Dear Members and Friends of Trinity,
People use looks and hand motions called "body language" to convey much in order to save on words. In texting too, one can practice utmost word economy. You might text "I luv U" and the answer could be "ditto." God communicates with us through nature. He does it without words. In what we see before our eyes, mountains, seas, vegetation, living beings, the heavenly beings and bodies, all reveal His wisdom and power.
Nature, however, tells us nothing about God's love and compassion. For that we need God's words. In the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophets. St. Peter writes, "Men spoke from God as they were carried along the Holy Spirit."
As Lutherans, we exist today coming directly out of the Roman Catholic Church in 1517. One of the major causes of the split was that Martin Luther wanted the people to understand what was said at the Mass (Mass was in Latin) and he also wanted the Word of God (the Bible) put into the hands of the people and in their own language.
We believe that the Holy Scriptures is the inspired Word of God. This Word, written by the inspired prophets and apostles, is central to the Reformation. The Bible is an anvil that has worn out many a hammer. It is still the number one best seller. Sola Scriptura, which means Scripture Alone, is written in letters on Reformation banners, for it testifies to Christ alone as the Savior from sin. Scripture Alone strips away human philosophy and reason, as co-sources of Christian teachings. Jesus stood firmly on the "It is written" of the Holy Scripture because it could not be broken.
As I look back, I really learned the Bible most in Sunday School. I loved the stories and the meanings as taught by my teachers. I even remember my nursery teacher, Mrs. Louise Baal. I think she taught my sister and brothers as well!!!
As the sole source of Christian teaching, Holy Scripture can and does teach authoritatively the other two great principles of the Lutheran Reformation: "Grace Alone" and "Faith Alone." The apostle Paul teaches very clearly, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift, not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). The expression, "but for the grace of God I'm here" comes from this Bible verse. All glory belongs to God. Soli Deo Gloria!! God bless you this Reformation Day, October 31, 2011.
Pastor Christian Bunzel
THANK YOU
PASTOR'S NEW COCKER SPANIEL PUPPY – Thank you to the congregation for the Christmas gift in 2010 which went toward the purchase of the "Buff" puppy who is named "Jonesie" (after Jones Beach, Long Island, N.Y.). He is 8 weeks old and is from "CUDDLE ME COCKERS" located at 46 Sanford Road, Southbury, Connecticut 06488. Phone 203-264-7811. This establishment is owned by Arlene B. & Frank T. Bartholomew, whose business is registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC), as will be Jonesie. Also thanks to Tommi and Patrick Delzell for recommending this wonderful establishment in Southbury!! Their dog Jesse and Jonesie are brothers. Now I just have to teach Jonesie to be as well behaved as Jesse! Pastor Christian.
Dear Reverend Bunzel, Thank you very much for your Blessing at Dog Days. The day was a huge success.
Sincerely, Renee – Animal Welfare Society, New Milford, Connecticut
To Wendy McGrath for her service as an Acolyte for the past five years. Her faithful service is much appreciated, and we pray God's blessings on her continued studies at New Milford High School.
To Michael Gold, our Youth Director, and his wife Kathy for chaperoning and transporting our youth on the White Water Rapids Rafting trip in October. It's wonderful to have such an active youth group at Trinity!!
To all who brought food items to our Annual Church Picnic at Lynn Deming Park Beach, and to Mark Haglund for cooking burgers and hot dogs. Delicious! Good German Potato salad made by Martha Ley! Pastor tried to sell off his watermelon for $5.00 a slice, but they went for free!! It was a great day.
To our Sunday School teachers for continuing their work in teaching our children this fall. They are Carolyn Haglund, Sherry Olmsted, Karla Buffington, Gary Hults, and Pastor Bunzel.
To Gary Hults for continuing to cut the lawns on the church grounds. Trinity has the most property of all of the churches in New Milford, and that means a lot of mowing!!
To Chris Wharton and Michael and Stephanie James for their continued work on the main entrance and island gardens. It is now officially Fall!!
On behalf of New Milford Social Services, I would like to thank you, Pastor Bunzel and all The TLC parishioners for a very generous donation of food on July 27th for the benefit of New Milford Food Bank.
Peg Molina – LCSW Social Services Director
To everyone who gave non perishable food items and monetary donations to Social Service's annual Walk a Mile for a Meal held on Sunday, September 25th.
AUTUMN LEAF GIVING TREE is on display in the lobby. This is a way you can help to defray the cost of winter expenses. Take a leaf from the tree with the desired donation on it, place it in the envelope provided with your donation, and place it in the offering plate or mail in to the church. Be sure to write your name and envelope number to receive proper credit. Last year we collected well over $2,500 from leaf donation. Your help is really appreciated. We need extra giving in this economic hard time.
