ARE YOU INTERESTED in becoming a part of Holy Trinity’s community of faith? Then join us for PIZZA WITH PASTOR on Sunday March 6th. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall for pizza and conversation after the 11:00 am worship service.
Author Archive: Leesa Bell
Communion Instruction & Recognition
Instruction: Sunday, March 26, 2017, 11:00 AM – 1:15 PM
Communion Recognition Sunday: April 2, 2017
Communion instruction teaches our youth more about the Lord’s Supper to prepare them to join us at the Table. It is designed for students in grade 2 and above, but we welcome any child who is ready to receive this sacrament. Parents should plan to join their child for this one-time class. Registration materials will be mailed to all second-grade children registered for HTLC Sunday School.
During our time together students and parents are involved in a variety of activities including baking of bread for Holy Communion.
The students will then receive Communion the following Sunday, with a reception to follow.
If you would like more information about this year’s Communion Instruction, please contact Mary Samios at childrensministry@holytrinityleesburg.org.
Sin is Behovely…
Sin is behovely, but all shall be well,
and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Julian of Norwich
1342-1416 Christian Mystic
When a friend quoted Julian of Norwich to me, I wanted to slug her. My life was in total meltdown. I felt victimized, sinned against, and I was angry. How dare she say everything shall be well!
And whatever did it mean to say, “Sin is behovely?” Behovely? What kind of medieval nonsense is that?
Behovely…it means that sin serves a purpose. Yes, sin is ugly. Yes, sin causes suffering. Yes, we want to avoid the tragedy of sin at all costs. At the same time, what Julian is getting at is the immensity and power of God’s love. God works in spite of our sin, and even through our sin, to bring about a greater good.
In Romans, chapter 8, St. Paul makes the audacious claim: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
All things? Really? Even suffering? Even sin? Both Paul and Julian would say yes. Paul concludes Romans chapter 8 with the ringing declaration that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Sin is behovely. It took me years and many hours of prayer to wrap my brain around the meaning of these words. Today I am convinced that it is only when we hit bottom, that is, when we fully accept the tragedy of sin and our part in it that we can begin to grasp the immense measure of God’s love.
By the grace of God I have survived my life’s various meltdowns. More important, God used each crisis to teach me some painful truths about myself. They have proven to be opportunities to grow in ways I’d never imagined. And while I would never wish those experiences on my worst enemy, I treasure everything I learned from them.
Sin is behovely. If we are honest about our faults and open to God’s power, God will use all things, even sin, as an opportunity for transformation. Saints, they say, are merely sinners who have been driven into the arms of God.
What might change for us, during this penitential season of Lent, if we started to see sin as behovely? What if repentance was less about shame and guilt—and more about learning and growing from the painful experience of sin? What if we began to trust that all shall be well?
As we move towards the great mysteries of Holy Week and Easter, trust in the immensity and power of God’s love. Surrender all aspects of your life to God, even or perhaps especially, the suffering and sin you have known. Then wait for the new life that awaits you.
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in God’s justice
which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than up in heav’n.
There is no place where earth’s failings
have such kindly judgment giv’n.
‘Tis not all we owe to Jesus;
it is something more than all:
greater good because of evil,
larger mercy through the fall.
Make our love, O God, more faithful;
let us take you at your word,
and our lives will be thanksgiving
for the goodness of the Lord.
Text: Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863, alt.
Blessings,
Pastor Margrethe
Feb. 10 ~ Potato / Salad Bar Potluck
Please join us for a Holy Trinity Tradition ~ following our Ash Wednesday 6:00pm Worship.
Baked potatoes, Salad, and lots of fun toppings highlight our annual Ash Wednesday Meal.
Attendees are welcome to bring their favorite salad or potato topper to share.
For more information please contact Mary Samios childrensministry@holytrinityleesburg.org
Snow Sabbath
SNOW SABBATH
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
Fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command.
Psalm 148:7-8
We are having a snow Sabbath this weekend.
As I write this, Snowzilla, (as the Capital Weather Gang has christened this winter storm) has blanketed the Metro D.C. area with more than a foot of snow and more is on the way.
