What Will Be Our Legacy?

February 26, 2013 in Message with 0 Comments

Dr. Michael Dentgattysburgh_address_375Dr. Michael Dent / Feb. 26, 2013
At Sunday’s Academy Awards, the movie “Lincoln” won two Oscars.  While the movie focuses on only the last two months of the life of the sixteenth president, we know one of the most memorable parts of his legacy came in just ten sentences he spoke on Nov. 19, 1863.  The location was the Gettysburg Battlefield, four months after the three-day battle produced over 50,000 casualties.  After a two-hour oration of another speaker whose 13,607 words have long been forgotten, President Abraham Lincoln spoke for only two minutes.  One of those ten sentences included these words, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here…., but it can never forget what they did here.” Continue Reading…

A Collection of Stories Full of Wisdom and Life Experiences

February 21, 2013 in Adult Education with 0 Comments

Lee Anderson Bible PhotoLee Anderson / February 21, 2013
I am writing a story for my niece.  It’s a story based on my personal experiences.  I’m writing it for her because I care about her well-being and the course of her life, and I believe I have some bits of wisdom that will help her along the way.

Stories like mine are written every day.  They have been for centuries.  Storytelling is an age-old means of delivering important information in a memorable, meaningful way.

What if we could collect stories from many people, across many life spans, and put them together in one book?  It would be a collection of wisdom and life experience spanning centuries and personal histories.  If there is a common theme among these stories, ultimately it could become a book that helps people live a better life.  A book of guidance to which people could turn whenever they needed it, but also a book that can be read at any time, so that when the moment arises a person could think “Oh, yes, I remember a story with a similar situation.  I know what to do here.”  Maybe some of the stories impress a person so much that they even help shape his or her character. Continue Reading…

Giving and Receiving Thanks

February 19, 2013 in Message with 0 Comments

Dr. Michael DentThank YouDr. Michael Dent / Feb. 19, 2013
Sunday morning’s Bible study was from Colossians 3.  The last three verses of the lesson, 15-17, each contained a call to giving thanks, “And be thankful people…Sing to God with gratitude in you hearts…give thanks to God the Father through him (Jesus).”  We are truly grounded in gratitude.  We sing songs, pray prayers, and write notes of thanksgiving.

A greater challenge for some is receiving thanks.  Have you noticed the shift in the responses of “You’re welcome” or “My pleasure” to “No problem”?  When you thank a waiter for his service and he says, “No problem,” what does that mean?  That it wasn’t all that much trouble?  Or that service is a problem to be solved? Continue Reading…

Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day Anyway?

February 14, 2013 in Message with 3 Comments

Kathy Gibbheart_250_2Kathy Gibb / February 14, 2013
On Thursday, February 14, we Americans will  be taking  part in the tradition of buying candy, cards, flowers and balloons as a way of expressing our love or caring for one another.  But how did this tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day start anyway?

Around 270 AD in Rome, the emperor Claudius ll was prohibiting young men to marry, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers.  St. Valentine, a priest, continued to secretly perform Christian marriage ceremonies.  Eventually he was apprehended and put in prison. While in prison, he became aware of the ongoing health issues of his jailer’s daughter.  Valentine began to pray for her and to send her notes of encouragement entitled “from your Valentine.”  She in return sent him notes of gratitude and encouragement titled, “for my Valentine.”  It is the belief that Valentine was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion and his stand on marriage. Continue Reading…

To Him Who is Able …

February 7, 2013 in Mission with 1 Comment

Miriam SlejkoChinese New YearRev. Miriam Slejko / February 7, 2013
When a small group of Trinity members began imagining an outreach to non-English speakers in the aftermath of the September 11th attack, I doubt they envisioned a group of 30 Asian men and women hosting a Chinese New Year celebration at Trinity!  But that’s exactly what our staff was invited to share last Tuesday.

The invitation arrived with two class members visiting our staff meeting and, using perfect English, inviting all of us to celebrate the New Year with them at lunch. Continue Reading…

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