If you have any questions, please see deacon Linda Stark-Ensing or Glenn Swier.

April held our most important celebration of the year– Easter.  Hopefully you had a chance to read my article from last month where I explained why the resurrection is the heart and soul of our faith.  If not, I encourage you to do so.  Not too many weeks ago, we again celebrated how we’ve been justified in Christ and freed to live in the hope and joy of new life.  April also held an intense search process for a pastoral resident.  Allow me to use this space to introduce our candidate and explain the process of discernment that has brought us thus far.   

Process:  The process of discernment actually began in the fall after we were approached by Western Seminary about this possibility.  The Lily Fund gave Western and Calvin Seminary a sizable grant to create six fully-paid residencies over the next few years.  These two-year residencies would be split between Reformed and Christian Reformed Churches and aim at being healthy, helpful “first calls” for persons graduating the seminary and pursuing ordained ministry.  Our consistory then wrestled through the impact of having a pastoral resident, job description, and process for conducting the search (with Staff Relations Committee).  We received applications at the start of Holy Week and were given the task by WTS and CTS of announcing our candidate by the end of the month.  A Search Team, consisting of Harry Westers, John Kozminski, Deb Swanson, and myself, conducted four interviews (one being a couple) for the position.  We actually received seven applications before setting up these live interviews.  We had strong candidates with a variety of gifts and passions.  In the end, the Consistory approved the recommendation of the Search Team that we offer the position to Katrina Schaafsma. 

Our Proposed Candidate: Katrina Schaafsma (the picture is of Katrina).   Katrina is a graduating senior at Calvin Seminary and is engaged to be ordained in the Christian Reformed Church.  Katrina is Canadian, where she grew up, did her undergraduate work (BA in International Development from the University of Guelph) and first master’s degree (MA in Political Science, also from Guelph).  As for internships, Katrina has served with Calvin College’s Campus Ministries in leadership development/mentoring; First Christian Ref. Church in London, Ontario as a summer pastoral intern; as well as the CRC World Mission work in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (same mission as the Van Dams).  Her Grand Rapids church home is Sherman Street CRC, where she has done various work with worship and social justice concerns.  She has also done ESL work with the Church of the Savior, CRC.  Katrina speaks Spanish and French and has skills/passions around music—especially the piano, violin and voice.  Besides some of the generalist type of work described in our job description (worship leadership, preaching, pastoral care and so on), Katrina would especially focus her residency  in the areas of neighborhood ministry, pastoral music and community formation within the body.  The residency doesn’t begin until August, but we’ll try and find ways of further welcoming Katrina into the Trinity family before then.  In the weeks to come, she’ll be busy graduating from Calvin, finishing the ordination process within her classis and denomination, moving and hopefully enjoying some breathing room before her duties begin in earnest.   Katrina’s study will be up on the third floor next to Janet’s office and we’ll work on getting contact information and so on in the weeks to come.

This is all exciting and very much part of the amazing willingness of Trinity to be part of the formation of the church’s emerging leadership.  Pound for pound, few other churches in the whole denomination have put in the energy or passion to training seminary students as we have over these past ten plus years (starting well before I came to Trinity).  Our many past interns are literally scattered around the country doing ministry in Christ’s name.  You have been a marvelous “training ground” for persons to grow into their gifts and to taste the power and vital importance of the church.  Of course, we are also blessed by the presence and creative energy of these seminarians.  This commitment to being part of shaping future leadership will continue through these means of providing a “residency” for a newly ordained minister, like Katrina, but also through persons still in seminary wrestling with vocational calling.

With Excitement,
Karsten, pastor@trinityreformedchurch.org

 Trinity’s Sunday School children are in the process of preparing to lead portions of worship on Good Shepherd Sunday.  Every fourth Sunday of the Easter season (this year, April 29), Psalm 23 and portions of John, chapter 10, are included in the lectionary readings.  Since the Good Shepherd allegories and Psalm 23 are so foundational to our understanding of God at work in our lives and the world, we have found much to nourish our faith as we have entered the process of studying and preparing.