I imagine most of you will be digging out Sunday morning and for many of you, the roads will be impassible. While I hate to do this, the staff, the council and I have made the decision to cancel Sunday worship.
For me, Sunday worship is a blessing that disrupts the weekly routine, the daily grind of work. It reminds me that life is about more than drudgery. Life is God’s power at work in us, calling us to be fully human, to fulfill our destiny as the baptized people of God. Sunday worship also reminds me that I am not the center of the universe, that there is One greater than I, ordering and caring for creation.
Snowzilla has disrupted our weekly routine—and perhaps that is the point. God has called a snow Sabbath, a disruption to our busy, self-absorbed Washington D.C. way of life. Snowzilla puts us in our place. Snowzilla reminds us that we are not in control of the universe.
Yet, while Snowzilla reminds us of our limitations, it does not diminish in any way our call to be the baptized people of God. Snowzilla may even provide opportunities for us to be the people of God, to care for our neighbors, to care for those in distress and for those less fortunate.
Finally, while Sunday worship may be cancelled, Snowzilla does not cancel the Sabbath day. Exodus reminds us that the God who created heaven and earth, the God who created hail, snow and frost, and stormy winds, is the One who consecrates the day.
So wherever you are this Sunday, and I hope you are home, safe and warm, surrounded by loved ones, take some time to remember the Sabbath day. Take time to pause and praise the Lord, the One who created the heaven and the earth. Give thanks for your life. Pray for God’s protection on first responders and others who serve in these treacherous conditions. Then, make it your intention to carry God’s gracious love out into the world this week.
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
Exodus 20:8 & 11
Blessings,
Pastor Margrethe
From the Bishop’s Desk – Snowy Sunday
On a Sunday when so many congregations will not meet for worship, let us be united in prayer. Please remember all those for whom this weekend is actually life threatening – the homeless, the hungry, the ill, first responders and transportation workers. If you have the chance to do this (or ask others to do it), pause at 11am on Sunday. Pray for yourself and those in need. And pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Separated and alone as we may be, prayer unites us. And God will bless and keep us this weekend and always.
The Rev. Richard H. Graham
Bishop
Metropolitan Washington, DC Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Heavenly Father,
We lift before you people in the path of the storm,
especially those who are vulnerable to the cold, snow and ice;
those who must work for others’ safety during the storm,
those who may face loss of power and heat,
those experiencing homelessness who live on the streets.
Bring comfort to all bracing for the storm, and
give us strength to reach out as your hands to serve those around us affected by the weather.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
prayer adapted from SE PA Synod
Snow Day?
If the weather prediction for this weekend holds true, we will experience significant snowfall beginning on Friday, January 22, and extending into the evening of Saturday, January 23.
Due to safety considerations, we strongly encourage groups that use Holy Trinity to refrain from meeting in the church during inclement weather.
In case we need to adjust our Sunday worship and education schedule due to the weather, the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Staff will
1) post the information on our website,
2) change the message on our auto attendant,
3) notify WTOP.
Check our website or call Holy Trinity Lutheran Church for the latest updates.
Extra offerings to help us dig out are joyfully accepted. Simply click on the “Online Giving” button at the bottom of our web page.
Please stay safe and enjoy the unique beauty of the snow.
ELCA Grace Gathering
Early bird registration for the 2016 Grace Gathering ends in just two weeks, on Jan. 31, so reserve your spot today!
The Grace Gathering will be held in partnership with the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans Aug. 10-13.
The gathering will bring people together from across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Participants will see the church in action, worship with Churchwide Assembly voting members, engage in experiential learning, and attend a variety of workshops that will equip congregations and synods with tools to prepare for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
The partnership of the Grace Gathering and the 2016 Churchwide Assembly will provide a place for all members to prepare for the Reformation anniversary – which is an opportunity to rejoice in the life-giving, liberating power of the gospel – by connecting, reflecting on and discovering ways the Reformation continues to guide us today.
Learn more and register at www.ELCA.org/GraceGathering.