“These families were determined to have First Communion,” Pastor Ben tells me. “In a collective Zoom meeting, we asked them, ‘If it rains, do we still do it?’ They all said, ‘You bet!’ I was prepared to be standing outside under an umbrella by myself, with Rita playing music from inside if we needed to!”

Sunday, October 11 was the second outdoor Drive-in Communion service for Holy Trinity, this time combined with First Communion. There was considerably less sneezing for Pastor Ben (Click HERE to see that video), and more bread and wine involved.

“I’m excited!” Kate Kienow told me before the service. “I was skeptical about the meaningfulness of the first one, but some friends really recommended them! It made me feel so excited about this.” Her son Aydan was one of the communicants.

“This was beautiful! A really nice Plan B,” says mother Christie Will who celebrated daughter Parker’s day by baking the communion bread using Hospitality Coordinator Donna Galvin’s recipe. (Click HERE for the recipe and Donna’s tutorial.) “I loved making the bread,” says Parker, smiling.

“We did what we could to make it special,” says mom Jamie Sticha. “We dressed up. We made bread.”

“Our bread turned out kinda gross.” Nolan Sticha mutters quietly, probably hoping I didn’t hear him. (Sorry, Nolan. It was funny.)

“It’s weird,” admits first communicant Levin Wong. His father, Jamie Wong, smiles at him. “We’re glad to be back, even if it is weird,” he admits.

“It’s nice to be able to run around!” says another first communicant, Garrett Balk. His mother, Carrie Balk, agrees. “This is memorable. We won’t forget it, that’s for sure!” She says laughing as she runs after him.

For many HTLC members and guests, this was the first time they had been at the church in over 6 months. Pastor Ben’s sermon spoke of potentially having a range of feelings by being “in church” for the first time in a while. Some admitted that was exactly how they felt.

“I’m really emotional,” says Council President Karla Klingfus as she gestures to her husband, Tom. “He was hoping for another Communion service for a while, but I didn’t know how much I missed Communion until now. This is even better than I expected.” Her voice catches as Worship Leader Rita Sapp begins to play.

“What our church has done [with the online services] is amazing, but we miss this,” Tonya Jacobson says tearfully, gesturing to the twenty cars full of Holy Trinity members and guests. “It’s great that we can watch online, but it’s nice to come here. It’s not just a place. It’s everybody. And we miss it.”

On behalf of the entire Holy Trinity team, WE MISS YOU ALL, TOO!

Go in Peace.

Serve the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

For all First Communion Family photos, please CLICK HERE.

16 questions with Holy Trinity’s new Graphic Designer

Gina Fadden joined the Holy Trinity staff this week as our new Graphic Designer. But her creativity has been all over HTLC for awhile. She sat down for a Zoom interview with me this week.

Beautiful work! I especially like the new logo. Honestly, it was Pastor Ben and Karen just as much as me. I just put all their ideas together. We wanted to keep the cross and Karen thought of [incorporating] the stained glass windows.

2. When did you join Holy Trinity? We moved to New Prague in 2014 and a friend told us to try each church for four weeks. We tried Holy Trinity and we loved it, but we wanted to try others. When we came back, Pastor Ben and Alicia were there. We joined officially in November 2017.

3. What drew you to Holy Trinity? You know… “All Are Welcome.” There was no judgement. There were so many different kinds of people. The music was more upbeat and fun, so it was a very welcoming place to be.

4. What did you like to do in school? I loved basketball! I’m very outspoken and basketball can get very aggressive, so that was really my niche. I was in cross country, track, and basketball growing up. I made the high school varsity team in the 7th grade for track and cross country. My dad was a big advocate for that with my older sister, so she paved the way for younger kids to get into the programs if you are able to. I played AAU for the Minnesota Jaguars with [current University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach] Lindsey Whalen and we played nationals the last 3 years of my high school career.

5. Do you have siblings? I have a sister who is 7 years older and a brother who is 3 years older.       6. As the baby of the family, do you think you fit that stereotype? Yes, I’m creative. I was the most rebellious of all the kids. I wasn’t a bad kid, but I pushed the boundaries. I was the kid who had the door taken off the bedroom, my mouth was washed out with soap. We couldn’t say naughty words. “Stupid” was a word we couldn’t say, which I bring home now.

7. Are you close to your family? We are both VERY close to our families. Both sides are very involved. It’s a good thing!

8. Where did you go to college and what did you study? I went to UND (University of North Dakota) and played basketball, full ride scholarship. My freshman year we were National Championship Runner-ups, Division 2. I have a major in Parks and Rec with minors in Exercise Science and Sign Language.

