In October, we will celebrate the 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

I hope you are able to join us for the Hymn Festival at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, October 15, at 4pm and 7pm. If you were able to secure free tickets here are some important notes:

We are asking everyone to wear RED that day!

Plan to come early to hear 20 minutes of exceptional prelude music.

If you have tickets and are not able to attend please give them to someone who can use them or call the Kauffman Center.

If you were not able to obtain tickets (as they sold out so quickly) don’t despair – we have hired a professional production company to create a wonderful DVD of the Hymn Festival. The cost is $25 and a signup sheet is in the church office.

If you are interested in taking a bus from Trinity please contact Ben Spalding by September 22, bens@tlcms.org.

Additionally, here are a few thoughts from lutheranreformation.org to help us as a congregation observe this important anniversary.

The Reformation was not about anything new, but about returning to the unchanged and unchanging truth. So it still is today. The celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation is not a time for novelty. It is time to return. Return to the truth. Return to the basics. Return to the foundation.

Do you remember the Small Catechism? Many of us were made to memorize the catechism (or at least part of it) during our confirmation classes. Some of us might have even suffered through a public examination over the contents of the catechism.

How much do you remember? Say it with me: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him … .” Can you finish? Do you remember where that is found (Luther’s Explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed)?

It’s time to return. Luther wrote the Small Catechism for the instruction of lay people. Luther intended the Small Catechism to be used at church and in the home to instruct children in the faith and to reinforce the faith in the hearts and minds of the adults.

There is no better time than in this year of celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation to review the catechism.

Read it for yourself. Refresh the theology in your mind. Pray the catechism daily. Memorize it.

But even more, teach it. If you are a parent, teach it to your children. As you have opportunity, share it with your friends and peers.

The catechism teaches the fundamentals of the Christian faith: the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Confession and the Office of the Keys, and the Sacrament of the Altar. This small book is well worth your time and study.

May this celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation be a time when we return to Word and Sacrament, and when we turn to Christ and His love. It’s Still All About Jesus.

For more information and resources visit www.lutheranreformation. org, the official Reformation website of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

 

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