Trinity News & Updates

From worship services to information on how to connect with your Trinity family, all the latest updates are right here! You can also follow Trinity on our various social media channels to get updates in real time. To filter our updates to what you are looking for, select the category you are interested in. Otherwise, scroll down for all our updates.

Worship * Remaining Connected * Notes from the pastor (scroll down)

Pastor’s Notes

Sunday, May 10 I invited worshippers to suggest titles for the sermon I preached. I have always found this kind of feedback helpful and informative.

The first time this happened it took me by surprise.

I was serving a small Presbyterian church in Chicago after finishing seminary, before ordination. Every time I started to preach there, Bud would get up from his seat and leave by a side door. The first time this happened I figured Bud felt a coughing fit coming on or he needed to go to the bathroom. But it kept happening. I would step to the pulpit and Bud would step out the side door.

I had three hypotheses:

Bud didn’t like sermons;
Bud didn’t like MY sermons; or
Bud’s bladder was somehow synced to the worship service at Ravenswood Presbyterian Church.

Then one Sunday, Bud showed me a cassette tape. He’d written the date, my name and the title he thought went with the sermon he’d just heard. Without any fanfare Bud recorded the sermon every week, made about a half dozen copies of it and delivered them to people who would not be in church that week. Bud gave me immediate feedback; I knew what he thought the sermon was about. It was a huge gift.

When I served a church in Baltimore, they ran an ad in the Saturday paper every week with the sermon title and the preacher’s name. The Sun needed that information ten days in advance. I would rack my brain and come up with a few words that the text suggested to me. No one ever commented about the sermon title. I never got a “Pastor, that title really captured what you said!” nor a “What was you thinkin’?” In fact, in nearly 40 years of preaching no one has ever commented on a sermon title without my prodding.

I served a church once where it was very important to one vocal member that there be a sermon title in the bulletin. I explained my reasons for not wanting to name a sermon prior to preaching it. She was adamant. I resisted the temptation to title a sermon “Untitled #347,” and provided a few words that I was likely to say during the coming worship service.

No one noticed.

Following my sermon on May 10, 2026, some worshippers suggested these titles:

A lifetime of commitments
The novelty of God
Seeds grow best with a little fertilizer
How the word spread
We need each other
Who we are is what we Do (not how well we argue the point)
Paul—the Influencer
The Proof Is in the Pudding
Lend me your ear
Message received
The Man in the Mirror
The Message that Fell on Deaf Ears
The Philosopher’s Stone
Different Moments, Different Decisions
One God, giving countless opportunities
The God Who Keeps Turning on the Light
Paul & how to work the crowd

— Pastor Tom

To weigh in on possible sermon titles for Pastor Tom’s sermon on May 10, 2026: watch the sermon here

Email ideas to Pastor Tom

Guest User 10/14/23 Guest User 10/14/23

Worship for October 15, 2023

Today, on October 15, Pastor Chris will preach. This morning, our Sunday School classes will meet at 10:15am. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 10/7/23 Guest User 10/7/23

Worship for October 8, 2023

Today, on October 8, Pastor Chris will preach. This morning, our Sunday School classes will meet at 10:15am. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 9/23/23 Guest User 9/23/23

Worship for September 24, 2023

Today, on September 24, Pastor Chris will preach. This morning, our Sunday School classes will meet at 10:15am. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 9/16/23 Guest User 9/16/23

Worship for September 17, 2023

Today, on September 17, Pastor Chris will preach. This morning, our Sunday School classes will meet at 10:15am. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 9/9/23 Guest User 9/9/23

Worship for September 10, 2023

Today, on September 10, Pastor Chris will preach. This morning, our Sunday School classes will begin meeting again! At 10:15am there will be three Sunday School classes available for adults: our Topical Class, Studying the Word Class, and SALT Class. Children ages 3 through grade 5 will meet at 10:15am as well. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 9/2/23 Guest User 9/2/23

Worship for September 3, 2023

Today, on September 3 Pastor Chris will preach. Our Sunday School classes will not meet in observance of the holiday weekend. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. If you are worshipping with us online, please have your communion elements nearby and ready. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 8/26/23 Guest User 8/26/23

Worship for August 27, 2023

Today, on August 27, Pastor Chris will preach. Our combined Sunday School class will host a breakfast potluck this morning in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15am, open to all! We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 8/19/23 Guest User 8/19/23

Worship for August 20, 2023

Today, on August 13, Pastor Chris will preach. Our combined Sunday School class will hear from Pastor Chris about his summer study, renewal, and projects this morning! We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Guest User 8/12/23 Guest User 8/12/23

Worship for August 13, 2023