Trinity Newsletter for December 11, 2025
Advent at Trinity
The Longest Night Service
The holidays are filled with joy and expectation, but they can also be filled with sorrow and loss. Recognizing the multitudes that we contain as human beings, we invite you to join us for The Longest Night Service on December 21 from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. It is a service designed to hold space for the less-than-joyful feelings some of us may have this time of year. Come as you are for a time of song, prayer, silence and reflection as we mark the longest night of the year and acknowledge the grief and struggles that are felt so keenly this time of year.
Celebrate the Season at Soup, Bread and Song
Immediately after the Dec. 21 Christmas Cantata service, enjoy simple comfort food, fellowship and favorite carols in Fellowship Hall. All are invited. No RSVP needed! Guests and visitors are welcome.
Do you have a favorite soup to share? We need about 7! Or, could you bring crackers, bread or cheese? Please contact Kristin Butler or Sarah Muegge as soon as possible. Please bring soup in a crock pot.
Calling Cookie Bakers!
A few more cookies are needed for Trinity Christmas Eve cookie bags. Please bring 3 dozen Christmas cookies (they don’t have to be fancy or decorated) to Room 17 on Sunday, Dec. 21. Welcome & Fellowship will prepare bags the next day.
Join Trinity’s Congregational Care Committee
Trinity is known as a joyful, caring, and compassionate community. Do you want to help support our members as they experience times of joy, difficulty, or sorrow? We send flowers, birthday greetings, and get-well cards; organize receptions following funerals; and coordinate meal deliveries. Our homebound ministry provides important and regular connections with those unable to attend church. Please contact Colleen Lightwine (785-806-3567) for more information.
Trinity Book Club
The book club is taking a break in December, but will resume in January. We have a great line up of books to start the year:
January 17-Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
February 21- Every Step is Home by Lori Erickson
March 21- How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
April 18- Clear by Carys Davies
May 16- Horse by Geraldine Brooks
We usually meet at Neighbors Mill on Independence at 9:00 am on the third Saturday of the month.
Everyone is welcome to join and read along with us! Please contact Daphne Anderson with any questions or if you would like to be on the email list.
Welcome & Fellowship Committee
Can you spare 15 minutes after church, one Sunday a month?
We need a few volunteers to help your Welcome & Fellowship committee tidy the Coffee Nook, wipe tables and put away carafes on first or fourth Sundays. Please see Sarah Muegge or Kristin Butler.
Creation Care News
Tips to Reduce Food Waste In the Kitchen – Storage and Prep
Check the temperature setting of your fridge. Keep the temperature at 40° F or below to keep foods safe. The temperature of your freezer should be 0° F.
Use the FoodKeeper App for information on how to safely store different foods to maintain freshness and quality.
Refrigerate peeled or cut veggies for freshness and to keep them from going bad.
Use your freezer! Freezing is a great way to store most foods to keep them from going bad until you are ready to eat them. Check the FoodKeeper App for information on how long different items can be stored in the freezer.
Create a designated space in your fridge for foods that you think will be going bad within a few days.
Check your fridge often to keep track of what you have and what needs to be used. Eat or freeze items before you need to throw them away.
If you have more food on hand than you can use or you need, consider donating your extra supply of packaged foods to a local food pantry or a food drive.
Learn about food product dating – Many consumers misunderstand the purpose and meaning of the date labels that often appear on packaged foods. Confusion over date labeling accounts for an estimated 20 percent of consumer food waste.
Except for infant formula, manufacturers are not required to place quality-based date labels on packaged food. There are no uniform or universally accepted descriptions used on food labels for open dating (calendar dates) in the United States. As a result, there are a wide variety of phrases used for product dating.
FDA supports efforts by the food industry to make “Best if Used By” the standard phrase to indicate the date when a product will be at its best flavor and quality. Consumers should examine foods for signs of spoilage that are past their “Best if Used By” date. If the products have changed noticeably in color, consistency or texture, consumers may want to avoid eating them. If you have questions or concerns about the quality, safety and labeling of the packaged foods you buy, reach out to the company that produced the product. Many packaged foods provide the company’s contact information on the package.
