+ My name is Hannah Kroonblawd, and I’ve been a member of Trinity Lutheran for the past five and a half years. Though it might seem that as a Minnesotan grad student transplant to Bloomington, my family is at a distance, Trinity is my family . . . (click to read more)

Trinity members have welcomed me into their homes, asked me to serve alongside them, prayed for me, and blessed me with financial support as I went through PLI’s 1000 Young Leaders program. I’ve been blessed to celebrate joys with you and grieve losses with you. You are my family.

I joined Trinity just ahead of a vast amount of change—voting to build a new sanctuary, new pastoral roles, and challenges in the local economy and COVID-19. But through it all, God has been faithful to this family—our church family. His provision is so very evident. Consider how he has shown his faithfulness to you—and to Trinity—through loss, through pandemic, through distance and loneliness and fear. God is so much greater than these things. He is so good.

Through the Immeasurably More Campaign, we have a new opportunity to return our thanks to our Faithful Father. In Colossians 3, Paul writes to the church that in “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

How can we turn down a chance to shout our thanksgiving to God? How can we do anything but praise him for his faithfulness to us? I want to encourage you to spend time in prayer this week, praising God for his goodness and asking him to guide your response to the work he’s calling our Trinity family to do—today, tomorrow, and in the years to come.

+ God has a purpose! I have a question for you’all to ponder. Do you run towards the fire, or do you run away from the fire? My name is Carolyn Jiles, and I am married to Steve, we have one daughter, and she is married, they live in Iowa . . . (click to read more)

Haiti, January 12th, 2010, a 7.2 earthquake happened. I felt like I needed to go and help but I needed more training. I was volunteering at the American Red Cross back then and I was encouraged to take a CNA course. So, I did. Then I would be equipped with the skills necessary and the knowledge and go where needed. As a reminder this was not a career change but to be ready in all circumstances. In the winter of 2016, my husband Steve and I and others on the team went to Jacmel, Haiti. To do eyeglass ministry, my first medical mission, YES! I got to wear scrubs! Steve and I were both trained on the auto- refractor. The first morning we were told our assignments for the day, Steve was doing auto-refractor and I was doing triage. I would be the first contact of God's people in Haiti with my translator Wilson, we shared the gospel and we asked them about their vision. It would be two-fold in that they would be able to see for the first time with their prescription glasses and read the Bible. Jump ahead to winter the following year, Steve’s doctor told him he would need a double stem cell transplant. Before the procedure of collecting his own stem cells I had to give Steve shots for a week. Then we went to Northwestern Medicine, and the doctor said MRS. JILES each night of the collection you will have to give Steve a shot. We were staying nearby in walking distance of the hospital in an apartment. I never imagined having to do this but using my CNA training gave me confidence to be prepared for all circumstances. You think you're going to use the training for one purpose and God had a bigger plan. I am glad I yielded to his plan and was obedient to the Holy Spirit, we the Church, are reminded again of God's faithfulness. Psalm 100 verse 5: For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. I had you ponder, there is no right or wrong to the question. But I run towards the fire, and for the others you are the Support! I am equipped, I have knowledge I am a lifelong learner, I'm a helper. Look for the helpers. Be a helper. Learn with me, with the help of the Lord we can do immeasurably more. Keep your eyes on God, walk in faithfulness and obedience and watch how God will use you for his purpose!

+ I am Glenda Partridge. No, not from the famous Partridge Family, but yes, we did have a pear tree. When I was growing up those references bothered me, but no more. God knows my name and I am a chosen, forgiven child of God . . . (click to read more)

I joined Trinity in 1980 through an Adult Membership class. I wish I could say I chose this church after careful research or church shopping but I only came because I was invited. I was new to Bloomington, recently divorced with two young children and hardly knew anyone. God planted me here.

There are many things I love about Trinity but I only have time for two . . .

WORSHIP: We come to church weekly to worship God who sent His Son to earth as our Savior. For if we believe in Jesus, we will have ever lasting life. IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS. We celebrate His birth at Christmas and His Resurrection at Easter and His teachings and life in between. Knowing we are sinners we ask for forgiveness. We really come to worship, not be entertained. We read the Bible -Old Testament, Epistles and Gospel. I love how we stand, out of respect for God’s Word when the Gospel is read.

What I most appreciate about worship is how our pastors and worship teams work together to tie the sermon and scripture together with the hymns and special music.

MIISSIONS: Trinity has many outreach opportunities both locally and distant to help others less fortunate. The most impactful one to me was an opportunity to be on a Trinity eye glass team to Kenya. Here was a girl who grew up on a small farm in Central Illinois going to Africa. Immeasurably More than I could ask or imagine. See, Ephesians 3:20.

I could go on and on about how God has so richly blessed me because I accepted an invitation to come to Trinity Lutheran Church a long time ago. Let’s all invite someone to worship and watch God do IMMEASURABLY MORE in their life.

