Advent Gifts
We will be collecting items for the Trinity Food Pantry again during advent. Please consider picking up a few extra items while you are out so we can bless the families in our local community that need a little extra help during the holiday season.

First Sunday of Advent: Nov 29th
PAPER PRODUCTS (paper towels, foil, waxed paper, paper plates, napkins, toilet paper)

Second Sunday of Advent: December 6th
CANNED GOODS (canned veggies, soup, pasta, pasta sauce, canned fruit, condiments)

Third Sunday of Advent: December 12th
HYGIENE ITEMS (soap, toothbrush, tooth paste, deodorant, feminine products)

Fourth Sunday of Advent: December 20th
BABY ITEMS (baby wipes, diapers, baby food)

This thanksgiving season, you are encouraged to give back a little extra. Each day add an item to  a box (ideas below!) At the end of the month donate it to someone that will be blessed by it. Find a family that needs it, drop it off at your local food pantry, or bring it to church to be donated to the Trinity food pantry as part of our yearly collection. Bless others because you yourself are blessed.

Nov 1: box of cereal

Nov 2: peanut butter and/or jelly

Nov 3: stuffing mix

Nov 4: napkins or paper towels

Nov 5: mac & cheese

Nov 6: razors or shaving cream

Nov 7: canned tomatoes

Nov 8: canned tuna

Nov 9: dessert mix

Nov 10: jar of applesauce

Nov 11: paper plates

Nov 12: canned beans

Nov 13: box of crackers

Nov 14: toothbrush or toothpaste

Nov 15: box of rice

Nov 16: oatmeal

Nov 17: pasta

Nov 18: pasta sauce

Nov 20: tomato soup

Nov 21: can of corn

Nov 22: toilet paper or kleenex

Nov 23: soap / shampoo / conditioner

Nov 24: canned fruit

Nov 25: dish soap

Nov 26: granola bars

Nov 27: boxed cookies

Nov 28: can of soup

Nov 29: ketchup / mustard / mayo

Nov 30: spices

“For it is in giving that we receive.” - St. Francis of Assisi

For the Children and Children at Heart

The Three Apples

The old apple tree stood in the orchard with the other trees, and all summer long it had stretched out its branches wide to catch the rain and the sun to make its apples grow round and ripe. Now it was fall, and on the old apple tree were three great apples as yellow as gold and larger than any other apples in the whole orchard. The apple tree stretched and reached as far as it could, until the branch on which the three gold apples grew hung over the orchard wall. There were the three great apples, waiting for someone to pick them, and as the wind blew through the leaves of the apple tree it seemed to sing: "Here in the orchard are apples three, Who uses one well shall a treasure see."

And one morning Gerald came down the lane that passed by the orchard wall. He looked longingly at the three gold apples, wishing, wishing that he might have one. Just then the wind sang its song again in the leaves of the apple tree and, plump, down to the ground, right at Gerald's feet, fell one of the three gold apples.

He picked it up and turned it round and round in his hands. How sweet it smelled, and how mellow and juicy it was! Gerald could think of nothing so good to do with such a beautiful ripe apple as to eat it. He put it to his mouth and took a great bite of it, then another bite, and another. Soon there was nothing left of the apple but the core, which Gerald threw away. He smacked his lips and went on his way, but the wind in the apple trees sang, sorrowfully, after him: "Here in the orchard are apples two, But gone is the treasure that fell for you."

And after a while Hilda came down the lane that passed by the orchard wall. She looked up at the two beautiful gold apples that hung on the branch of the old apple tree, and she listened to the wind as it sang in the branches to her:

"Here in the orchard are apples two, A treasure they hold for a child like you."

Then the wind blew harder and, plump, an apple fell in the lane right in front of Hilda. She picked it up joyfully. She had never seen so large and so golden an apple. She held it carefully in her clasped hands and thought what a pity it would be to eat it, because then it would be gone. "I will keep this gold apple always," Hilda said, and she wrapped it up in the clean handkerchief that was in her pocket. Then Hilda went home, and there she laid away in a drawer the gold apple that the old apple tree had given her, closing the drawer tightly. The apple lay inside, in the dark, and all wrapped up, for many days, until it spoiled. And when Hilda next went down the lane and past the orchard, the wind in the apple tree sang to her: "Only one apple where once there were two, Gone is the treasure I gave to you."