GERMAN NIGHT DINNER – Saturday, October 22nd at 6:00 p.m. Pork loin roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, sauerkraut, vegetables, applesauce, bread/rolls, and desserts. Volunteers are needed to help and to make German style desserts. Call Sherry Olmsted at 860-354-4243. Cost is Adults – $10, Children under 10 – $5, children under 5 free. Door prizes are needed also. Set up day is Friday, October 21st at 6:00 p.m.
THE CHURCH COUNCIL meets on Thursday, October 13th at 7:00 p.m. We begin with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the main church before the meeting with prayer, readings, and meditation.
CHRISTMAS BOUTIQUE AND TAG SALE will be held on Saturday, November 12th 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Set up is Friday, November 11th at 7:00 p.m. Kathy Gold is chairing the event this year, since she did such a great job last year! Members are asked to please start getting tag sale items together and bring them to the church, in the first room at the bottom of the basement steps. We request that you please price the items you bring in. You know better than we do what they're worth, and this is a great help to us. NO clothing or very large furniture, unless you contact the church and are willing to take it back if it doesn't sell. We would appreciate the help of all members. Craft ideas are welcome for the boutique. Questions? Call Kathy at 860-354-4405 or Pastor at 860-355-2630.
FROM THE YOUTH CORNER!!!
Pizza and movie night was held on Friday, September 23. Angela Haglund, Mariah McRedmond, Austin, Ayden, Pastor and I attended. Lots of good humor and laughs were had by all. Thank you to Pastor for introducing his puppy to us, Jonesie. A truly beautiful dog-- needless to say and so well mannered, probably because he is being brought up by and as a Lutheran! He has quite the lovable face on him! Best wishes to Pastor on this new adventure!
A big thank you to all the youth and parents for their generosity for the canned foods and staples for our local social services food drive. We delivered almost 10 bags of groceries to the town!Thank you Cathy McGrath for taking some of the bags with you. The remainder of the foods were delivered on Monday. Thank you to all participants!
Our group is still collecting your bottles and cans to return for their deposits. Please feel free to bring them to church on Sundays and contact either one of our youth or myself. We will gladly take them off your hands! Thank you to Mr. Robert Ley and Pastor Christian Bunzel for their cash donations to our can/bottle drive! And thank you to our parishioners for their continued support. My barn is getting full of your returns! Soon we will be recycling them!
At this writing, we are looking forward to our white water rafting trip in Massachusetts. Almost all our youth are going! Thank you to our chaperones Denise Watson, Carolyn Haglund, Roger Arguello, Kathy Gold and myself for their commitment to our safety and fun!
More to follow after our exciting trip! Michael Gold
OCTOBER IS STEWARDSHIP MONTH
Stewardship is a way of living. This month we stop to consider about our life and about our way of living. Have you ever just wondered about your life and how things are going? Have you ever said yourself, "Now what am I going to do?" or "Is this all there is?"
Living a life of stewardship and looking to God for answers is the way to live! Smooth sailing on our life's journey is what we want. That's what God wants for us, too. He gives us all that we need, all of our resources, our life. He gave all of Himself to us. We see in John 3:16 "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...."
God gave all of Himself to us in the Person of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. How can we best respond to His great love for us? Looking to Jesus for the answers, He says for us to be His disciples, to be His servants, to love others as He loves us. He has given us our time, talents and treasure. Surely, we can give some back to Him! Maybe even more than we give right now?
Let us look to God for answers and prayerfully consider giving with a joyful and thankful heart!
On Stewardship Sunday, November 6th, we will present our responses to Him who loves us so.
Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
Lois Morrissey, Stewardship chairperson
A WORKSHOP IN CENTERING PRAYER – Saturday, October 8th 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. At Promisek, 694 Skyline Ridge Road in Bridgewater. This workshop, led by Tom Connolly (Contemplative Outreach presenter) will introduce this ancient form of Christian prayer which is now being renewed across the Christian world. Registration is $35 and can be done at the door. For questions about the workshop call Tom at 484-995-4046 or email him at toconol@yahoo.com. If you plan on attending, please contact Tom beforehand so he has the information. Promisek is a Catholic lay community situated in peaceful and sublimely beautiful surroundings and follows a Benedictine spirituality. For directions and information visit the Promisek website at www.promisek.org. To learn more about Centering Prayer visit www.contemplativeoutreach.org or read Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel, rev. ed. (New York: Continuum, 2002).
"Be still and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10
