of life; not wanting to give into their own death, from the limbs that held them so trusting.

Then with the sudden change of the harsh mountain

winds, it began showing its power over the lands. The coldness of his breath, he began to torment the innocence of each one, with a fury of a hard heart. As his temper flares, the complex of pigmentation of the vivid colours feel themselves being ripped apart from the protection of the limbs and the body that had once cared for them from their birth.

And each one has been thrown to the ground like a wild, fierce, rage of jealousy.

With only one way to protect the body, they gath-ered together by layering themselves one on top the other. Each leaf was willing to give their last bit of nutrient to their tiny frames,

so that body would not be harmed by the storm of the great violence that would come this winter.

A Treasure Token, Published 1997 Change is one of the great constants in our lives. For the

most part it is a good thing, but sometimes, changes seem to be for the worse. At those times we feel like we are fall-ing apart and we don’t know where to turn. I just read Ro-mans 8: 28 “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” God is always there for us we just need to ask for His guidance. He has always shown me the way to find the help I needed.

I’m looking forward to this fall with so many changes in my life, with my first of many, I hope, shows at the An-tique & Collectible Sale this September 29th. I’ll be show-ing and selling the collection of Barbie doll clothes I’ve made with the help of the Wednesday afternoon Fellow-ship group over the last 3 years. I hope that I sell enough to give back to the group and help to buy the yarn needed for the coming year. This is something I’ve been working very hard to accomplish.

With a new adventure just right around the corner Sep-tember is my favourite time of the year, starting back to a regular routine of seeing friends that I haven’t seen all summer and starting new projects. Don’t forget that the Fellowship group could always use a donation of yarn and don’t forget the bits and pieces of yarn from your own fin-ished projects. The bits and pieces make great colourful blankets. For more information about the fellowship group or antique sale please contact me, ‘Nowlane Milner’.

Thoughts from Across the Lane By Nowlane Milner

Andrea and the garden compost


Trinity hiking Sulphur Mountain on Sept. 2. Join us next September!

“ I lift up my eyes to the hills...”


Neighbours (and members?) in Need by Andrea Wilhelm

Trinity is surrounded by a very diverse neighbourhood. There are fancy new houses in Old Strathcona, condos, old houses, businesses, apartments, low-income housing, room-ing houses, and also the river valley and Mill Creek ravine with many sheltered spots for camping out. No surprise, then, that we encounter a diverse range of people within and without the church. Some of these people have an ap-pearance and act in ways that may be challenging to many of us: Perhaps their clothes and hair are not clean, they have missing or bad teeth, are unshaven, or smell. And what they say requires action from us: "Can I have some food, please?" "Can I make a phone call?" "Could I get some change for a bus ticket?" "I got wet last night, do you have some dry clothes?" – What do we do?

Sometimes groups of people are sitting in the park across the street or on the church steps. Sometimes someone is sleeping in one of the church's window wells. Again, what do we do? Ignore them? Is it safe for us to pass them? If they are drinking, should we turn a blind eye? And should-n't they just get a job and a life, anyways? What is the Christian response, what would Jesus have us do?

In June, the staff met with some area social workers to discuss these questions. Also in June, Paula Cornell from The Neighbour Centre held a workshop on homelessness here at Trinity. Both events gave participants useful insights and helpful strategies.

I think the first point to remember is that before Jesus, all of us are equal. We are all beautiful to him, and we all have faults and have done awful things. Even though most of us do not look scruffy, we are lacking and poor in some areas of our lives. It may not be money (although it may be!); perhaps it is health or relationships or happiness. And who knows which of us can barely hold things together, even while looking clean and smiling pleasantly on Sundays? In other words, Jesus calls us to not judge, and to be compassionate towards all, in-cluding ourselves. And compassion starts with understanding.