+ Is it an odd thing? Or a God thing? It was August 1971. Hot and humid. The Lage family, my parents, brother, sister and me, moved to a new town, Waverly, Iowa. My dad, being a stubborn LCMS German, began looking for a church to attend, preferably one without padded pews or air conditioning. Well, he found it . . . (click to read more)

And the next Sunday morning we showed up. In my mind, to suffer and sweat in silence. We sat on the left side, about 2/3 of the way up. We really didn’t know anyone. Right behind us sat a family that kind of resembled ours. A dad, mom, and 3 kids about our age. This turned out to be the Al and Kathy Jansen family. And they introduced themselves and welcomed us to their church. And I guess we felt comfortable because we joined and in short order our families became good friends. Junior high, youth group, high school. Then the kids all scattered for college, but the parents remained good friends.

Fast forward to August 2004. It was hot and humid, and my wife and I and our 2 children were pulling up stakes in Iowa and moving 7 hours away to a new town - Bloomington, Illinois. We knew we’d need to find a school for our kids because classes would start a couple of weeks after we moved in. So before the move, my wife Theresa called to make an appointment to visit the public school in our new neighborhood. At that point, my mom who was helping us move, mentioned that she thought her friend from church, Kathy Jansen, had a daughter that taught at a Lutheran school, in either Bloomington Indiana or Illinois, she couldn’t remember which. So a quick phone call to her friend confirmed that her daughter taught school at TLS in Bloomington, Illinois. So Theresa called and made an appointment to visit TLS in the afternoon after visiting the public school.

The visit at the public school was just fine. It was a nice building and tour, and the teachers were very busy getting ready for the first day of class. After the tour, Theresa, our kids and my mother drove to TLS which turned out to be just down the road from our house. They were met by Mr. Hoffman and Kathy Jansen’s daughter, the teacher, who you may know as Mrs. Busse. What a warm greeting they received! The Lage kids were the sole focus of Mr. Hoffman and Mrs. Busse’s attention. And the best thing of all - they learned that students at TLS were surrounded by Christian teachers who would help make lifetime Christian disciples of their students. That was a no-brainer. That evening after I got home from work, Theresa told me she made an executive decision: the kids were going to TLS and they were enrolled the next day. But that’s not the end of the story.

Mrs. Busse told us that if we liked the school, we really needed to check out TLC which ran the school. She said we’d really be impressed with the church, the pastors, and what it had to offer. So from that first visit with Mrs. Busse and a simple invitation, here we are, almost 18 years later. Our kids were nurtured in their faith and graduated from TLS. Theresa and I have been involved in any number of church activities. And Mrs. Busse was right - we’re really impressed with the church, the pastors, and what it has to offer. The past 18 years at Trinity……… all from a visit and an invitation. Kind of like my family in Waverly, Iowa on that hot August Sunday in 1971. Think about it. That’s not an odd thing, it’s a God thing. And each of us has the ability to reach out, to visit, to invite, to perhaps change someone’s life. Sounds a lot like our Immeasurably More campaign, doesn’t it? And that IS a God thing!

+ My name is Valorie Daniels, I am a daughter of our Triune God. I am married to Leslie Daniels. We will be married for 44 years this December. We have three grown children and eight grandchildren in the Central IL area. I am relatively new here at Trinity, August of 2019 but I have been a lifelong Lutheran . . . (click to read more)

Growing up in St John Sandprairie, Green Valley IL 2/3 of the church was related to me. So therefore, my family. I have always seen the church as my family. Family means different things to different people, so here is what it means to me: descendants of a common ancestor – our ancestor is the Triune God. When I first joined Trinity I was looking forward to meeting more members of the congregation. There were lots of discussions about building a new church beside Trinity School at the Hamilton location. I attended the meetings to get as much information as I could. I understood that several of the members of Trinity had gone through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace so debt was not to be taken on. Good plan! There was this thing called Cornerstone to start saving for the new church building. That three year program ends in February 2022.
We were talking about breaking ground for the new church in March of 2020…then COVID! Plans were put on hold. Because of the disconnect Covid has caused, we, Trinity congregation members are making an effort to reconnect with our family members. If you get a call from a congregation member to come visit you, please say yes. The visit can be here at church, in a park, a restaurant or your home. Please bless us with a visit. Please pray for our visits to be fruitful. John 15:16 ESV You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

+ My name is Dave Wilcox. My wife, Teresa, and I have two grown children, nine grandchildren, one of whom is in Heaven, and one great grandchild. We were confirmed as adult members of Trinity in 1980. After we had attended Trinity but before we became members three Trinity members visited our home . . . (click to read more)

