Author Archive: Leesa Bell

Bread

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The Gospel according to John 6:24-35
24When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were [beside the sea,] they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
 35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

If you go on a diet, one of the first things dietitians say is eliminate or moderate eating bread. The dietitians will tell you, bread is full of carbs. And if you don’t burn it off, it will stick with you as body fat. So, I hear in one ear: “Don’t eat bread!” and I hear in the other ear: “I am the bread of life!” Truly, I get a little confused.
If you are confused too, here is what make sense to me: Bread is full of carbs. In fact, it is a good amount of carb energy. So, if you ate bread and you worked the fields or some other type of labor, you would need the high level of carbs. You would burn them off during the day. Bread is not a bad food, in fact it is the best food loaded with energy producing carbs that will sustain physical activity all day long. To say it another way, if you could eat one thing and you wanted to get the best energy possible from what you ate, you would be alright if you chose bread.
When Jesus says he is the bread of life. He is saying he is the best food to give you the most energy or “spiritual understanding” that you are going to get.  Jesus is the bread that sustains us and helps us grow. Jesus is the spiritual root of who we are. When we listen to him, we are the best we can be as a human person. We are more compassionate and emphatic. We are humbler and more gracious. We are more selfless and generous. We are more Christlike.
God sent Jesus to us to show us a new way to connect with him. Jesus announces the forgiveness of God; he announces that God loves us and wants a relationship with us. These messages from Jesus sustain us, give us energy, and help our faith to grow. Just like bread does for our bodies, Jesus does for our minds and hearts.
So today, know how fundamentally important it is to have Jesus in our life. He gives us the energy to live a life in Jesus’ name.
Pastor Gerry

Backpack Buddies

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Over 14,000 children in Loudoun County, Virginia are food insecure. That means their families may not know where their next meal is coming from. The Backpack Buddies program provides
weekend and holiday meal packs to help meet the nutritional needs of children
when they are not in school.

The Backpack Buddies partnership between Holy Trinity and Frederick Douglass Elementary will continue into the school year 2018-19.  Donations of money or grocery store gift cards are also very welcome and we will do the shopping for you! It is also possible to set up a monthly delivery to Holy Trinity through Amazon.com. (Remember to use Amazon Smiles!)

Our Backpack Buddies shopping cart is ready for your donations, and can accept them at any time. These items are delivered to Frederick Douglass Elementary during the school hours. We are looking for more people to join who can be part of our delivery team. Please contact Pat Bailey at baileyva@mac.com for more information. Adding one or two items to your shopping list helps to feed the hungry children in our community. A list with the needed foods is on the poster next to the shopping cart.   Examples include:
  • Small cans of chicken or tuna
  • Individual cups of ravioli or spaghetti
  • Easy Mac & Cheese cups
  • 100% fruit juice boxes
  • Cereal bars
  • Individual cereal boxes or cups
  • Individual instant oatmeal packets or cups
  • Rice Krispie Treats
  • Individual fruit or applesauce cups
  • Individual bags of cookies, goldfish crackers
(Please no items containing nut products.)
Childhood hunger is a very real problem in Loudoun County and Holy Trinity CAN make a difference each week with our food donations.

What do you like to eat?

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Would this meal make you smile? Or would salmon, or pork, or even a crab cake be your culinary delight?  We all may have different taste and mealtime desires, but one thing is for certain, there are things that we like to eat and when we do, they bring a smile to our face (and maybe an ache to our belly).
When we talk about being fed, we usually talk about food. Are there other ways that we are fed? Can we be fed emotionally, professionally, or even spiritually? An extrovert is fed by being around people. He or she gets energy from that. On the other hand, an introvert gets fed being by themselves. He or she gets energy from that. If our boss gives us a compliment in front of others, especially our peers or our employees, we are fed by that.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus feeds a multitude with five barley loves and two fish. Jesus performs a miracle and stretched that small amount of food to feed the whole multitude of people. But maybe the real miracle is that Jesus’ message was so powerful that they didn’t want to leave him. Maybe the miracle was that Jesus fed them in another way—a spiritual way.
What do you need to hear this morning? What will feed you, nurture you, make you stronger, more hopeful, more caring, or simply more alive? What could possibly be said that you would want more? That you would feel like you have been given a special gift. That you have been lifted up. Let us hope and pray that message is what you hear this morning.