9. That’s an interesting combination. Did it lead to some memorable career choices? I was a personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness. I worked for the Shakopee school system as a para, helping kids with math and spelling. I coached basketball and adaptive soccer for special needs kids. Then I got recruited from the high school to work with special needs kids. I worked with one student who was blind. He was a fun character! He learned who people were by songs, (he gave everyone a song). So if I saw him now and sang the song, he would get all giddy and know who I was. That was really cool! And now I am the National Production Manager for MVP Fundraising Cards.

10. How did you meet your husband? I met Joel at his [deployment] going away party on September 11, 2009, before his first tour to Afghanistan. I was picking up [a friend at the party] and Joel asked to meet me. We got a picture of one of the first moments we met. And ever since that night, we were together always. We met and we both knew within a few weeks. We knew each other for 2 months and then he was deployed for 7 months. He was on a deployment where he didn’t have access to computers, we couldn’t FaceTime, so we wrote–I have a ton of letters we wrote to each other. He could call, but they were random, so if I missed him, I wouldn’t hear from him for a month. I had to be on high alert. If I missed that phone call, I missed it for the month.

11. And you have Kids? Animals? We have three kids. Taylor is 9, Mattis is 3, and Andi is 7 months. We also have 2 dogs and a cat.

12. What is one hobby that no one knows about you? I like to be creative, so I do stained glass.

13. You have a long history in sports. What sports do you follow now? I don’t like to watch sports. It’s not interesting to me unless I can play it. I like to be hands-on, so I like to be in the game or know someone who is in the game. But I would watch college over NBA.

14. What do you love? I love traditions. I love antiques. I love bringing in and decorating with memories instead of new stuff. I try to incorporate things my kids can take and know it was in Great-Grandma’s house, and then Grandma’s house, and now it’s yours. I love recipes. I collected my family’s favorite recipes and made a book for everyone in my family. I love tomatoes…old-fashioned peppermint bonbon ice cream. Foxes are my favorite animal. Shutterfly, bonfires, cool fall days. But God and family are the most important parts of my life.

15. What do you dislike? I hate snapping turtles and I don’t like water where you can’t see the bottom.

What made you volunteer? “I thought it was perfect for me because I enjoy playing soccer. It didn’t feel like a job to me.”

What was the highlight of the experience? “For me, the highlight was to just play soccer with the kids. I enjoy working with young players.”

We Are a Better Church Together

Woodworkers and Tutors Needed

Cristo Obrero is a Mission Development of the Minneapolis area synod. What does that mean exactly?

“When the schools closed in March, I was a wreck for two week trying to figure out how we were going to get it all done. This time, I cried for an hour….and then I made a plan.”

This “COVID thing” is changing us.

The World War II Generation, often called “The Greatest Generation,” (Brokaw, 1998), is heralded for their selflessness, strong work ethic, and humility. They were forced to grow up quickly and acquire an emotional intelligence more common in those older. Struggle has its benefits.

What if this is true of Right Now?

COVID-19 is described as (hopefully), one of the most difficult times in our lives. In the United States, we are more than six months into the pandemic.

I have a theory we are more resilient.

I think we might be more adaptable.

I wonder if this has changed our faith in God.

Chime in if you’d like and let us know in the comments below.

I glance at the entrance outside and see the cars filing into the parking lot. We walk quickly (Jamie only has one speed: Fast.) to the far south entrance and see the line of people through the glass. Nearing the door, we realize the line stretches down to the sidewalk. And into the parking lot full of cars. We still have 45 minutes until our stated opening time.

“We don’t have enough stuff.” I whisper to Jamie. But beyond praying for a loaves-and-fishes-type of miracle, there is nothing more we can do.

Walking into the rooms covered in neat piles of notebooks, backpacks, pencils, Crayons, Clorox wipes, and Expo markers, I ask the School Supplies Team, “Everyone OK if we open early?” They nod nonchalantly. Most of them are retired teachers and have stared down the crush of incoming parents and students for years. Of course they are ready, they were ready last week. We open early.

Crowds of parents, guardians, and children come flooding in. The kids run first to the table full of backpacks to pick the most colorful or the one with their favorite superhero. They are gleeful and excited, their eyes lighting up with what they will get to use all year. The parents and guardians work their way methodically through the school supplies list (handed out by the volunteers because, you know…they rock).

A parishioner, Hal Bass, stops by to drop off more materials. Seeing we have very little left, he offers to run to a store for us, returning with bags of supplies. “I took all the wipes and Kleenex I could find!” he announces.

A woman with three children in tow comes up to me. “Thank you so much for this help,” she says, her voice wobbling with emotion. “My husband just lost his job.”

