Moon PeopleWeekly Word50 Years today, the world watched as Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. Happy Anniversary!Scientists tell us that there is no man on the moon. In fact, there is no life whatsoever. However, without the moon there would be no human...

Weekly Word What do we agree on? Where do we have common ground? What does it mean to follow Jesus? Is there a Christian position that addresses the cultural, legal and social issues that threaten to divide us? We believe that God created human beings, our...

Thank you for your love, your support, and your good care of your TLC home. God loves a cheerful giver. Vision 2020 is a campaign dedicated to the care of our Trinity Lutheran Church Campus, our Island Community, and the people of Bihar, India. This two-year campaign...

“All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40 Chauncey and Carol sauntered into church this past Sunday as they always do. They arrived at...

Weekly Word “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Faith is a most difficult endeavor. Babies and toddlers mostly live by faith. That may be why Jesus encouraged us to have faith “like a child.” Babies rely...

“Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there...

It struck me last night, as I looked out on the ashen foreheads of God’s people gathered for the Ash Wednesday service. It struck me last night, what our community and island might be like if Christian people wore those ashes every day. In theory anyway, there are a...

You Can Lead a Horse to Water…Weekly Word“You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.” Stan Laurel.I realize that many who are reading this Weekly Word have no idea who Stanley Laurel was. He was, of course, one half of the comedy team...

Everyone Welcome - Everyone Equal Weekly Word My grandmother used to tell me stories. When she was a child, she would on occasion go with her mother to the home of the richest family in DeKalb, Illinois. DeKalb was the birthplace of barbed wire. Barbed wire helped...

There are 365 days in the year—only one day is Christmas. Here you see a photo of my grandson Camden from last Friday, December 21st, as the Trinity Preschoolers got to visit with Bill “Santa” Read. Bill came down from his home in Coupeville on both Thursday and...

Weekly Word I think about her often. She lived in a modest home built by her father. She walked with a limp; I was with her when she broke that leg. When I stayed overnight, we made fudge together. She taught me how to play poker. She was the first person I knew who...

We have been engaging in serious theological conversation the past two weeks. You are all theologians and I am proud of you. What is a “theologian?” A theologian is one who studies the movement and mysteries of God. It is important to note that theology is not exactly...

Weekly Word “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where is my help to come? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121 The sun had just risen on September 11, 2001. Two days earlier we had rallied for the Fall and used, for the first time,...

Open 24/7 But Closed Today Weekly Word I was on the mainland yesterday and decided to wash the smoke and ash off my car. I noticed a sign that said, “New Touchless Car Wash. Open 24/7.” Perfect, I pulled up to the car wash and there was another sign. This...

This Sunday the sermon title is “Putting Worry in its place.” We have more to worry about than ever before. We have less to worry about than ever before. Both are true. Thanks to social media and a 24-hour news cycle we have more to worry about than ever...

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8 The Boys and their Coach got out alive. The world was united in prayer for a few weeks. It seems that those prayers were answered. Answered by the intellect and ingenuity of...

Join us this Sunday July 8th for Worship at Trinity Lutheran Church. Summer Worship is at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.. The Amazing VBS decorations are up and we will be treated to some beautiful music. We will gather as the people of God and we will be singing some great...

The easiest thing in the world is to make the observation that things are not as they should be. Children should not be separated from their parents. People should not be homeless or hungry. The United States, with 5% of the world’s population, should not use 24% of...

I get lots of emails every day, a hundred or more. Most do not require a lot of thought or response. “Can we meet this week?” “Will you make coffee for the third cousins of the Sons of Norway group meeting?” “Nice sermon.” “Bad sermon.” “I had no idea what that sermon...

Philip Yancey reminded us that as Christians we must be different. We must stand up, stand out, kneel down, wash feet, turn the other cheek, be generous and forgiving. That is how Christianity took root. It was a group of people who marched to the beat of a different...

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Have you ever had something to say, but not enough time to say it? Have you ever had something to say, but not enough energy to get it out? I have experienced this very thing many times at countless deathbed scenes. The one...

Weekly Word I spend every Friday with my grandson. Camden, almost 20 months old now, is beginning to use words. I am “Bapa”. Felicia is “Gigi”. “Yum Yum” is lunch. “No bye” means, I pretty much know your opinion, see ya. His vocabulary is expanding, but Cam has been...

The Eighth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” What is prohibited by this commandment? False witness, telling lies, spreading rumors, posting or reposting fake news. And who is my neighbor? Jesus pretty much defined that one for us...