So let's try to understand. Homelessness has many causes: loss of job, family breakdown, mental illness, running away from an abusive home, and so on. Most of the homeless would rather have a home, but for a number of reasons are finding it difficult to achieve this. Life on the street is very stressful. Imagine sleeping in a shelter on a narrow mat on the floor, sand-wiched between strangers, with commo-tion and perhaps fighting all night. Imag-

ine having to eat whatever food is given to you. Imagine not having a place to shower, do laundry, or store your belong-ings safely. Imagine having no place to rest and no privacy. Imagine having to walk, walk, walk in the winter, just to stay warm. We heard this quote: "If you didn't have a mental illness before you were on the street, you will have a mental illness from being on the streets." I know I would find it dif-ficult in such circumstances to apply for, no less hold down a job. I might start drinking just to be able to relax and for-get my woes, or to be able to sleep through the night.

It is also important to understand that what may seem like bad choicees to us (e.g., doing drugs, not showing up for work, keeping bad company, crime) may not be a choice at all to a homeless or marginalized person. If you have been told all your life that you are bad, perhaps "being bad" is the only thing you can imagine doing. If you have been ne-glected or abused, you will find it hard to trust people; you will constantly think: When will this one let me down? Or perhaps you have been socialized in a way that you were not even aware of the resources and help that is available; you are not aware of a better way.

What does this mean for how we might help? One thing is clear: "Handouts" will provide short-term help, but they will not solve the problem. "Handouts" are a type of relief, which responds to an immediate crisis. They do not deal with the causes of the crisis, and the crisis may recur. Long-term help involves relationships: If you have internalized a

...see Neighbours - page 14


negative self-image through countless negative experienc-es, you need just as many positive experiences before you are able to trust and move forward.

To form relationships, we need to put aside our precon-ceptions, take time to say hello, smile, get to know the per-son's name. And we need to be consistent: friendly, inter-ested and supportive all the time. We need to be a positive experience for that person each time. I now know a number of "regulars" by name. I respect them and they respect me. Trouble rarely comes from them.

Relationships does not mean that you have no limits on your time or that "anything goes". It is alright (and you are modeling healthy self-respect) if you continue with your other business after a while. It is certainly alright to ask people not to drink in our park, or party loudly in the mid-dle of the night. The same rules apply in our park as in city parks! It is also alright to ask the police or a social worker to deal with a problem, for example if you feel you do not have the time or skills, or you do not feel safe. And it is alright to keep your distance if you do not feel safe.

There are a number of social workers who reach out to the homeless in our area. Get this: They like it if we call them! They are more than willing to come by and help, and they are very interested in knowing what's going on, for example, if someone is sleeping outside the church. So our partnership with area social workers is part of a good strat-egy (we have their phone numbers in the office). Partner-ing with the police (who work with the social workers) is also helpful. Again, there are beat cops and community cops who like to know what's going on. However, it is un-warranted to call the cops every time we see a scruffy-looking person in the park. Homeless folks are just as wel-come as everyone else to the park. And we have the same expectation of all park users, namely, to be respectful and to abide by the law.

Forming relationships with the homeless in our neigh-bourhood has many advantages for ourselves. For example, it may be a homeless person who notices a break in at the church and alerts emergency. They will be much more likely to do this if they have a relationship with us and feel respected. Vandalism is also less likely to occur if there is a relationship. And relationships provide "intel". For exam-ple, it was one of the "regulars" from whom I found out that the drug deals and late-night carousing in the park ear-lier this year involved a new, younger crowd (perhaps not even homeless) who had "discovered" the park. Through our respectful insistence on boundaries (e.g. no drinking), assistance from social workers and the police, and inten-tional prayer in the park, this crowd has since moved on, and the park is quite peaceful again.