Psalm 23 is based on the image of God or Jesus as the Good Shepherd and on the “care that a shepherd must provide for totally defenseless sheep in a hostile environment.”  We have discovered that sheep are amazing animals, only a little less intelligent than pigs and with phenomenal peripheral vision and keen senses of hearing and smell.  They prefer to flock together and tend to stay by their own families within the larger flock.  However, they do not have much going for them in the way of natural defenses and their great peripheral vision is not of much use when they have their heads down grazing on grass.  So, sheep really need the care of a good shepherd.

“Not only must sheep be protected from wild animals, but they must be rescued from problems they get into but cannot get out of on their own, such as getting their fur entangled in brambles or becoming separated from the safety of the flock.  When they wade into a stream to drink, especially a swiftly moving one, their fur could easily become heavily soaked with water, causing them to lose their footing, fall, and drown.  It is the shepherd’s job to keep the sheep together in safe pastures, find still, shallow water so they can drink safely, and protect the sheep from attacking animals.  A good shepherd will even risk her or his life for their sheep” (recall David rescuing his father’s sheep from the jaws of lions and bears in I Samuel 17).

Another interesting thing we have learned about sheep is that in biblical times, “shepherds often kept all the sheep of their village in one fenced yard or fold.  When it was time to separate the flocks, all the shepherds called their sheep, each using a unique call.”  The sheep’s keen sense of hearing allowed them to recognize their own shepherd’s call, and they would leave the sheepfold only with that shepherd.

Learning a musical version of Psalm 23, we are storing God’s word in our hearts.  In addition, discovering interesting tidbits about sheep and shepherds, making connections with other biblical shepherd stories, such as Moses and David, and reflecting on the ways that we are like sheep and God is like a shepherd to us have provided us with rich and interesting spiritual food.  For instance, as followers of Christ, we know that Jesus, the Ultimate Good Shepherd, has laid down his life for us.  We, like sheep, recognize our Shepherd’s voice calling us to love, forgiveness and reconciliation.  We, like sheep, take great comfort in flocking together, being known by name and cared for by God, and following our Shepherd with love and trust when we are called out of the safety of the fold to engage the wider and unpredictable world we live in.

We invite you to add your own insights to our Psalm 23 and Good Shepherd meditations, and we look forward to helping lead worship on April 29, at 10:00 AM during our Spring Children’s Liturgy.

And, surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

Source: Forbid Them Not, Year C, by Carolyn C. Brown

As a pastor I’m invited into some amazing moments in peoples’ lives.  I have the pleasure of praying with freshly born infants and sharing psalms before medical procedures and listening to people’s honest doubts involving faith and walking alongside of brothers and sisters as they approach death.  I’ve been to jails, hospice facilities, court rooms, living rooms, dining rooms and front porches.  I’ve cried, laughed, stood in awe-filled silence, and played with members of the church and persons from the wider neighborhood.  I’ve been up in the middle of the night trying to be Christ’s presence and I’ve spent sleepless nights trying to make sense of God’s plans.  It is an honor and privilege representing the larger church in aspects of life and faith.  In this, I’m very aware that I’m standing on the shoulders of many servants before me who also represented Christ to the world as ministers of word and sacrament.    Like most before me, I don’t feel worthy to do so, which is the very point—I’m not.  But God is faithful and the Spirit continues to empower all into what often seems impossible.   In all of this work, it is the basic theological truth involving the resurrection that fuels and fortifies everything else.   I’m keenly aware that this is what matters most—that Christ died, rose from the dead, and promises to return so that we, too, can join in such resurrection.  This truth binds us together in mission and ministry (in baptism we die to sin and rise anew in Christ).  This truth gives us purpose and meaning while we wrestle through life’s many curveballs and difficulties.  This truth certainly gives us hope for when the future seems bleak.  It’s not.  Christ rose from the dead.  Death is defeated.  The powers of sin and evil cannot win.  Period.

