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

Trinity Office 10/11/25 Trinity Office 10/11/25

Worship for October 12, 2025

Today, October 12, is the eighteenth Sunday after 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.

You are invited to join us for Sunday school at 10:15 a.m. Children’s Sunday School meets in Room 17. Two adult Sunday School classes are hybrid. Please contact the church office for Zoom or RingCentral login information.

Trinity Office 10/4/25 Trinity Office 10/4/25

Worship for October 5, 2025

Today, October 5, is World Communion Sunday. The Rev. Jill Bryant 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.

Trinity Office 9/27/25 Trinity Office 9/27/25

Worship for September 28, 2025

Today, September 28, is the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The Rev. Howard 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.

Trinity Office 9/20/25 Trinity Office 9/20/25

Worship for September 21, 2025

Today, September 21, is the fifteenth Sunday after 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.

Trinity Office 9/13/25 Trinity Office 9/13/25

Worship for September 14, 2025

Today, September 14, is the fourteenth Sunday after 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.

Sunday school for all ages begins at 10:15 a.m., starting today.

Trinity Office 9/6/25 Trinity Office 9/6/25

Worship for September 7, 2025

Today, September 7, is the thirteenth Sunday after 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.

Sunday school for all ages begins at 10:15 a.m., starting today.

Trinity Office 8/30/25 Trinity Office 8/30/25

Worship for August 31, 2025

Today, August 31, is the twelfth Sunday after 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 will resume on September 7.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.

Trinity Office 8/23/25 Trinity Office 8/23/25

Worship for August 24, 2025

Today, August 24, is the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. Today we mark Trinity’s 10th anniversary! The Rev. Dr. Tom Willadsen will preach, and voices from Trinity’s history will contribute to the service. We gather in the Sanctuary and online today at 11:30 a.m. for worship. A congregational meeting will immediately follow the service; we will continue the livestream through the duration of that meeting. As always, our online service is recorded and available later in the week to watch and share with others.

Adult Sunday School classes will not meet today.
Children’s class is on break for the summer and will resume in the fall.

Trinity Office 8/16/25 Trinity Office 8/16/25

Worship for August 17, 2025

Today, August 17, is the tenth 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.

Trinity Office 8/9/25 Trinity Office 8/9/25

Worship for August 10, 2025

Today, August 10, is the ninth 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.