“Can’t thank you enough,” an older man later tells me quietly. “We were just given custody of our grandchildren and we couldn’t have afforded this….” he trails off, gesturing to the backpacks full of needed items.

“It was either school stuff or rent. Thanks to this, we can pay the rent!”

“We’ve just had a really hard year.”

“My wife got hurt and the medical bills put us back a lot.”

Forty-five minutes later it is 5 pm, our original starting time, the backpacks are gone, Clorox wipes are gone, even the crayons are gone. A few piles of loose-leaf paper and some pencils are all that remain as people continue to file in the door. We didn’t have enough supplies, but perhaps “enough” is not an attainable goal. Perhaps just doing the best we can was enough for the first year.

A month later, September 2019, the Missions Team and the volunteers wrote plans for 2020. We vowed to allocate more money from our budget, lengthen the school supplies drive, and get VBS involved. We promised to be even more prepared in 2020.

But in September 2019, who could have predicted the upheaval of COVID-19?

A few months ago, the Missions Team began asking ourselves: How do we help this community and others without endangering them and transmitting the virus throughout multiple communities? How could we fill a room with people when crowds are dangerous? How do we collect supplies from the congregation when contact makes them vulnerable?

Three members knew the answer. Liz Nelson, Linnea Hautman, and Sande Schoenecker proposed a Drive-by plan with bags of pre-packed school supplies, based on grades, to be handed out. When we decided it was unsafe to accept supplies from the congregation, Tim Miller helped to allocate more money from our budget and the Endowment Team was gracious enough to give us a grant. Julie Popple helped me with the orders and Amber Kahnke created mental health resource handouts to be included in the bags.

So this is our COVID-19 School Supplies Giveaway Drive-by Plan: Tim Miller will direct traffic in the parking lot while Dennis Tietz makes sure we don’t hold up traffic on Highway 19. Marge Larsen, Amber Kahnke, Lydia Popple, and Pastor Diane Goulson and I will be masked and handing out bright blue bags of pencils, papers, Expo markers, and highlighters. Please share with anyone who may need this info.

Please send up your prayers on Monday, August 17, 5- 7 pm! We pray for the safety of our volunteers, for the health and well-being of our guests, that we have enough stuff, and please, please don’t let it rain!

To be continued….

HUGE THANKS to the School Supplies Superheroes Team of 2019: Audrey Austin, Mary Hanson Busch, Mary Eagan, Linnea Hautman, Liz Nelson, Sande Schoenecker, and Laurie Thorpe. Your work was inspirational..

Thank you to the Missions Team Superheroes: Audrey Austin, Pam Edel, Linnea Hautman, Amber Kahnke, Marge Larsen, Timothy Miller, Liz Nelson, Julie Popple, Sande Schoenecker, Dennis Tietz, and George Winn

Thank you to the Endowment Committee for the grant and being another team behind the missions of HTLC.

Finally, Thank You Always to the congregation and staff for your donations and continued support of Holy Trinity’s missions!

 23 Questions with Casey

“What mountain does faith need to move for you to be engaged in vibrant ministry over the next 10 years?” 

Guest speaker Bishop Mark Hanson asked this question at the fourth and final Vision Huddle, a series of gatherings to share the history of the church, determine the priorities, and decide the next steps in the upcoming years. 

The surprise that followed seemed to answer that question. Long-time congregants George and Joan Winn are donating $511,000 for the construction of a new administration wing. This new wing, adjacent to where Holy Trinity hosts the families experiencing homelessness from Beacon Interfaith, will include a shower and laundry facilities for their use.

“I know building an office wing is not glamorous, but it will help the leaders of the church for years to come and provide options for the visitors from Beacon,” George Winn commented.

Co-pastor Ben Hilding agrees. “This gift is a kickstart to the looking-forward process. It’s an investment in the leadership of this congregation for decades. The Winns are leaving a living legacy that invests in a local church so they can provide housing for those experiencing homelessness.”

Co-pastor Alicia Hilding added “I’m inspired and grateful to God for their sincere faith behind this generosity. It makes me ask how might our generous God be at work in my heart inviting me to put whatever I have into action and service to others. I pray I might be so open to share with others.”

When asked why the couple decided to donate the money to Holy Trinity, former council president Joan Winn answered, “This church has always been our home. It will be fun to watch as it grows.” George Winn smiles and answers, “We’re just giving back what God gave to us, and that has been tremendous.”

During the meeting, guest speaker Bishop Mark Hanson challenged the congregation. “Find ways to speak about faith in a way that is accessible to people who deserve to hear the good news…. Do not underestimate how people are dying for meaningful conversation.”