30 years ago this past Sunday Pastor Jim began serving as pastor at TLC. He, along with his wife Felicia, Minister of Music Karl Olsen, and Parish Manager Robin Edgeman received words of gratitude and applause during the announcement portion at each service. This video is a compilation of three separate videos, one played at each service, as a means of saying thank you.
Weekly Word
I hope that you will join us for worship this Sunday, October 20th. I promise you that it will be a unique worship experience. Unique in the 66-year history of TLC.
Inspired by the Ken Burns PBS Documentary titled, “Country Music,” we will be using country songs and country sounds at all three worship services. We will be led by many fine musicians, as they break out their guitars, fiddles, and banjos. They will be picking and singing all morning long, to the glory of God.
When I was a kid, we had a rather cantankerous old widower who lived in our neighborhood. One summer he got sick and my mother asked me to mow his lawn. I protested, “Mom, he is not nice, he yells at us when we cut through his yard. I don’t want to mow his yard. I don’t like him.”
My mother responded by saying, “Do you like me?”
I said, “Yes.”
“So, go mow the lawn, you are not doing it for him, you are doing it for me.”
Some of you probably don’t like country music. You may think that you should just stay home this Sunday. But to quote a country song, “When I am alone, I am in bad company.” So, don’t be alone, come to TLC and join the party.
Some of you probably don’t like country music. Do you love God? Don’t stay away because you don’t like country music. Show up and we will worship God together.
I hope to see you in Church this Sunday. Saddle up your horse and come to TLC. Bring a good attitude, cowboy hats and boots are optional.
If you play this message backward, you will get your house, your wife, your dog, and your pick-up truck back.
Keep smiling!
Pastor Jim
This past Sunday 29 students received scholarships toward their college education for the coming school year.
A total of $125,000 in scholarships was awarded. The funds are coming from a mix of Trinity Endowment funds, including named scholarships such as the Ruby Legacy Scholarship Fund and the Terry Lee Otey Scholarship fund, plus general TLC scholarships.
Here’s a brief video of the Scholarship Sunday/Endowment Sunday events.
Here’s a brief video of the Scholarship Sunday/Endowment Sunday events.
Did you know that Barbara Bennett and Dinah Stinson represent TLC as members of the Whidbey Island Greening Congregation Coalition? Did you know that we have invested in Solar Panels and low use water systems to reduce our footprint on the planet? Did you know that we are stewards of a large wetland on our campus?
In the creation story of Genesis Chapter 1, God gives us dominion “over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Dominion is understood as a benevolent and peaceful rule. We are to treat the earth and its inhabitants with the grace and care that God has shown us.
TLC is committed to going green at every turn. This year we will be working with Puget Sound Energy to upgrade all of our light fixtures. We will be replacing the parking lot lights, the gym lights, the lights in the old building, in the sanctuary, in the Sunday School wing and in our offices.
This will be expensive. The result will be consistent with God’s calling to exercise dominion over our corner of creation. We will continue to strive to be good and faithful stewards of all that has been entrusted to us. In the final analysis, we will save money but more importantly every year going forward we will save the equivalent of 247 barrels of oil. To achieve the same result for environment we would need to plant 87 acres of trees.
I would like to thank Tom Eckhart and Rocky Knickerbocker for their help in this project.
The total cost of this project fully installed will be $56,392. Puget Sound Energy will give us a small business rebate of $38,092. That means that our cost will be $18,300.
If you would like to help us fund this project do not hesitate to call me or simple make a check to TLC and note “Dominion Project” in the memo. You may also give online now via PushPay by going to: https://pushpay.com/pay/trinitylutheranfreeland/ and selecting ‘Dominion – Going Green’ from the fund selection pull-down menu.
Together we will do what is faithful to God’s calling. We will make every effort to leave this planet to our children in the best possible form.
Blessed to be a Blessing!
Pastor Jim
Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten journey to Jerusalem, to Holy Week, and Easter. The Ash Wednesday worship service will be observed at 7 pm. Join us for the imposition of Ashes, Holy Communion, and special music by the Trinity Senior Choir and Karl Olsen.