A second strategy for helping the homeless is solidarity. This is different from "handouts" because it is not top-down but enables people to help themselves. Solidarity may mean speaking up when someone makes prejudiced

remarks about the homeless (such as, "why don't they just get a job?"). Solidarity also means understanding the situa-tion thoroughly, being informed. For example, did you know that one reason for the increase in homelessness in Alberta since the 2000's is the cuts to social housing and mental health services in the 1990's? In 2008, the city of Edmonton embarked on a 10-year plan to end homeless-ness, through a number of programs (http://www.edmonton.ca/10-YearPlantoend Homelessness-jan26-2009.pdf). In 2011, Trinity and many other faith communities signed a commitment to support this 10-year plan. Solidarity may mean getting involved in one of the plan's programs, for example, volunteering for "Welcome Home" (http://www.catholicsocialservices .ab.ca/CSSFindServicesbyLocation/default.aspx?id= 20812). It may also mean asking the candidates in your ward where they stand on homelessness, and supporting a candidate who will continue the city's 10-year plan in the upcoming election. Solidarity may also mean asking for

help – don't try to solve the problem on your own but form networks an alliances. As I mentioned, the area social workers are more than interested in hearing from us. Relat-ed to this, it may be easier and you may feel more comfort-able if you operate in a group rather than on your own. Here are some more solidarity suggestions from Paula Cor-nell:

• Buy and read the Edmonton Street News • Research an organization and become a monthly donor • Raise healthy empathetic families • Foster and adopt kids • Don't try to "fix" people • Hire people for odd jobs • Smile and say hello to everyone you meet – this creates

a safe feeling if everyone does it • Listen first. Interestingly, none of the social workers supported the

giving of money. Instead, they recommend giving to social service agencies for more effective, long-term help. See Edmonton's "Have a heart - Give smart" campaign: http://edmonton.ca/for_residents/programs/have-a-heart-give-

Neighbours - from page 13

...see Neighbours - page 15


smart.aspx Finally, as a church we have developed the

following guidelines over the past year: • We abide by the solidarity principles of com-

passion and consistent friendliness. • The church premises and park are for every-

one. The rules are: No drinking, drugs or oth-er illegal activities. Anyone engaging in ille-gal activities will be asked to leave. (The po-lice may also be called.)

•We keep in close touch with the area social workers about what's going on around us. (Phone numbers are in the office.)

•We are looking into getting a sign for the park. •When the church is open, e.g., during worship,

the comings and goings are monitored. •We only answer the door and provide assistance

if we are not alone in the office wing. We do not open the door if one of us is alone.

•We will be more specific and consistent about the type of assistance (e.g., type of food, times when we give out food) we provide. Details still need to be worked out.

•We no longer hand out clothes; instead we refer people to The Neighbour Centre.

•We continue to support the community dinner on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month as a consistent relief-plus-solidarity measure.

• We continue to be a depot for the Edmonton Food Bank.

•We keep an up-to-date re-source guide in the main office.

•We will con-tinue to host workshops on topics of homeless-ness and marginaliza-tion.

And let us remember: The homeless or the poor are not just people "out there". I don't even feel comfortable talking about "them". Who knows what the person sitting beside me in church is dealing with? Who knows what I am going through? There is no "us" and "them". Let's not categorize, but let's get to know each other.

Neighbours - from page 14 Special Music – Besondere Musik

We give SPECIAL THANKS to the following MUSICIANS for enhancing our summer worship ser-

vices with their excellent, delightful SPECIAL MUSIC.

A very special thank you our organist Cherie Larson for her ef-forts in planning and scheduling these musical contributions for

all the English and German Sunday services this summer .

June 9 Cherril and Heinz Günnewig, Soloists and Gui-tar: "Herr, ich will dir allzeit danken"; Psalm 23: "The Lord is My Shepherd"

June 23 Silverwinds Flötengruppe led by Kathleen Schön: Sonata Op. 7, No. 3 by Boismortier; Sophia Schön, Blockflöte: Sammartini Sonata

June 30 Frank Thede, Bass "Ich habe genug" by J. S. Bach

July 7 Faye Breda, Marlene Grünberg, Edna Jabs - Soloists: "Hebe deine Augen auf" by Mendelssohn and "Everytime I Feel The Spirit"

July 14 Darlene Schubert, Soprano: "Sei stille dem Herrn und warte auf ihn" by Mendelssohn from "Elias"; "Ich folge dir gleichfalls" by J. S. Bach from "Johannespassion", BWV 245; "Domine Deus" from Vivaldi‘s "Gloria"; "My Tribute" by A. Crouch

