Trinity News & Updates
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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
Worship for May 12, 2024
Today, May 12, is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for May 5, 2024
Today, May 5, is the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Rev. Chris Miller will preach, lead us in an Affirmation of Faith, and invite us to share in Communion. 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.
Worship for April 28, 2024
Today, April 28, is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for April 21, 2024
Today, April 21, is the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for April 14, 2024
Today, April 14, is the Third Sunday of Easter. Rev. Laura Fleetwood will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for April 7, 2024
Today, April 7, is the Second Sunday of Easter. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for March 31, 2024
Today, March 31, is Easter Sunday. Rev. Chris Miller will preach, lead us in an Affirmation of Faith, and invite us to share in Communion. This morning, our Sunday School classes will NOT meet so families can enjoy our potlock Easter Brunch together. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30am for worship. We will have an Easter Lesson and craft for children during Worship and Wonder. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.
Worship for March 24, 2024
Today, March 24, is Palm Sunday. Rev. Chris Miller will preach, lead us in an Affirmation of Faith, and invite us to share in Communion. 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.
Worship for March 17, 2024
Today, March 17, is the fifth Sunday in Lent. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for March 10, 2024
Today, March 10, is the fourth Sunday in Lent. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and lead us in an Affirmation of Faith. 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.
Worship for March 3, 2024
Today, March 3, is the third Sunday in Lent. Rev. Chris Miller will preach and celebrate Communion. 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.