Today’s Word from Pastor Katrina…
(a local take of 1st Corinthians): To the church of God that is in Freeland, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus!!
I GIVE THANKS TO GOD ALWAYS FOR YOU!!!
Greetings, Trinity! I write to you as a grateful new member of the Trinity staff, so this first message is a simple message of THANKFULNESS and a brief introduction and reflection.
My name is Katrina Bentsen, and at the beginning of January I joined the fantastic team of people who serve here at Trinity. There needed to be a formal ordination in order for me to serve you as pastor, as well as a formal installation to Trinity itself, and both of those events took place last Saturday, January 10th. I am overflowing with gratitude for all who helped make it such an incredible community event!
THANK YOU, to Pastor Jim and the Trinity Council for the opportunity to serve, and to YOU, the congregation for voting and bringing me on! THANK YOU, to the Trinity Council for putting on an incredible community celebration for Trinity and for the larger community– it was so much fun to see folks from so many different parts of Whidbey and beyond coming together to celebrate. THANK YOU, to our Minister of Music Karl, our Choir director Matthew Bell, our incredible organist Sheila, and the beautiful choir for all the gorgeous music! THANK YOU to Trinity Staff for the millions of things you do behind the scenes! THANK YOU, to Marcie and Verna for the beautiful flowers! THANK YOU, Zach and James for making sure everyone could hear us, and to Laura for managing all the cameras and slides and online logistics! THANK YOU to all who made delicious salads! THANK YOU to the countless people who set up, served, cleaned, and moved marimbas! THANK YOU to the clergy from Trinity and beyond who joined in the laying on of hands! THANK YOU to all who welcomed the Lutheran Church in Great Britain’s ambassadors and our interfaith guests, and THANK YOU to all who attended, in person or in spirit! It was a wonderful church celebration, and I look forward to being more behind-the-scenes at the next celebration 😉 !
My 13 year old daughter Kaia has been calling me “Pastor Katrina” all week, which has felt a little odd. For one thing, I much prefer to be known by her as “Mama,” but in general it’s something new that will take some time to adjust to, like when I first got married and my last name changed from Collins to Bentsen. One thing I love about Trinity, and the Lutheran Church in general, is that we all have so many different gifts and callings that are appreciated and acknowledged in our community.
Martin Luther knew that it takes many hands to do God’s work. He firmly believed in the universal priesthood of all believers, and he made it his life’s work to make the Gospel as accessible as possible to people, in as many ways as possible: from translating the Bible from Latin to German so that everyday Germans could understand the scriptures, to writing curriculum for children, establishing a sense of democracy in the church, emphasizing the centrality of faith instead of works, simplifying the list of sacraments, brewing beer (!), and countless other ways, all in an effort to bring God’s message of love for all to as many as possible; making it as easy as possible to put oneself in the path of the Gospel. I am so grateful to live in a community, and now to work at Trinity, where these practices are in action every day, in such a rich variety of ways!
THANK YOU for such a warm welcome! I very much look forward to serving you– for you, with you, alongside you!
Your humble servant,
Pastor Katrina
pastorkat@trinityfreeland.org
