Sharing the Trinity Lutheran Church Annual Report online bit by bit was so well received last year, that we thought we would try it again. Between now and our Annual Meeting Jan. 30, I will post a number of reports here on my blog. We hope you enjoy learning about the life and ministry of Trinity Lutheran, Nampa.

GOSPEL AND GROWTH  

Gospel and Growth team’s role is to facilitate a focus on the gospel and to encourage growth at Trinity Lutheran.  Our thanks to all who participated in our four major projects in 2021.

God’s Global Barnyard spanned Ash Wednesday (2/17) to Pentecost (5/23). This was a fundraiser plus much, much more. We invited people into solidarity with those in need across the globe, into greater awareness of care for creation and local agriculture, and into joyfully gathering together in person. Cardboard collection boxes were distributed. We held “events” highlighting the different farm animals ELCA World Hunger provides through gifts like ours. March was Bee Month, with an informational station at the St Patrick’s Day open sanctuary. At outdoor worship on 3/28, Beth Rasgorshek spoke about pollinators, and we gave away bee-themed door prizes. April was Pig Month, with an outdoor social event called S’wine Swap. People brought Idaho agricultural products to the swap table, leaving with items that other people had brought. We played Barnyard Bingo trivia, gave door prizes, and everyone took home bee-friendly plant starts. May was Goat Month, with the finale outdoors on Pentecost Sunday; the collection boxes were turned in. Our thanks to the Kelly family for bringing 3 baby goats for us to enjoy, plus homemade caramels made from goat milk. Prizes were given to those bringing the heaviest boxes, the most artistically decorated boxes, plus some random door prizes. Over the several months we collected checks, paper money, PayPal donations, and 35# of coins (which went rogue in Lloyd Kellar’s car on the way to the bank!) for a grand total of $1,893.51 – this despite having no indoor worship services!!!  That’s nearly double what we collected in 2015 when the cause was hyped each Sunday during worship inside the sanctuary. As a way to visualize what our gifts have done, you could say that we gave 3 cows, 1 fish farm, 2 goats, 1 pig, & 13 chickens OR 1013 chicks & 44 honeybee colonies OR 63 pigs & 3 chicks. Such generosity!

Church CampOut was held July 30 – August 1 at the Ward property in Donnelley. It was attended by 29 campers of all ages from 11 households, plus 4 human guests and a doe who joined our Saturday night worship around the campfire. This worship was recorded and posted to YouTube, and watched by nearly 60 people.   https://bit.ly/TLCCampout21

Remember and Grieve Together on September 29^th was a time to acknowledge and grieve the people and pets who have died, and to note other losses that bring us sorrow. People brought photographs and “reminder objects”; these were displayed on tables in the loft area. There was also a basket to collect our hand-written lists of other things we grieve. The sanctuary was open to “drop ins” before and after the brief service of readings and prayers. That service was later posted to YouTube https://bit.ly/RemGrieve21    If you have not yet watched it, please set aside some quiet time to do so.

Advent Daily Devotional Booklet has been an annual Trinity project for nearly a decade, with church members and friends writing in their own unique voices, sharing thoughts about Christmas and Advent. This year we had 28 entries. We printed 116 regular-sized hard copies of the booklet, 3 large print, and posted it to the church website so people could read it on their devices, including those living in other states. Thanks to Mary Braudrick for the lovely cover art, and to Pastor Meggan for reading the devotion for each day on Facebook. One reader (who is not a member) commented, “I love hearing the people’s stories……..it is people that seem to be just writing from their heart. So for me it is really comforting to read, because it helps hearing about what other people are going through, too.” 

Mary Braudrick, Tami Robinson, Penelope Smith