Weekly Word “God loves a cheerful giver.” We are Blessed to be a Blessing. I don’t say thank you nearly enough for all that you do for me and TLC. The work that we share would not be possible without your prayers, your financial support, your volunteer hours, and your...

Anxiety—What good does it do? Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled…” “Cast all your anxiety on God, because God cares for you.” I Peter 5:7. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. I have been doing this work for a long time. For more than 31 years, I...

Jesus said, “This is my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of sin.” “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” “Neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more.” Jesus never met a dead body that he did not raise to new life, and Jesus never met a sinner that he did not...

WEEKLY WORD... I have been watching the Vietnam Documentary on PBS this past week. Born in 1959, I was a little young to remember it. I grew up outside Chicago in a university town. There were 25,000 students in DeKalb, Illinois. I do remember the protests and riots...

What if it is not true? Weekly Word The question was raised to me this week. “Pastor, what if it is not true? What if it is not true: the Jesus story, the God story, heaven and hell. What if it is not true? What if THIS is all there is?” I love questions of faith and...

  For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. It was an interesting 21 hours in my life. It began with a funeral and ended with a baptism. In between the funeral and the baptism was a wedding...

This Sunday at TLC God is up to Something Beautiful. It is Vacation Bible School Week at TLC. The children will be singing at the 10:00 service. WEAR Tee-Shirts! It is going to be warm, and then we will all look like the Kids! BRING a loaf of BREAD if you can. One per...

We went out for a ride in the golf cart. Cam, my 11 month old grandson, wanted to drive. He can communicate quite well for a little man who has yet to utter an intelligible word. He wanted to drive. So, he stood on the seat with his Nike hat on his head and placed two...

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord!” This Sunday is going to be amazing! I promise you that you will be blessed if you put yourself in the path of the Gospel this Sunday. The first thing you need to do is to remember that we are...

I am sitting in my office early on Tuesday morning. It is cloudy and cool this morning, but I cannot help but be thankful for the beautiful Summer that we had. Four days of sunshine, long ferry lines, and tourists. God is good! A few items for your consideration: This...

He sat in my office, cup of coffee in his hand, a slight tremor in his little finger. “Tell me pastor, what is the point?” “What is the point of what?” “All of it. I just don’t get it. I wake up every morning and it is the same thing over and over again. Things...

Trinity is an Amazing Place of Grace. And you are an Amazing Collection of Grace filled people. It is an absolute joy to be your pastor. I want to THANK YOU for your continued participation in God’s TLC Miracle. A church, at a wide spot in the road in Freeland, is...

What a wonderful, festive, colorful, creative, fun, playful and inspirational Easter Celebration we had at TLC! The Easter garden set the tone for an Easter celebration. The Choir was amazing! Our musicians were flawless. The Easter Egg hunt was epic. Our young people...

Our reading for this Sunday is from the Gospel of John 9:1-41. Pull out your Bible and read it. I will wait here for you to return. ( Interlude: Sound of Pastor Jim whistling. Five minutes pass.) Welcome back. So, what did you think? I read the story again while you...

Don’t forget to set those clocks ahead this Sunday at 2:00 am or before you go to bed on Saturday night! Spring forward—Fall back. For those who remember to set your clocks, we will be worshipping at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00. For those who forget to change your clocks,...

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra “The time for my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” - The Apostle Paul Do you set goals? Perhaps you have personal...

Faster—Faster—Faster—Gigabit speed! Unlimited data! Get more channels! Is “faster” better—is “more” really the goal of life? How fast is fast enough? How much is really enough? What do you suppose would happen if we slowed down a bit? Do you have 15 minutes that you...

My February will be dominated by six funerals and a wedding. If it had been up to me, I would have much preferred six weddings and a funeral. Both weddings and funerals are a lot of work. Both can be stressful. When the wedding is over, there is a hopeful banquet...

A theme in the sermon last Sunday was lifted directly from a conversation that I had with a young mother in our parish. We talked for some time about the challenges of parenting. Parents are vulnerable to broken hearts and sleepless nights. As children get older we...

I awakened this morning, long before the alarm was set to go off. A new day was before me. Wiped some sleep from my eyes and took a shower. Put on my shirt and tie. Gathered my laptop and my keys. Slipped into the car and it started right up. Pulled into church as the...

Three weeks from today it will be over. The Oval Office will have a new occupant. We will have a new president. Half of us will be celebrating and half will be grieving. Nearly everyone will be scratching their heads and wondering how we arrived at this place in our...