Amen!

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Children are a special gift from God. They have come to be with us every day this week, bringing their smile and good nature and willingness to do whatever we have prepared for them. They really don’t care if it is to eat a graham cracker with blue icing or thread a necklace. They know that whatever we do, we do for them. They know that everyone of our staff cares for them. As a staff, that trust makes it super fun because it opens doors and allows everyone to sing or dance or try new things or learn new stories. It is that care and concern that opens doors.
We want to mirror the care and concern that God has for us. We don’t get weighed down in dogmas or judgments. We just welcome every child like God has welcomed us. We tell them Bible stories and stories of Jesus love for us. We share some fun and enjoy the gifts the children bring to us and share the gifts we have for them.
But we need to trust too. We need to trust that the seeds of God’s love that we planted will grow. That somewhere somehow, God’s love will make a difference for this child as he/she grows up. We pray for that.
As this week ends, we at Holy Trinity have had a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School. We have been blessed with the children. We have been blessed with the energy that our talented staff brings and the willingness of so many people to be a part of this. We have been blessed with the good-natured fun and trusting relationships. This will be a summer to remember for a long time. No doubt; because of him we can say, Amen: Amen!

New Date – Habitat for Humanity

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Holy Trinity is signed up to participate in the Fed By Faith program. This is where churches go out and serve lunch to volunteers of Habitat for Humanity at a build site. We will be serving about 20 volunteers by 11:20 the morning of Saturday,  August 11, at a site in Hamilton, VA, right up the road. We are looking for anyone who would like to help to prepare lunches on Friday, August 10, around 12:30, and/or deliver and serve lunches on Saturday, August 11. This would be a great activity youth, and as always, ALL ARE WELCOME! For more information, please contact Jodie Allen at jodieaallen@gmail.com (two aa in middle!)

Youth Gathering

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Livestream

Did you know that you can follow the ELCA Youth Gathering via livestream? Join us on the ELCA homepage!  The following events will be shared:

  • MYLE worship: June 26 at 6:45 p.m. (all times CDT)
  • The tAble worship: June 27 at 10 a.m.
  • Daily Bible studies: June 27-June 30 at 3:30 p.m.
  • Mass Gatherings: June 27-June 30 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday morning worship: July 1 at 10 a.m.

You can also follow us on our facebook page or on social media using #ELCAYG2018 

The Obvious

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Sometimes we need to say things that are obvious.

 

As a church, children are a blessing to us. When they are baptized, we promise, with their parents, to live among them with God’s faithful people, to bring them to the word and the holy supper, teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the creeds, and the Ten Commandments, and place in their hands the holy scriptures. We nurture them in faith. It sounds like a daunting task.

 

But while we do these things, children in our church community bless us with an opportunity to share our faith. They provide life and joy from their participation with us. They make special occasions like Christmas (Advent) and Easter (Lent) so special and meaningful for us. Their honesty and candidness at children’s sermons liven up our worship. Their special musical presentations are so pure and holy and help us remember our own childhood memories of church. The children are a blessing and help us re-enforce our faith.

 

Today, the children have been practicing for months to provide a worshipful presentation with their spunk and character which is enjoyable and cute (you’ll see). But in the process, they have learned something special. They have learned that Jesus wants us to love above all else. The children remind us of that all the time. That loud child in the pew behind us (and the embarrassed mom); the dis-engaged teenager who required the strength of Jehovah to get them here; or the enthusiastic child that is antsy for the children’s sermon, all are a blessing to us because they are part of the family of God that we see. We can love with a Hi, with a smile, sharing kindnesses, or a conversation. That is what church friends do. That restless child behind you is our child. That confirmand is our child. The singers this morning are our children.