July 21 Mary Frank, Cello and Estelle Frank, Horn, Geige: Eccles Cello Sonata: G-Moll Mozart’s Horn Concerto #3 in Es-Dur Violin Concerto #5 in A-Dur by Mozart Two pieces for Horn and Piano Op. 28 by Si-nigaglia

July 28 Jenna Koller and Cherie Larson, (Bratschen): Brandenburgisches Konzert #6 H-Dur by J. S. Bach; "Elégie" Op. 30 (Bratsche und Klavier) by H. Vieuxtemps

August 4 Michael and Christina Kant, Piano and Harp: "Die Kirche steht gegründet"

Aug 11 Agnes Melax, Soprano: "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern"

Aug 18 Agnes Melax, Soprano: "Schafe können sicher weiden" by J. S. Bach, BWV 208; "My Jesus I love Thee" by Gordon

Aug 25 James Robertson, French Horn: Sinfonia from Händel's Oratorio "Solomon"

Sept. 1 Maya Budzinski, Geige: Veracini Largo


ELCIC National Convention 2013 Report

The following was actually written by my convention room-mate, Pastor George Friedrich. He's very good with words and he was in much better health than I was. He's also my friend, so he let me use whatever I wanted of his report to his church. The following is George's unedited report. I have left out only the parts that refer to his family vacation that preceded the convention in Ottawa. As the pain in my arm left me lying in the hotel room for several of the sessions, I was surprised to learn what all I had missed. I hope you will be too! So here goes:

"Lutherans and Anglicans, about 1000 of us, gathered for conventions that, for the first time in history, were partly separate (to do business unique to each of our na-tional churches) but also partly “Together, For the Love of the World,” as the convention theme defined the reason for our joint sessions. What made the joint assembly even possible was the Waterloo Declaration of 2001, which first allowed our two church bodies to enter into a full-communion relationship with each other and through

which we have also been able to call one another’s ordained pastors and joint-ly organize gatherings such as CLAY, the Canada Lu-theran Anglican Youth Gathering that is held eve-ry two years. In joint sessions, two social ministry concerns empha-sized were homelessness and clean water. Since An-glicans have historically

been very involved with Canada’s aboriginal peoples, representatives from the First Nations were prominent in bringing greetings and accented the importance of living in relationship, with each other as well as with the land. The Joint Convention applauded the first translation of the Bible into Inuktitut in 2012, a task that took 34 years, and heard from international representatives including the World Council of Churches General Secretary Reverend Doctor Olav Tweit, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Han-son, and Lutheran World Federation General Secretary Reverend Doctor Martin Junge, among others.

On Saturday, the Joint Convention gathered on Parlia-ment Hill and prayed for the rivers, for the people who make their living from the water, and for those who cross oceans, as well as prayers for the responsible use of water in urban and rural settings. You might imagine that a gathering of almost 1000 people united in prayer on the front lawn of Parliament would have some sort of impact, but the ripple we made was hardly noticed by anyone, let

alone anyone in power. We were directed to make sure we were there by 9:00 a.m. because we would have to make way for another group that was scheduled to bring their concerns at 9:45 a.m.

Sitting in our individual conventions, our National Bish-op, Susan Johnson, led us through an agenda that ad-dressed the national church’s looming financial crisis and budget cutbacks, elections of officers to the National Church Council, and a maze of changes to the constitu-tion of the national church which mostly consisted of moving large parts of the constitution into the national church’s by-laws.

If you want to research more, most of the joint conven-tion is archived in videos. Just google “joint assembly 2013” and go to the “Video Archive”. By all means, view it all, but if you have only a little time, then click on my two personal favourite moments - under July 4, “Greetings from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” hear Bishop Mark Hanson and also, in the July 7 Closing Worship Service, skip ahead to the 50 minute mark of the service and listen to the prayers of the church, led by an unknown-to-me Anglican priest, who spoke the prayers in a poetic, partly rhyming, partly ranting, partly rapping way. Cool!