When I go to hospitals, I come with this message.  When I preach at funerals, this is what I share.  When I struggle through news stories of senseless pain and destruction, this is where my heart turns.  When I pray for deepened growth in Christ as a church, this is the hope I grasp.  When I put on the robe before worship or sip coffee with friends at Community Kitchen, this is what motivates my very being.  As Paul put it, if Christ hadn’t risen from the dead, then all of what we are about is a sham.  Yet, after just 3 days after his death, our brothers and sisters in faith have proclaimed and experienced resurrection.  Some saw him.  Some ate with him.  Some touched his wounds.  Some broiled fish with him.  Even after Christ ascended, communities were willing to leave everything behind to worship Jesus as Christ and re-understand and re-prioritize everything according to that empty tomb.  Still are.  This truth energized reformers in places like Geneva to preach the Word with conviction; to set up hospitals and schools; to build sewer systems to fight diseases; to train missionaries; and to send future ministers further into the world in order to keep sharing the good news of Christ’s resurrection (even into places like the Netherlands, and from there,  New Amsterdam, Grand Rapids, Chiapas…).

May this resurrection truth touch your life with renewed joy and meaning during these weeks to come.  May your life be freed to live freely and fully with Christ; for Christ; in Christ.  May you also enjoy being part of a community that centers its/our very life around our savior’s resurrection.

Easter 2012

As a pastor I’m invited into some amazing moments in peoples’ lives.  I have the pleasure of praying with freshly born infants and sharing psalms before medical procedures and listening to people’s honest doubts involving faith and walking alongside of brothers and sisters as they approach death.  I’ve been to jails, hospice facilities, court rooms, living rooms, dining rooms and front porches.  I’ve cried, laughed, stood in awe-filled silence, and played with members of the church.  I’ve been up in the middle of the night trying to be Christ’s presence and I’ve spent sleepless nights trying to make sense of God’s plans.  It is an honor and privilege representing the larger church in aspects of life and faith.  In this, I’m very aware that I’m standing on the shoulders of many servants before me who also represented Christ to the world as ministers of word and sacrament.    Like most before me, I don’t feel worthy to do so, which is the very point—I’m not.  But God is faithful and the Spirit continues to empower all into what often seems impossible.   In all of this work, it is the very basic theological truth of the resurrection that fuels everything else.   I’m keenly aware that this is what matters most—that Christ died, rose from the dead, and promises to return so that we, too, can join in such resurrection.  This truth binds us together in mission and ministry (in baptism we die to sin and rise anew in Christ).  This truth gives us purpose and meaning while we wrestle through life’s many curveballs and difficulties.  This truth certainly gives us hope for when the future seems bleak.  It’s not.  Christ rose from the dead.  Death is defeated.  The powers of sin and evil cannot win.  Period.

When I go to hospitals, I come with this message.  When I preach at funerals, this is what I share.  When I struggle through news stories of senseless pain and destruction, this is where my heart turns.  As Paul put it, if Christ didn’t die, then all of what we are about is a sham.  Yet, after just 3 days after his death, our brothers and sisters in faith have proclaimed and experienced resurrection.  Some saw him.  Some ate with him.  Some touched his wounds.  Some broiled fish with him.  Even after Christ ascended, communities were willing to leave everything behind to worship Jesus as Christ and re-understand and re-prioritize everything according to that empty tomb.  Still are.

May this Easter touch your life with renewed joy and meaning.  May your life be freed to live freely and fully with Christ; for Christ; in Christ.  May you also enjoy being part of a community that centers its/our very life around our savior’s resurrection.

With Gratitude,
Karsten

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

• 1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1  1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line the bottom of a standard-sized loaf pan with parchment paper – grease and flour the pan. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest and vanilla.  Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes – until toothpick placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear – set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Carefully remove the cake from the pan place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in.  Cool the cake.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over cooled cake.   –Susan Olthof

As I write this I am preparing to preach at The Community on Sunday from Jeremiah 31:31-34

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

I am thinking about covenant, as we walk closer to the cross and closer to an empty tomb.  What is our role in this new law written on our hearts?  I am reminded of some of Jesus’ first words as he re-entered the disciples lives after the resurrection.

“Peace be with you.”