The Surprise 30 Anniversary Celebration
Felicia and I thank you for the wonderful surprise celebration of the 30th anniversary of my ordination. For more than 27 of those years we have served alongside of the people of Trinity Lutheran Church. You are the most wonderful congregation, and we have been blessed to have shared our life and ministry with you.
My thanks too, are extended to Felicia and my girls for their love, their sacrifices and their support. It was an honor to have my sons-in-law Michael and Court, with us on Sunday as well. Our family has been blessed beyond measure. We thank you.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Karl and Robin for their partnership in the work that we share. They have given their lives to this church and we are all indebted to them. Their dedication and love is remarkable. Without Robin and Karl our congregation would not be the wonderful place that it is. My love to you both.
Finally, you will be hearing a lot about our new commitment to help the people of Bihar, India. At our Annual Meeting on February 5th our congregation pledged $100,000 to support the Bihar Project. We will be making a $25,000 gift in each of the next four years. We will be partnering with nine other Lutheran Congregations and Lutheran World Relief.
This joint effort will help 56,000 people out of abject poverty. We cannot solve all the problems of the world, but we can make a difference. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus, not just on Whidbey Island, but in the world.
In honor of the wonderful surprise celebration of our 30 years of ordained ministry, and as a thank you for the privilege of serving the best congregation in the ELCA, Felicia and I are going to donate $1,000 to the TLC Bihar account.
We are so grateful to you, and for you.
So, let’s keep the TLC miracle going. Blessed to be a Blessing — let us be generous, and let us share the amazing grace and extravagant hospitality of our God with all people.
My love to you,
Pastor Jim
“Now I appeal to you brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and for the same purpose.” I Corinthians 1:10
This week was an amazing week in the history of our country. We witnessed the peaceful transfer of power. Former Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, Congressional leaders, and political adversaries stood together as President Trump was sworn in to the highest office in our land.
This was an amazing week in the history of our country. The day after the inauguration, millions of women, young girls, and men joined hands and hearts in peaceful protest. The Women’s March on Washington morphed into something extraordinary. Cities across the United States and across the globe were filled with marchers.
It is clear that our nation is divided. Perhaps only the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement rivals the divisiveness that we see today.
The USA is Divided—TLC is United.
In the reading above, Paul encourages the Church to “be united in the same mind, and for the same purpose.” At TLC, we are united in our calling. We seek to follow Jesus Christ in our worship and in our serving. It is critical in this time of upheaval that we keep our eyes on the prize. We must be clear about our mission, our calling, our reason for gathering in the first place.
We are not united in our politics and we do not seek to be united in our politics. If we are to be faithful in our calling to follow Jesus, then we must be a safe place for sinners of all sizes, shapes, persuasions, ethnicities, and political affiliations. It makes no difference to me if you are a Trump supporter or a Trump protester. If you are coming to TLC to worship, love, and serve then you will be respected and welcomed here. Either all are welcome, or all will be excluded.
Our Nation is divided. I ask your help in keeping our Church united in Jesus Christ. What should we do? We should be active in the political process. We should work for justice, peace, and the common good of all people. We should march, write letters, vote, and be advocates for the voiceless.
Be guided by the Holy Spirit and by the Holy Scripture. Let love be your guide and you will not sound like nails on a chalkboard to family and friends. Be humble. You may have it all figured out but then again, I am guessing that every once in a while, even you have been wrong. If we are going to follow Jesus, then we should keep the 10 Commandments. I am hoping that you are doing OK with the commandments dealing with murder, adultery and stealing. But there is also this commandment: “Thou shall not bear false witness.”
This commandment is not only a prohibition from lying. Luther taught that if we are to keep this command from God, then we must go out of our way to explain our neighbor’s actions in the kindest possible way. Your mother told you, “If you can’t say something nice, then do not say anything at all.”
I want to encourage you to keep your political opinions off Facebook and other social media outlets. There is a whole lot of mean spirited, commandment breaking going on on social media and we are not better for it. When you carry the name of Jesus, if you are a Christian, then breaking the commandments reflects poorly on your church and on your Savior.
Our Nation is divided—Let us take care to keep TLC united in love, in service, in patience, in humility, in worship, and in Spirit.
I appeal to you sisters and brothers that there be no divisions among you.
Love,
Pastor Jim