“His Father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 We didn’t quite get to the parable of the Prodigal Son last Sunday. Our text from the Gospel of Luke included the story of a shepherd who had lost one of...

A Note from Pastor Jim – August 31, 2016 I am sitting in my office on a Wednesday morning and something very strange is happening outside. It is raining. We have not had a lot of rain lately. It is a sign of the changing seasons. August 2016 is about to be in the...

In a few short weeks we will be in Rally mode.  September 11th will mark the 63rd Rally Day in the rich history of Trinity Lutheran Church.  President Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House when our faithful, visionary founders and their children gathered to worship...

Weekly Word from Pastor Jim... August 9, 2016   I just watched the sermon from last Sunday on Facebook. What a wonderful message and a heartfelt final sermon for Pastor Elizabeth. As she said, this is not what any of us had planned on or hoped for. Life is that way...

“The heavens are telling the story of God.” Psalm 19:1 The wedding season is in full bloom. From May till October each year there are weddings almost every weekend in the Northwest. The majority of those weddings are at venues. There was a time when most couples were...

Is it me or have we been praying day after day and week after week for peace in our world and for peace on our streets? So what is going on here? Are our prayers being heard? Do our prayers make a difference? Is there any point to prayer? Paul and Silas were in...

I hope to see you this Sunday! The family will be gathering to sing, pray, hug, laugh and cry. We will parade down the center aisle to share the bread and wine of Holy Communion. I am working on a sermon titled, “Alpha and Omega Moments.” If you could use a little...

The Stock Market has been riding a roller coaster lately. Now, I consider myself an investing guru. I knew before everyone else, that people would not spend more than 50 cents for coffee. My extraordinary vision told me to stay away from Starbucks. Some 29 years ago I...

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 Felicia once had a job as a secret shopper. She would do her shopping while carefully noting every aspect of the shopping experience....

The most common phrase that God shares with humans in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid.” Do you see how intimately God knows us? God knows that from the moment that we are born we experience fear. We are afraid of the dark. We are afraid of being abandoned. We are...

Phil Ayers was a Hometown Hero! He was honored in the South Whidbey Record in October 2011. In that article I was quoted as saying, “Everything that Phil does is under the radar. He quietly and humbly serves the most vulnerable in our community.” He was an active...

We have been spending a lot of time around the baptismal font lately. In the past month, five of our young people have touched the cool waters of the font, as they affirmed their baptisms. Meanwhile, eight young and older people have come forward to be baptized. At...

“I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord.” I want to encourage you to come to TLC this Sunday! I promise you that you will be happy if you put yourself in the path of the Gospel. The service will be beautiful, the choir is singing a...

What a joy it was to have Dr. Michael Chan with us last weekend. We are so very fortunate that great theologians and teachers like Dr. Chan visit TLC every year. I am already working on our guest lecturer for 2017. Dr. Chan shared with us that he is in different...

Ekpo is from Nigeria. He is a Senior at Trinity Lutheran College in Everett. Ekpo and other students from the College worshiped with us last Sunday. After worship we took them to Useless Bay Country Club for lunch and then to Double Bluff beach for a Whidbey Island...

Jesus said, “COME AND SEE.” It is a simple invitation. Just come and see. No commitment needs to be made. No expectations. Just come and see. Do you invite people to church? Do you invite people to come and see TLC? There are, of course, two parts of this equation....

I have been enjoying the Sunday morning projections of our TLC Endowment Scholarship award recipients. Seeing the smiling faces of those college students and hearing their stories is very uplifting! We are making a difference in the lives of young people. Some of them...

I was sitting with him today. We were trying to solve a rather complicated opportunity. When I wasn’t really expecting it, he said, “My wife died of cancer in April.” The tenor of the discussion had now changed. His grief was etched upon his face. The third...

Today we begin the Lenten Season as we observe Ash Wednesday. I would encourage you to come to the Ash Wednesday Service at 7:00 pm. The service will include the imposition of ashes and Holy Communion. In the weeks that follow, we will gather every Thursday night at...

HOW LITTLE THINGS MATTER! So tell me, at first glance, how do you read that phrase? Another way to think of this was expressed in a book by Richard Carlson titled, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and it’s all small stuff.” How little things matter. The older I get, the...

On the wall, by my desk, in my office, is a handwritten accounting of the Trinity Lutheran Church finances for 1989. We had arrived on October 22nd of that year. The handwriting was that of our meticulous church treasurer, Jan Allen. The total revenue for 1989 totaled...

