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Why Do We Call Good Friday “Good?”

Please join us on this Good Friday, March 30th, for a dramatic and deeply meaningful worship service. We will gather at 7 p.m. in our main sanctuary.

Where Does the Term “Good Friday” Come From?

by Dan Benedict

The source of our term for the Friday before Easter, “Good Friday,” is not clear. It may be a corruption of the English phrase “God’s Friday,” according to Professor Laurence Hull Stookey in Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church (p. 96). It is the common name for the day among English- and Dutch-speaking people. It is a day that proclaims God’s purpose of loving and redeeming the world through the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a day that is good because God was drawing the world to God’s self in Christ. As seen in John’s gospel, particularly, God was in control. God was not making the best of a bad situation, but was working out God’s intention for the world — winning salvation for all people. We call it “good” because we look backward at the crucifixion through the lens of Easter!

“Good Friday” is not a universal name for the day. The liturgical title for the day in the Western church was “Friday of Preparation,” since the time Jews used the word paraskeue (getting ready) for Friday, meaning the “day of preparation.” Popular names for the day are “Holy Friday” among the Latin nations, “Great Friday” among the Slavic peoples, “Friday of Mourning” in Germany, “Long Friday” in Norway, and “Holy Friday” (Viernes Santo) among Hispanic peoples.

March 30, 2018

Vision and Values

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Vision

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I am so very proud of the work accomplished to date by our Trinity Long-Range Planning Committee chaired by Jim Peterson. Jim and his three Team Leaders (Dr. Kimi King, Jay Roach, and Tawny Rybowicz) have been working tirelessly for months assimilating the information given to them by you — the members of Trinity UMC.[nbsp_tc][nbsp_tc]

Kimi, Jay, and Tawny convened small groups to prayerfully analyze and discern where God is leading Trinity. Already, they have established an initial blueprint of our core visions and values. Please take time to carefully read, and pray over, these visions and values. Also, please thank Jim Peterson and his team the next time you see them. They will also be more than happy to tell you of the enormous contributions of their team members. They will also answer any questions you may have.[nbsp_tc]

Remember and never forget the promise of our faithful God:[nbsp_tc][nbsp_tc]”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD.[nbsp_tc]

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“They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

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Values

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February 28, 2018

Youth Praise Band Shout Out

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Youth praise band will meet this Sunday the 18th at 4pm to rehearse a new song, “O Come to the Altar”.
Thank you to each member of the Youth Praise Band and their families!  Watching them lead the music in Refuel last Sunday was inspiring and I am so proud of their accomplishments.  I appreciate all of the hard work, time and talent it took to get it all together.  It was a wonderful service!!  Much love, Tawny

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February 14, 2018

Sunday’s Palms are Wednesday’s Ashes

Trinity Saints! You may remember that on Palm Sunday of last year (2017) our choir processed in with the children waving fresh, beautiful palm fronds marking the triumphal entry of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem. After the service, I gathered up all the fronds and saved them. This morning, I burned them in order to have ash for this year’s Ash Wednesday service which will be held at 6:30 p.m. in our beautiful sanctuary. During the service, Rev. Dr. Jim Terry and I will use the ashes to make the sign of the cross on your forehead reminding you to repent and believe the good news! The ashes also symbolize the biblical truth that from the earth we were taken, and to the earth we shall return.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline.

Ash Wednesday emphasizes two themes: our sinfulness before God and our human mortality. The service focuses on both themes, helping us to realize that both have been triumphed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During some Ash Wednesday services, the minister will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship. Historically, ashes signified purification and sorrow for sins.

It is traditional to save the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday service to burn to produce ashes for this service. The ash cross on the forehead is an outward sign of our sorrow and repentance for sins.

— Adapted from The United Methodist Book of Worship

February 9, 2018

I do: How United Methodists Understand Christian Marriage

It is a beautiful moment. A couple stands before a congregation of family and friends. They make lifelong promises to one another and maybe exchange rings. In a moment, their lives are changed. The two who have entered separately leave as one, joined together in marriage.

Christian marriage is not a sacrament in The United Methodist Church, but those who choose to marry enter into “a sacred covenant reflecting the Baptismal Covenant” (The United Methodist Book of Worship 115), and more specifically “a sacred covenant reflecting Christ’s covenant with the church” (The United Methodist Hymnal 864).

Very soon I will have the honor of uniting Catherine McKenney and Sid Shamshoian in Christian marriage. Sid and Catherine attend our 9:45 a.m. Refuel worship in our Lowrie Worship Center. They’re a great couple! Come worship with us at Refuel sometime to get to know them.

February 7, 2018

How To Grow A Church

How do we grow churches. We don’t — God does! We work cooperatively with God, of course, but it is God who grows the Church. Read I Corinthians 3:6. Paul wrote, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” The children of Trinity who attend our Trinity Learning Center, participate in our WELL, sing or play chimes in worship, attend Kid’s Night Out, Vacation Bible School, and a plethora of other children’s activities plant seeds by running to tell their friends about the love of Jesus they have discovered at Trinity United Methodist Church. Those kids then tell their parents that they want to go and the parents bring them to Trinity for worship, learning, and friendship. Our kids are “planting seeds.”

Next, these seeds need to be watered. Our team of faithful servant/leaders water the seeds which our kids have planted. They do this through teaching our children about God’s love for them and how important it is to love Jesus. Through people like Denise Davis, Vinny Thomas, Amanda Bova, Nancy Norrid, Ashley Baker, and the countless adult volunteers who serve, they are actually watering the seeds which the kids have already planted.

Then, in the mystery of God’s ways we begin to see exponential growth! These children delight our souls and inspire our hearts.

Is it any wonder Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” — Matthew 19:14 and And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”?

Very special thanks to all who water the seeds our children are planting — seeds of faith that all may come to know Jesus who is The Son, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. — Colossians 1:15.

Have you hugged your child today?

Love,

Rev. Jim

February 2, 2018