During this visit I learned that spending eternity in Heaven was not earned by my meager good works but was a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. They asked if they could come back sometime with Pastor Lawrence Seager. I reluctantly agreed thinking this would be a hundred plus year old man wearing a dark pressed suit who would sit on edge of his seat and ask why I hadn’t been attending church until recently. Instead he was a middle aged casually dressed man who spotted our bean bag chair and flopped down in it! It was a pleasant surprise. Later, when an extended family was in the county jail we asked Pastor Seager if he would visit him. He did and our family member became a Christian and eventually a pastor. Also, Pastor Seager started a prison ministry when he later took a call to a church in Vandalia. How many lives were touched because we allowed those visitors into our home? Since then, Teresa and I have served in many ways at Trinity. Currently, I am serving on the Steering Committee of the Immeasurably More Capital Campaign. We have committed to visit every household in the congregation. So, when contacted with a request for a visit, I encourage you to say yes. At the least, you will have fellowship with a brother and or sister in Christ. And who knows what else it could lead to. Because God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

+ My 90 year old Aunt Norma cleaned out her basement this summer and gave me boxes of things, family treasures she thought I should put in my basement . . . lots of old photographs of unknown relatives, newspaper clippings of cousin John’s success as a golfer, and my grandmother’s old mink stole . . . (click to read more)

Frankly, I don’t know what to do with it. I’m sure many of you have similar items in your basement or attic that are meaningful to you and that you hope someday your kids will see their value and store them at their homes. But one thing in these boxes did catch my eye. It was a Trinity Lutheran Messenger dated November 1958. The headline read, “Voters’ Assembly Hears Mrs. Ray Lartz” That would be my grandmother Clare Lartz. The article begins . “Perhaps for the first time in the 100 year history of Trinity Lutheran Church, a woman addressed the voting members on congregational business.” At the Voters’ Meeting on October 14, the voters had the privilege of hearing Mrs. Ray Lartz speak to them on the Stewardship Program of our church. What an amazing coincidence! Trinity is once again engaged in a stewardship campaign! What can we learn from the generation that built this beautiful sanctuary we are worshipping in today?
“The congregation should approach Stewardship without apology because we are doing the Lord’s work.”
“Gratitude for God’s boundless blessings –foremost being our gratitude for salvation - should move us to work and give for the cause of Christ.” “Past generations have given us a worthy example of sacrifice and devotion to God, and the example which we now set for our children in attitude and deed will influence them in their church work in years to come.” The Psalmist writes in 145:4 “Let each generation tell its children of Your mighty acts; let them proclaim Your power!" There is a lot of stuff in our basements and attics that have been passed down to us and quite naturally we want to pass the stuff onto our children - but the only thing of true value, the only thing that lasts forever, is the legacy of faith we pass onto the generations that follow.

+ My family and I have been a part of the Trinity family for almost 3 years now. Back in May, I was asked to be a co-chair for the Spiritual Emphasis team for our capital campaign. After a few days of prayer, I felt God wanted me to serve and accepted the role. Little did I know at the time the journey He would take me on . . . (click to read more)

As we prepared for our first meeting, we prayed. We asked God to chair our team, to guide us and set our agenda. The agenda for our first team meeting was only two things: pray and share what you have been hearing from God. We met in the sanctuary, and we began to share scripture, a theme emerged. God had placed scripture about prayer on each one of our hearts. One of our team members pointed at the stained-glass window of Daniel and the lion’s den. He pointed out how Daniel was on his knees, focused on God, even though the lions surrounded him. God was calling us to our knees, and each week we meet right here at the alter and pray. Upon reflection, I noticed I started praying with expectation. I expected God to show up. My connection with Him grew stronger, prayer was becoming my first response rather than a last resort. I counted on Him to deliver on His promises. I would look for Him in the good and the not so good. Our team had been using prayer journals and we would write scripture that we heard or read, songs that spoke to us, prayers that we were praying and prayers that were answered. We shared our prayer journals each week and week after week, we would often find that we had read the same scripture and given the same message. While God was speaking to us, he was also doing so much more. Our team has become a close-knit family, not only were we growing closer to our Father, but to one another. Prayer connects us. Early on we formed a group chat and sent scripture, encouragement, and prayer requests to one another. I came to love it but didn’t know how valuable it would be. A few weeks ago, my son complained of a stomachache... At the moment, I wasn’t too concerned, but this stomachache wouldn’t go away. I called his doctor to see how we could help him. Upon describing the symptoms, they sent us straight to the ER, where he was diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. When you see your son laying in a hospital bed, you must acknowledge the fact that you are helpless. When you don’t know what is going to happen and you can’t do anything about it, it’s easy to begin to focus on the lions crouched around you and spiral into a state of panic and hopelessness. There’s a song by Phil Wickham called the Battle Belongs and one of the lyrics is “when we fight, we fight on our knees with our hands lifted high”. I reached out to the team and asked for prayers. They got on their knees and fought this battle right alongside us. There is so much peace knowing that we have a God who hears us, we were so comforted by the prayers and knowing that we didn’t have to fight this alone. I don’t know what you are battling, I don’t know what lions are staring you down. But I do know our God. So, reach up and reach out and let’s give our battles to the God who hears us and watch Him do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.