Yes, I am well aware that the Seahawks are playing this Sunday at 10:00 am. This is an email to remind you that we will be gathering for Worship at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 am. So you can attend the 8:00 service, and see the entire game. Or you can attend the 9:30...

I preach it often. Our faith and our lives are not all about us. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are called to make a difference in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, communities, churches, and in the world. We are called beyond our doors and...

Life wouldn’t work without the little people I was sipping my coffee as I watched the sun rise this morning. The smell of freshly brewed coffee is one of life’s simple pleasures. At TLC one of my primary jobs is making the coffee. Each morning thirsty pilgrims wander...

Blessed...to be a blessing!            Weekly Word from Pastor Jim – December 30, 2015 2015 draws now to a close. 2015 will enter the history books unchangeable and frozen in time. Like every year that preceded it, 2015 can only be visited now as one would visit a...

Pastor Jim’s Christmas Message December 22, 2015 In our family we love to watch the Christmas classic “It’s A Wonderful Life.” It is a touching and humorous portrayal of one man’s journey. The movie explores the human despair that is often present in this season of...

The cover of National Geographic Magazine has an artist portrayal of the Virgin Mary. The headline reads as follows: “Mary, The Most Powerful Woman in the World.” She was a peasant girl who was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus. Her story has no parallel in human...

“God is our refuge and strength, therefore we will not fear. Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46 I had the opportunity last week to spend time with the Health classes at the South Whidbey High School. For the past couple of years, I have been asked to teach a...

Paul Running was a friend and mentor to me. He came to TLC after retirement. He was a parish pastor in Wisconsin in the early 60s. It was a golden era for the Lutheran Church, especially in the upper Midwest. His career path was set, and then he experienced a call to...

Last Sunday we talked about the three most important verses in the Bible. They are all very short. I am confident that you could memorize them, so here they are: 1. “Do not be afraid.” This is the word that God speaks most often to frightened children like us. In...

There is a power in music that is beyond our comprehension. Even those who are lost in the dark recesses of dementia can find relief as they escape to carefree days with the help of music. They may not know their names or the names of their children, but they sing...

Last weekend, Felicia and I were in Whitefish, Montana, for the wedding of a young man whom we have known since the day he was born. Last November, he and his fiancé joined us at our home for Thanksgiving. It is not very often that I attend a wedding when I am not...

“It was kind of you to share my distress.” Philippians 4:14 Distress is part of the human journey. No one in this world escapes the reality of our frail flesh and feeble minds. Distress accompanies us daily and visits us in a variety of forms. We carry a lot of...

How about Palm Sunday in Jerusalem! Jerusalem is a city like none other in the world. This is the same city that Jesus visited with Mary and Joseph. Today in this holy city, three great faiths meet. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holy sites sit side by side. Cultures...

I spent Tuesday morning holding Don Petersen’s hand as he is making his way down the birth canal of death. Soon he will be reborn to eternal life. Don was born on March 22, 1932, to Lucille and Karl Petersen. On January 29, 1966, Don and Marilee stood arm and arm at...

We had a wonderful Rally Day Celebration on Sunday morning. We welcomed back the choir, Sunday Schools students, teachers, and wanderers who had been away too long. Last Sunday we considered questions such as: What kind of church do you want to belong to? Who was...

Where is God in my suffering? Where is God when tragedy strikes? Where is God when the doctor says, “it’s cancer”? They were young and love was in the air. Their future was bright; they had finally found each other. Kindred spirits flying effortlessly through life,...

Three years ago, we were making plans for the TLC 4 TLC Campaign. It was 2012, and our beloved TLC was in need of some Tender Loving Care. Our carpets had absorbed 15 years’ worth of coffee spills. Our walls needed fresh paint, our parking lot was falling apart, our...

OK, I am getting pushed a little on this one. Some are asking if TLC really is a place “where everybody’s welcome.” Some are asking if we should be a place “where everybody’s welcome.” So what do we mean when we use that catchy phrase? And do we mean it? I find it...

Chocolate Sunday was a big success! There was chocolate everywhere. Everyone was smiling. No one complained about the sermon. I am not sure that anyone will remember the sermon, but they will not forget that chocolate. Thanks to all of our chocolate aficionados for...

“For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die.” – Ecclesiastes 3 Why do we have such a hard time with this? Why do we deny that death is part of the journey? We somehow expect that we and our loved ones...