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 August 3, 2025
Today, August 3, is the eighth Sunday of Pentecost. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach and offer Communion. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30 a.m. for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 a.m. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for July 27, 2025
Today, July 27, is the seventh Sunday of Pentecost. The Rev. Howard C. Cavner will preach. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30 a.m. for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 a.m. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for July 20, 2025
Today, July 20, is the sixth Sunday of Pentecost. Nate Schlueter from Eden Village will present. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30 a.m. for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 a.m. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for July 13, 2025
Today, July 13, is the fifth Sunday of Pentecost. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30 a.m. for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 a.m. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for July 6, 2025
Today, July 6, is the fourth Sunday of Pentecost. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach and offer Communion. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30 a.m. for worship. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 a.m. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for June 29, 2025
Today, June 29, is the third Sunday of Pentecost. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach. 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.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 am. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for June 22, 2025
Today, June 22, is the second Sunday of Pentecost. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach. 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.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 am. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for June 15, 2025
Today, June 15, is Trinity Sunday. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach. 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.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 am. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for June 8, 2025
Today, June 8, is Pentecost Sunday. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach and offer Communion. 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.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 am. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.
Worship for June 1, 2025
Today, June 1, is the seventh Sunday of Easter. The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach. 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.
Adult Sunday School classes meet jointly in the summer in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15 am. Please join us as we explore our next, faithful steps during this transitional time.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.