I must say that I was very glad to be able to participate in the convention as I did. I sat at tables with Lutherans and Anglicans, some of whom I had never met before and others with whom I was already quite well acquainted. (Pastor Tom Peterson says “Hi.”) I also reacquainted my-self with pastors with whom I went to seminary in Water-loo. But how did I feel about the whole thing when it was over? I was exhausted slightly before the end. Imagine an annual meeting of the congregation. Now imagine it last-ing for 13 hours, with time-outs only for lunches, dinners, and bathroom breaks. Now imagine the 13 hours being repeated five days in a row. It was no way to spend a vacation! But if you think that kind of thing might appeal to you, you may want to posi-tion yourself to attend the next national convention in Ed-monton in two years' time, at which time the assembly, meeting solely as the Evangelical Lutheran Church once again, will, among other things, give the altered Constitu-tion a second reading and pass it into current usage – or amend it and possibly pass it in 2017!"

Thank you, George!


The weekend of Sept 7&8 was a busy one for our Chil-dren and Youth Ministries. On September 7th we had a

Youth Planning Retreat. It was attended by our three Youth lead-ers; Aidan McBride, Andrew Lotz and Julianne Watson, a couple who does Youth ministry at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Pastor Indra and Pastor Ingrid, Karen Goldstone-Friedrich and about half a dozen parents. We spent the afternoon talking about the needs of our youth and who could best meet those needs. We also devel-oped a schedule of Youth Activi-ties.

We identified a need for more Sunday morning programming for youth and will be starting a Sun-day Youth program on the first and third Sundays of the month at the 11 o'clock service. Our youth leaders are going to be running more regular Youth Activities on the third Friday of every month called, "Full Circle Fridays". Please refer to the calendar below for a schedule of youth events.

September 8th, "Welcome Sun-day", included an introduction to

Sunday School. The children had a great time making pa-per stars that they dropped from the balcony later in the service to symbolize God's blessings. How often do you get to throw things from the balcony? Most of the children stayed for the Bouncy Castle, face painting, and sidewalk chalk during the BBQ in the parking lot following the ser-vice. Sunday School will continue on a weekly basis dur-ing the 11 o'clock service. Children from ages 3 or 4 are welcome to join us at any time during the school year.

Confirmation classes take place every Wednesday at

6:30pm. First and second year confirmands are taught to-gether by Pr. Ingrid or our interim pastor, Tim Posyluzny. You can still register. On Sunday, October 27 (Reformation Sunday) we will celebrate the confirmation of some of our young peo-ple during the 11 o'clock service.

Our Church Family

Children and Youth Activities Karen Goldstone-Friedrich, Faith Life Coordinator

Schedule of Youth Events ‐ 2013

Day Date Time Event (more details to follow)

Fri Sept 20 tba Youth paint 4 park benches (Trinity garden)

Sat Sept 21 9am-Noon Cartoons morning at HTAC (Holy Trinity An-glican Church)

Sun Sept 22 11 am-1pm Youth morning & Pr. Indra Farewell

Fri-Sun Oct 4-6 tba Mulhurst Youth Retreat

Sun Oct 6 6:30-9:30pm CLAY-Ed (city-wide)

Sat Oct 12 tba Edmonton Corn Maze

Fri Oct 18 tba Friday Full Circle

Sat Oct 19 tba Trinity Fall Banquet (youth fundraiser)

Sun Oct 27 tba Confirmation Sunday

Sat Nov 9 tba Trinity Youth Sleepover

Fri Nov 15 tba Friday Full Circle

Wed Dec 18 tba Christmas Carolling

2014

Day Date Time Event (more details to follow)

Sun Feb 2 6:30-9:30pm CLAY-Ed (city-wide)

Sat-Sun Apr 19-20 tba Easter Vigil

Thurs-Sun

Aug 14-17 tba CLAY National Youth Gathering (Kamloops,

BC)

