Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Ankeny, IA

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  • Home
    • Church Calendar
    • Mission Partners
    • Council
    • Staff
    • Governing Documents
    • Covid-19
    • Building Use
  • Worship
    • Worship
    • Welcome Card
    • Devotions
    • Music Ministries >
      • Adult Choir Schedule & Resources
    • Baptism
    • Weddings
    • Prayer Requests
    • Flowers
  • Learn
    • Children's Ministry
    • Middle School Ministry
    • High School Ministry
    • Adult Learning
    • Grace Notes
  • GIVE
    • Realm Giving
    • Realm Tips
    • GIving Funds
    • Memorials
  • Participate
    • Sign Up
    • Advent Giving
    • Small Groups
    • Calendar
  • WELCOME
    • Welcome
    • I want to Join
    • Our Mission
    • What to Expect
    • Contact Us
  • Food Pantry

SENT TO LEAD AND TO LOVE

10/6/2022

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​What exactly does it mean to be ordained? It doesn’t really mean that one is called to follow Jesus. That calling comes to every Christian through the sacrament of baptism. To be a Christian is to be called to serve. 


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RICH, GENEROUS, READY TO SHARE

9/22/2022

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​I was taught that the “golden rule” was “do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Jesus says this. The Buddha does too. In fact, this rule is part of nearly every spiritual tradition known to humanity.  There is a cynical rework of this rule I learned later in life: “The one with the gold makes the rules.” While it is cynical, it is also true. Money and wealth are not just possessions, but power. Those who have vast wealth have lots of power.  


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suicide

9/15/2022

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​“I just don’t understand.” These are perhaps the most frequently used words spoken by loved ones in the wake of a suicide or suicide attempt. They are wise words. The fact is, we can’t understand the pain, despair, weariness, or hopelessness that leads to suicide. Each struggle is unique and takes place in isolation. From Willie Loman in Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman, who becomes convinced his family is better off without him to Robin Williams who could not sustain his struggle with his mental health; from the retiree who suddenly lost his investments and was overwhelmed with a sense of failure and shame to the teen who just cannot take another day of bullying, shame, and despair; from the LBGTQ+ person who has been rejected by family, friends and seemingly, the whole culture to the newly diagnosed cancer patient who is terrified and cannot imagine healing, we can only understand in part, at best.


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LEARNING JOY

9/8/2022

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​Joy is a gift of the Spirit according to scripture (Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:22). Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is not found in things like “food and drink” but is “peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17). The psalms speak of joy found in God over and over. Yet, it seems to me that we live in a joyless world much of the time.

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connections

9/1/2022

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“I’m spiritual, but not religious” is a mantra for many. Studies tell us that each successive generation becomes less and less affiliated with a religious community. Along with a host of other indicators, we are moving farther away from communal expressions of faith and embracing internal, individualized ideas of faith. It seems like we are all on a quest to privatize spiritual life to the extent that it has nothing to do with anyone but ourselves. The result is that we are more lonely, depressed, and fragmented than ever.


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MOSAIC – A PARTNER IN SHARING GOD’S LOVE

8/18/2022

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This week, we were notified by Bryanne Lang, the Community Relations Director for Mosaic of Central Iowa, that Holy Trinity has been named Mosaic’s 2022 Church Partner of the Year. (You may remember Bryanne – she was on our learning staff a few years back). We are honored and humbled to receive such recognition from an organization that does so much to share God’s love with our neighbors who face intellectual and physical difficulties. Mosaic’s mission: we are called to love and serve our neighbor, which is a mirror of our own mission to Share God’s Love.


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PURPLE PEOPLE

8/11/2022

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We are divided. Our nation, our communities, our schools, and our churches are all divided. That is not news. We have become a nation of red or blue states and citizens. The divide has driven wedges between friends and family members. Our government is so locked into the red and blue binary mindset that compromise, working for the common good, and so, governance is nearly impossible. Congregations have been torn apart or simply sit in sulking silence unable to find any unity. You are red or you are blue. It is reminiscent of our past when blue and gray divided us


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The church: dying & thriving

8/4/2022

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​This spring one of the synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had to cancel its annual assembly because they couldn’t gather a quorum. A synod’s assembly elects leaders and adopts budgets. A synod’s assembly affects every congregation in the synod, yet they couldn’t make it happen. Our congregation had to cancel Vacation Bible School this summer due to a lack of interest. Congregations all over are registering lower participation levels in all aspects of congregational life. The pandemic did not cause this – but it accelerated it.  Twenty years ago, the average church member attended worship twice a month or more. Today it is once a month or less.


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creation groans

7/28/2022

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The Book of Psalms offers a universal vision of worship and praise. It is not just God’s people who praise the Lord. The chorus of praise is joined by all the nations, every ruler, and very loudly, by creation itself.  


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who needs god anway?

7/21/2022

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In the pre-modern age, asking the question, “Who needs God anyway?” would have been unthinkable. Everything in heaven and earth was an expression of the transcendent reality of the divine. Today, this question is a quite mainstream question, even a rhetorical question that assumes the answer is, “No one!” Now, there are still plenty of folks who would answer that we all need God in some way. We might bemoan the fact that so many people even think such things. We might blame the problems of the world on those who don’t think we need God.  ​


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Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
A congregation of the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
517 SW Des Moines St.
Ankeny, IA 50023
Phone: 515-964-4348
Office hours: M-Th 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Worship Schedule:
Sundays at 8:30 and 10:00 am
Wednesdays at 6:00 pm 
Livestream on Sundays at 10:00 am on YouTube

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