We share such peace with one another every week.  That peace is part of our role in covenant keeping. We have a covenant. We are called to continue the apostles teaching, the breaking of the bread and we are called to community. We need to learn to speak the good news of Christ, to seek the image of our beloved in every soul we encounter and treat them with the dignity deserving a child of God. We are to be a reconciling force in the world that demands justice and loves mercy. Not an easy job, not a task with black and white parameters that clearly spell out each action for us. We have to work at it, pray about it, discern together how to best serve Christ in this world. And we have to help each other. That’s why when we baptize someone into this faith we do it as a community and ask the whole community to support this person in her new life and faith. It is also why we recommit ourselves each time, reminding ourselves of the promises made. It is the new life in Christ to which we are called.

Take a deep breath, feel the spirit surge into you, cleansing your sin, renewing your mind, and strengthening your heart. Hear the presence of Christ within our midst calling us to new life in the risen Lord.  May you be blessed and be a blessing this Holy Week and Easter season.

Peace be with you, Deb

Our March meeting was spent working on a list of names to put before the congregation as candidates for the offices of deacon and elder. This year we have three deacon and two elder positions to fill.

All of the nominations from the congregation were gathered together and passed around. Everyone at the meeting had the opportunities to see not just the nominations, but the reasons that were given in support of the nomination when such reasons were provided. We prayerfully and seriously looked to God’s wisdom to guide us, as we put together a list of names to call for each of the offices.

Trinity is blessed with dedicated lay leaders. I am very grateful to those who were willing and able to begin a new term as deacon or elder this Spring. I also want to sincerely thank those individuals who are completing their service as deacon or elder this spring: Deacons Andrew Stuckey, Glenn Swier, and Mark Hoffman; Elders Marilyn Kozminski and Susan Olthof. We all appreciate your service.

Grace and Peace,  David

In like a lamb… or something like that.  March will be wonderfully busy in the life of Trinity Church.  Here is some of what is on the schedule:

From March 3-9, at least seven GVSU students from the campus ministry program will live and serve in our midst for the week.  This is part of their Spring Break mission experience and Trinity will host the local option.  It is always a gift to share how God is moving in our midst with others—especially as we share the vision of reconciliation with these students.

On March 6, the Consistory will gather to discern a potential slate for new elders and deacons (please send in nominations by Sunday the 4^th).  On March 25, we will have a congregational meeting after worship to consider the slate.  In all of this, please pray for clarity and wisdom and please consider being open to using your gifts through such offices.

On March 9 and 10, a group of us will head over to Saugatuck’s Pine Trail Camp for a Faith Walk Retreat.  We will especially focus on what commitment to Christ looks like within our discipleship.  There is still time to sign up by contacting myself or Vicky Menning.

On March 11, our newest group of members will do their public professions/reaffirmations of faith.  We will also celebrate a baptism—welcome Kayla!

On March 24, we will gather for our annual Youth Auction and Spaghetti dinner.  This money helps launch our youth into vital missional experiences around the country (this summer South Dakota and Cairo, Illinois).   Thanks for your amazing generosity with this event as well as your continued support of our amazing young persons.  Contact Deb or Doug Stapley and Deb Swanson for any other questions about auction items or logistics.

Into all of this, a number of youth continue their journey with mentors in a profession of faith process (5 youth) and we continue to organize the Holy Week schedule for April 1 (Palm Sunday) through April 8 (Easter Sunday).

On a personal note, Andra started to walk and I’ve been accepted into the Doctorate of Ministry program at Western Seminary where I plan to study ecclesiology (the church).

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 large sweet onions, chopped

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into ¾ inch pieces

2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes in juice

2 (14-15.5 oz.) cans, black beans, rinsed and drained

4 teaspoons orange zest (the secret ingredient!)

Salt and pepper

Toppings: Sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, sour cream as desired

INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and cumin, then add the broth and sweet potatoes and stir well to combine.   Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the potatoes until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and beans and continue to simmer, uncovered until mixture is heated through and slightly thickened, about 15 minutes more. Stir in the orange zest and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chili with toppings as desired.