Welcome Sunday Worship Band


Our Church Family

Invitation to a Caregivers’ Getaway “The Lord lifts the fallen and those bent beneath their loads.” Psalm 145:14 If you are a caregiver for a loved one, you may sometimes feel fallen or bent beneath your load. Sometimes, it helps to know that you are not alone in your situation. Here is an invitation to anyone blessed/tasked with the duty of care-giving for a parent, child or spouse to plan for a once-a-month getaway in the company of others who find them-selves in a similar situation. Contact the church office by phone to leave your name and number for more infor-mation. Or you can leave a message via the Contact tab on the church website: http://www.trinity-lutheran.ab.ca/

Einladung zu einer Atempause für be-treuende Personen

"Der Herr stützt alle, die zusammenbrechen, und richtet die Niedergebeugten auf." Psalm 145,14 Gemeinsam geht es leichter – Einladung zu einem re-gelmäßigen Kreis für Bezugspersonen Pflegebedürftiger. Sind Sie für die Pflege eines anderen Menschen verant-wortlich? Wenn ja, so täte Ihnen viellelcht ab und zu eine kleine Erholungspause gut. Melden Sie sich im Kirchen-büro, um mit Gleichgesinnten in Verbindung zu kommen und den ersten gemeinsamen Treffpunkt festzulegen.

Write around the Church Were you born to write? Do you have a love of words? If so, join a Writers’ Circle here at Trinity. Whether you pre-fer poetry or prose, playwriting, songwriting, blogging, rapping or more, let’s get those creative juices flowing and use our talents to the glory of God. Contact the church of-fice by phone to leave your name and number for more information. Or you can leave a message via the Contact tab on the church website: http://www.trinity-lutheran.ab.ca/

Kreis für Amateur-Schriftsteller und -Dichter

Schreiben Sie leidenschaftlich gern? Lieben Sie es, Worte zu einem aussagekräftigen Text zusammenzufügen? Sind Sie dichterisch veranlagt? Dann würde Sie vielleicht ein "Writers' Circle" here in Trinity interessieren. Ob Lyrik oder Prosa, Theaterstücke oder Lieder, Blogs oder Raps - ein Kreis könnte uns helfen, kreativ zu werden und uns auszudrücken zur Ehre Gottes. Wenn Sie Interesse haben, rufen Sie bitte im Kirchenbüro an oder kontaktieren Sie uns über unsere Website: http://www.trinity-lutheran.ab.ca/

"Save the Date"- Evening of October 19 This year the Youth are going to host the FALL BAN-

QUET as a fundraiser for the National Youth Gathering in Kamloops next August. Details are still to be determined but good food and entertainment are on the agenda, so please keep that evening open.

Children’s Activities in German: For children who understand and speak (some) German,

we are continuing to offer German Kinderkirche on the 4th Sunday of each month during the 9:30am German com-munion service, starting on September 22. Children hear about and participate in the telling of various Bible stories followed by a range of other activities, crafts, songs, etc. If a child’s German is limited, we switch to a mix of Eng-lish and German, so don’t be shy, come join us.

On November 2 at 5pm, all children and their parents are also invited to the traditional St. Martin’s Lantern Walk-about, which is an evening outdoor parade following in the footsteps of St. Martin. Of course hot chocolate and cookies are an essential part of the event! Please keep your Saturday afternoon free for this lovely event and start in-viting your friends!

Feel free to contact one of the youth leaders, Karen, or Elaine Watson (chair of youth ministry committee) if you have questions.

Youth Events from page 17

YOUTH FUNDRAISER The youth have an ongoing fundraiser collecting cans/bottles for recycling. There is a collection bin at the en-trance to the kitchen in the Luther Center. Anyone is wel-come to bring their bottles, cans, juice boxes and milk jugs/cartons. We ask that you remove lids, flatten juice boxes and rinse & crush milk jugs/cartons. The funds raised will go towards sending our youth to the national youth gathering in Kamloops next summer. The youth thank you for your contributions. Stay tuned for further fundraising events throughout the next year.