Last of all, Rudolph went down the lane one fine fall morning when the sun was shining warm and the wind was out. There, hanging over the orchard wall, he saw just one great gold apple that seemed to him the most beautiful apple that he had ever seen. As he stood looking up at it, the wind in the apple tree sang to him, and it said: "Round and gold on the apple tree, A wonderful treasure, hanging, see!"

Then the wind blew harder, and down fell the last gold apple of the three into Rudolph's waiting hands.

He held it a long time and looked at it as Gerald and Hilda had, thinking how good it would be to eat, and how pretty it would be to look at if he were to save it. Then he decided not to do either of these things. He took his jack-knife out of his pocket and cut the gold apple in half, straight across, and exactly in the middle between the blossom and the stem.

Oh, the surprise that waited for Rudolph inside the apple! There was a star, and in each point of the star lay a small black seed. Rudolph carefully took out all the seeds and climbed over the orchard wall, holding them in his hand. The earth in the orchard was still soft, for the frost had not yet come. Rudolph made holes in the earth and in each hole he dropped an apple seed. Then he covered up the seeds and climbed back over the wall to eat his apple, and then go on his way.

But as Rudolph walked down the lane, the orchard wind followed him, singing to him from every tree and bush,
"A planted seed is a treasure won. The work of the apple is now well done."

What seeds are YOU planting this fall?

For the Children and Children at Heart

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. Mark 6: 30-32

Is It Time For A Vacation?

I would venture a guess and say that we have all been on vacation before. I also know there are folks reading this that NEED a vacation NOW.

Some of the places I have gone on vacation in the past… Florida, England, Ireland, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Syracuse. I know, Syracuse doesn’t sound like a vacation spot at first because it is just a short drive down the 90 and there’s no beach. But sit tight and you’ll understand why it has been one of my favorite places to go. There are places I have on my vacation bucket list. The Grand Canyon, hiking a mountain in a state park in the midwest, San Diego California, camping in the Adirondacks. Where have YOU been on vacation and where would you like to go?  

Did you know that Jesus taught his disciples that it was important for them to take a vacation? Jesus' disciples traveled from town to town telling others about God and His love for them. They traveled every day preaching, teaching, and healing the sick. They worked so hard that they often didn't even have time to stop to eat or sleep. They became very tired.

When Jesus saw how tired they were, he said to them, "Come with me to a quiet place and get some rest." The Bible then says, "So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place." There are some things I want you to think about here.

First, Jesus said, "Come with me." When we take a vacation, we need to remember to take Jesus with us. Some people never give Jesus a thought when they go on vacation. We should include Jesus in all that we do. A vacation away from home shouldn’t be a vacation away from Jesus.

Second, the Bible says the disciples went away to a quiet place. Their main purpose was to rest and renew their strength. Some people plan a vacation that is so full of activities that when they come home, they are more tired than when they left! Remember I told you about my vacation to Syracuse? I went 4 summers in a row. I went alone. I stayed in a hotel. I read by the pool. I walked around the state fair and spent time just sitting and people watching. My phone was on silent. I didn’t have to think about work. My kids were safe and being taken care of. I had a dog sitter. It was just me, with no real plan, and no schedule. It was a few days break away from life at home and it was perfect. I always returned refreshed, relaxed, and refocused. And isn’t that what Jesus wants us to do?

I hope that you make time to go on a summer vacation. You don’t need to go far, and it doesn’t have to be for long. Just remember wherever you go you take Jesus with you, and don't forget to set aside some time for rest and relaxation while you’re away.

JULY

02 - Andrea McCarthy

02 - John & Jeannette French

03 – Tracy Barnowsky

03 - Jim & Phyllis Hoskins

11 – Deanna Skare

13 – June Brant

23 – Greg & Darlene Stoos

AUGUST

01 – Al & Sandy May

05 – Joan Miller

10 – Bob & Jane MacPeek

12 – Bob MacPeek

19 – Dustin Skare

19 - Tyler Siekmann