SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church was founded in 1950. Ankeny’s population had grown to a little over 1,200 people and prospects for continued growth were buoyed by the new John Deere sprayer production facility that had moved into the old munitions plant in 1947. The American Lutheran Church started a mission that met in the American Legion Hall in uptown and became Holy Trinity.

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​Seventy-five years later, about 78,000 people reside in Ankeny, making it the fifth largest city in the state. Holy Trinity quickly moved out of the Legion Hall and built a church at our current location. But observing our 75th anniversary as a congregation is not about the building, nor is it about the growth of the city or congregation. It is about God’s grace and faithfulness.

Over the last seventy-five years I estimate that the people of Holy Trinity have gathered to worship at least 8,000 times. Hundreds of people have been baptized, married, and buried as part of our life together. The people of Holy Trinity celebrated their joys and wept life’s trials. Holy Trinity has rolled up its sleeves to feed the hungry, support those whom others deem unworthy, teach new generations about the love of God and much more. We have been touched by God’s grace and shared that grace with the community. God has been faithful in providing grace to serve, grace to love, grace to be God’s people in this place.

Observing an anniversary is not an opportunity to be nostalgic about what has been. Dictionary.com defines nostalgia as “a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time… a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.”  Especially in times of momentous change, like we are experiencing today, we can be nostalgic, longing for a return to what we think were better times. The truth is the idealized past never existed, and the real past is confined to memory alone. Only the present is available to us.

This coming Sunday, December 7, we will observe our seventy-fifth year as servants of God’s grace in this place and time. Worship in the morning will be our annual Lessons and Carols Service, with lots of music and hope for the season. We will share a meal following the 10 AM service. Our Bishop, Rev. Amy Current, will be with us to bring a word of grace.

Our purpose is best summarized by Saint Augustine: “Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to God’s love, and the future to God’s providence.” His wisdom is for every day, not just anniversaries.

Pax Christi,
Tim Olson – Lead Pastor