HotHands Collection
We will be collecting HotHands throughout Cold Weather Shelter Season, which starts Saturday, Nov. 1 and runs through March 31. In recent years, different organizations have held big collection drives of HotHands, building up the stash available to help our unsheltered friends and neighbors. That has not happened this year and circumstances are all the more critical. You can drop off individual packs or whole cases in the Collections tub across from the Sanctuary. We will share them during our outreach dinners, through the shelter at the Fairbanks, and on occasions when we open our fellowship hall to be a Severe Weather Emergency Plan (SWEP) shelter during major winter weather events.
Per Capita
The per capita assessment for 2026 will be $42.50. Per capita is the amount that churches pay to the Presbytery for each member to cover the cost of higher levels of church government. Members are encouraged to pay this amount, some see it as part of their annual pledge, while others make an added gift to the church.
Trinity gets a lot of return for the per capita we pay. The guidance our Pastoral Nominating Committee is receiving during the search process is paid for by per capita.
You can write a check to Trinity and put “per capita” on the memo line or make a one-time donation through the website. Every little bit helps.
Liturgists for December
We are grateful to the following people who are sharing their gifts with Trinity by serving as liturgists during the month of October.
Dec. 14 - Brenda Sneed
Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve - Cletus Johnson
If you would like to serve as liturgist, please contact Martha Bledsoe.
Slides Before Worship Service
If your group would like to get slides in the pre-service announcement time, they need to email them to Robert Reed.
Prayer Chain
There are currently 16 people on Trinity’s Prayer Chain. Pray-ers receive text messages whenever someone requests prayer. Prayer requests can be as specific or general as the requester wants. Two people were added to the Prayer Chain after filling out Helping Hands at Trinity Connects on January 26. If you would like to be added to the Prayer Chain, please text Pastor Tom at 920-237-9840. If you would like to request prayer, please text Pastor Tom at 920-237-9840.
Contacting the Church Office
To reach Alyssa Spradlin, Director of Communication & Administrative Ministries, to communicate with the church office use this and only this email address:
Screen Time?
Our wonderful AV team would like to request that if you ever need anything put on the screens for any service that is held at Trinity, please let us know in advance so we can load things into the program properly. Sometimes it is very hard to load things moments before an event. Thank you for this consideration.
Lost and Found
Wondering where your pen, mug, charger, book, hat, sunglasses, or other elusive item is? Items turned into the church office will be placed in our new Lost & Found tubs, located on the shelf above the accessibility devices near the West entrance.
Wiggle Room
Everyone is welcome in the sanctuary. If you have a fussy child and would like to step out while continuing to participate in worship, please feel free to make use of our new Wiggle Room in Room 14. The room is outfitted with comfortable chairs, a changing table, a small bathroom, and a new (to us) television mounted on the wall, showing the livestream. Please note that children in the Wiggle Room must be accompanied by a grownup who brought them. Children three-and-under can be dropped off in the Nursery in Room 12.
Trinity Sunday School Classes
Sunday School opportunities for all ages. Please consider joining us in exploring our faith and learning from one another in spaces of grace and love. All classes begin at 10:15 a.m.
Children's Class
A broad overview of important Bible stories we plan to study this fall:
How the Bible came to us, the 2 stories of Creation, The Covenant with Noah, The Covenant with Abraham & Sarah, The Brothers Esau & Jacob, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and the Exodus. In December we will look at stories related to the birth of Jesus.
We hope to also schedule a fun event with children from Westminster, Bell Ringing during Worship Service and the chance to make Christmas Crafts and Cookies. Stay Tuned.
Adult Class- Room 17
Room 17 Adult Class Schedule:
Nov. 29- Dec. 20: Our class will again pair Advent study with materials from A Sanctified Art. Discussion will surround the visual art, poetry and music which will also be used in worship during the Advent season.
Our discussion-style class is open to all. Please contact Amy Price or Daphne Anderson with any questions.
Topical Discussions Class
Please join with us for Sunday School weekly in the Fellowship Hall. We enjoy good fellowship, hot coffee, and delicious treats as we discuss God’s presence in our daily lives.
In December, our topics include:
December 14 - Advent: Angel & Joseph- Acting on the Unbelievable…………..................Susie Dollar
December 21 - Angels: Angels and Shepherds- Hark the Herald Angels Sing…...........Dave Muegge
December 28 - No class: Christmas Vacation
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