 

Today we are blessed with their musical, Judge Julie Truly, as it parallels the gospel story of the Jesus healing the Paralytic that was lowered from the roof by four loyal friends. The children are excited to share the story with us. As they do, think of our relationship with them. We may not know their name, but we know who they are. We may have taught them in Sunday school or VBS. We may have shared a pastry or fruit with them after worship. They are our kids. We learn how to love by them just being with us. Enjoy the children and the message.

Holy Trinity Sunday

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The classic line about the Trinity is don’t try to understand it, our minds just can’t make sense of it; but God who is infinitely wiser knows how he can be one God in three persons. I don’t like to dismiss our seeking some understanding of the essence of God so quickly. The easiest explanation is that they all three have specific jobs or functions. That is known as modalism taught by Sabellius in Rome in the 3rd century. This belief was determined to be heresy in the early church.
So how do we theologize about the Trinity? First, it is important to have some idea of the essence of God. Moses’ first question to God was “What is your name?” or what is your essence? I think it is normal to want to know more about the essence of God (how God exists). That is why I like this picture. We know the three persons from the Bible, but there is a great deal hidden by the light. They all radiate with light together and separately.  They share a joint concern (love) for their creation. But they maintain a mysterious aura. They reveal some things but not all. The reason for that is their secret. So perhaps, God does not want his total essence to be known. Except to say that there are three persons in one God.
Throughout Church history, holy people referred to as saints, sought a closer relationship with God. In their quest and in their writings was the consistent proclamation of the three persons in one God. So, we can just thank God for his creation, for his redeeming, and for his perpetual guidance.  We receive joy in the ways that God shares his love in our world. We look with joy for the constant presents of God in our lives.
Pastor Gerry

Sunday School for all Ages

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Ages 3 to Grade 5:  Lydia

PreK through Grade 6 meet in the sanctuary for opening activities

Grade 6:  Lydia

Grades 7-12:  Meet in Youth room

Adults:  The early church handbook for people to become followers of Jesus Christ:  The Didache.   It is written by Justin Martyr.  It should be an interesting journey as we walk through this early church handbook.

Welcome Center Construction

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You may have noticed the beginnings of our new HTLC WELCOME CENTER in the gathering area.  After much discussion and thoughtful planning, we have come up with a design that will welcome new visitors to our church.  It will provide information about new member activities and even provide a MAP of our beautiful church so people can navigate themselves. We hope to answer the following questions for people coming to our church for the first time:

How do I become a member?

How do I get involved? (ALL teams, committees and groups will be represented with opportunities to become involved with each one….meeting/activity times will be provided for each)

What activities do you have for kids?  Where and when?

Where are the restrooms?? (MAP!)

What is the schedule?

Is there a bible study at HTLC?

I am interested in baptism, what do I do?

Do you offer Sunday School for all ages?  Where and when?

What is the church’s mission?

Who is the pastor? (picture will be displayed)   

Who can I go to with any questions I might have?

  Who is on the church council? (pictures will be displayed)

Do you offer any music opportunities?

Do you have a preschool? 

Each aspect of our church will be represented (all teams/committees will be represented) as well as the preschool.  We hope to showcase all the wonderful activities and opportunities that HTLC offers, as well as make a central location for sign-ups and information for current members.  There will also be PHOTOS of our pastor and council and staff, so prospective new members can put faces with names.  It is an exciting project and one that will hopefully extend a warm welcome to all who enter!

Construction of this center will require some hands-on help!   If you would like to participate, please contact either Amy Miller or Leigh Johanneck.  Sanding, painting, and some carpentry skills will be needed, as well as help designing/planning the layout of photos/team info etc.  Snacks would also be appreciated on our ‘build’ days!!  ALL ARE WELCOME!!