Thanks, Eileen Hay

P.S. We check the bin every now and again, but if it needs to be emptied please call Eileen at 780-438-5946


Our Church Family

Pr. Markus Wilhelm


Looking Ahead

Sunday, Sept. 22: Farewell to Pastor in Training Indra - in and after both services

Sunday, Sept. 29: Welcome and installation of Pastor Tim Posyluzny as our interim pastor - Pastor Time preaches in both services

Sunday, Oct. 6, 2pm: Cemetery Service Oct. 8–12: Drop off produce or flowers for Thanksgiving display

Sunday, Oct. 13: Thanksgiving Services Saturday, Oct. 19: Fall Banquet (time to be an-nounced)

Sunday, Oct. 27: Reformation Sunday & Confir-mation - Pastor Indra celebrates her ordination in her ne congregation in Germany (let us keep her in our prayers)

Thursday, Oct. 31, 9:30am - 3:30pm: Refor-mation Day Symposium with Rev. Prof. David Pfrimmer (Principal-Dean & Professor of Applied Christian Ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Semi-

nary). Topic: "Towards a New Public Theolo-gy" (a light lunch will be served)

Saturday, Nov. 2, 5pm: St. Martin's Lantern Walkabout

Sunday, Nov. 3: Guest preacher David Pfrimmer (Principal-Dean & Professor of Applied Christian Ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary)

The Trinity Team is a publication of Trinity Evangelical Lu-theran Church, Edmonton, Alberta. The Team is published 3-4 times a year - in August, in December, in February, and in May under the auspices of the Communications Committee. Next publication date: November 2013. Deadline for submissions for next issue - November 18, 2013 The Team is intended to serve the members of Trinity Lutheran Church as a comprehensive communications tool. The editors wel-come your comments or questions. Please submit all Team articles, information, comments or questions to: [email protected] or drop them off at the church office - Attn: Trinity Team Trinity Lutheran Church, 2013 Source should be acknowledged if material reproduce in whole or in part.

Our Church Family

Faith Discussion Group

The Faith Discussion Group will hold its first gathering for the fall this Sun-day evening (Sept. 15) at 7:00pm at the home of Jeff Gusdal and Hanae Kiyooka. (9643-83 Ave). As a group, we usually choose a book to study as a means of discussing and asking questions related to our Chris-tian journey. In addition to the book study, we spend time sharing about our lives and offering prayer and sup-port for one another. It is a wonderful way to connect more intimately with other members of Trinity and to learn and grow in our Christian faith. Everyone is welcome to attend! If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Hanae at (780) 431-0687 or by e-mail at [email protected]

Picture Directory Update You must be wondering why the picture directories have not yet arrived. Well, they should arrive in the next few weeks. And why so late? First, there was a lack of resources (people, time) at Trinity to complete our submission. I was on leave until mid-March. Checking our roster took much time in April (thank you, Marvin and Trudy!), and the editorial pages were not completed until May (thank you, Ella!). We submitted our materials and specifications in May. Since then, there have been some mixups at the company (IPC) which have caused further delays. I apologize for the long wait. The reality is that it has been a lot of work, and peo-ple have gone above and beyond to do this work. But I believe you will like the directory when you see it. It reflects Trinity in its 110th year, gives you an idea of who is who, and will be a keep-sake for years to come.

The next issue of the TEAM

The next issue of the TEAM will be published at the beginning of Advent. It will have two themes: Advent/Christmas, and Mental Health. The Christmas season is a time when everybody is supposed to be happy, while at the same time putting tremendous pressure on people. Those who don't sense that happiness may feel excluded. Others are tempted to act happy even though they are not. Let's talk about it and support each oth-er towards true Christmas joy. Deadline for submissions is No-vember 18, 2013. We also look forward to an article by Pastor Ingrid, sharing more details of her learnings from her sabbatical and Pastor Indra is planning to write an article re-flecting on her 15 months at Trin-ity.

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