Monthly Archives: May 2004

Website Privacy Policy

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This privacy policy describes Holy Trinity Lutheran Church’s (“HTLC”) current policies and practices with regard to personal data collected by HTLC through this web site. This privacy policy does not apply to information collected offline or in any other way. The term “personal data” refers to personally identifiable information about you, such as your name, birth date, e-mail address or mailing address, and any other information that identifies you personally.

Your Consent. By using this web site or any HTLC Web site, you consent to our use of your personal data as described in this privacy policy.

Notification Of Changes To This Policy. HTLC is continually improving and adding new functionality and features to this web site and improving and adding to its existing services and programs. Because of these ongoing changes, changes in the law and the changing nature of technology, HTLC data practices will change from time to time. If and when our data practices change, HTLC will post the changes on this web site to notify you of the changes. We encourage you to check this page frequently.

Personal Data Collected Through This Web Site. The only personal data HTLC currently collects through this web site is the information you give us when you use our site. This includes, for example, the information you provide when you register for a chat room, newsletter or other program or service or when you send us your comments or requests for information.

HTLC uses the information you provide for the purposes for which it was originally collected, for example, to respond to your e-mail or provide the programs or services you requested. HTLC also uses this information to help us improve the content and functionality of our web sites, to better understand the needs and interests of the people and organizations that use our web site, and to improve our programs and services. HTLC may use this information to contact you in the future to tell you about organizations, programs, services, and other things we believe will be of interest to you or to ask for your support.

Anonymous Data Collected Through HTLC Web Sites. In addition to the information you provide when you use our web site, HTLC uses technology to collect anonymous information about the use of our web site. For example, we use technology to track how many visitors access our web site, the date and time of their visit, the length of their stay, and which pages they view. We also use technology to determine which web browsers our visitors use and the address from which they accessed our site.

This technology does not identify you personally. It simply enables us to compile statistics about our visitors and their use of our site. HTLC uses this anonymous data and shares it with third-parties for various reasons, for example, to improve the content and functionality of our web site, to better understand the needs and interests of our visitors, to improve our programs and services.

Cookies. In order to collect the anonymous data described in the preceding paragraph, HTLC may use temporary “cookies” that collect the first level domain name of the user (for example, if your e-mail address is “name@xyz.com,” the cookie collects the “xyz.com” portion of your e-mail address) and the date and time you accessed this Web site. Cookies by themselves cannot be used to discover the identity of the user. A cookie is a small piece of information which is sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. This enables you to decide if you want to accept it or not. At the present time, HTLC only uses temporary or “session” cookies. These “session” cookies expire when your browser window is closed.

In order for certain applications on HTLC web sites to function properly, if at all, it is necessary for your computer to accept cookies.

Children. HTLC does not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of thirteen. If you are under thirteen, please do not give us any personal data. If you have reason to believe that a child has provided personal data to HTLC, please contact us, and we will endeavor to delete that information from our databases.

Links to Other Sites. This privacy policy applies only to this web site. This site contains many hyperlinks to web sites that are not operated by HTLC. These hyperlinks are provided for your reference and convenience only and do not imply any endorsement of the activities of these third-party web sites or any association with their operators. HTLC does not control these web sites and is not responsible for their data practices. We urge you to review the privacy policy posted on any site you visit before using the site or providing any personal data about yourself.

Governing Law. This privacy policy forms part of our web-site Terms and Conditions and as such shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

Questions About Our Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this privacy policy or concerns about the way HTLC uses personal data, please contact us.

“If My People…”

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The images in the news in recent days leave many of us speechless. Words like horrifying, torture and barbaric keep coming to the forefront of our conversations with strangers and friends alike. They stand alongside words like freedom, liberty, hope and justice. The losses of the war in Iraq are becoming more frequent and graphically diverse. A Stanford linguist interviewed on the news last week suggested that Americans are having a hard time finding the words for what we are learning as our psychological and emotional loyalties may be found to be at cross purposes with our ethical and moral sensibilities.

At our most recent Council meeting, one member echoed some of this struggle by leading us in devotions, but sharing honestly that it was deeply difficult to find words to hold it all together. How do we take in the images of the world — deeply, horrifyingly broken, and integrate those images with the images of our faith and of God’s Easter presence and activity in the world? Not a small question. But then living the gospel is not a “small” commission for those who are called to bear it’s light and bring it’s power to life.

If the world were neatly divided into good people and bad people, good choices and bad choices, good situations and bad situations, we humans would have an easier time of knowing what we feel and think and want in various scenarios that flood our daily lives. The truth of life is that it is messy, clouded with partial information and semi-truths, messy and foggy and changing so quickly that on any given day it may seem beyond our ability to get clear about it all. Otherwise, good and kind and loving people make serious mistakes that give rise to a series of tragic results. Real people in every nation suffer and die, often unjustly. Sometimes we are those people; sometimes they are people we love, sometimes we look at them on the news with the distance of continents between us. In the midst of the pressures and demands on our lives we struggle to find the path that is true and right and good and to live in it.

Jesus was no stranger to this human struggle; his experience of humanity was firsthand. The choice that God made to become human was not naïve to who we humans can be, at our worst moments and in our most precious times. I believe God is grieved by our inhumanity toward one another. And I believe God holds all of life, together, even when we can’t begin to make sense of it.

In 2 Chronicles, the prophetic voice of God comes to us through the pages of human frailty and depravity, “If my people who are called by name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Times are tough. Let us not run to easy answers or easy apathies. We are to be salt, light, transforming the world around us. Digging in our God-given heals and finding ways to be God’s healers. So, since we bear the name of Christ, let us live faithfully in the midst of the struggle, let us be on our knees, praying, seeking God, and acting for justice whenever and wherever we can, and looking eagerly for those places where God will, can and is healing the nations of the world, and you and I in it.

Praying with you for our hurting world,

Pastor Janet

Googling for Jesus

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When I took on the task of updating the HTLC web site, I first started by “Googling for Jesus.” In other words, I used the Google internet search engine to find web sites that have information about Jesus to give a clearer picture of what our web site should look like.

My research indicated that if you Googled for “Jesus,” “Lutheran,” “Lutheran Churches,” or even “Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,” Google could not find our web site. To the search engine, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church simply did not exist on the internet.

Since one of the core requirements is to share the good news that Jesus is our Lord and Savior — in addition to providing general church information — it is quite impossible to broadcast the good news without a basic listing in a well-known search engine like Google.

Although the web site has been operational for many years, search engines did not categorized our site as a Lutheran Church or anything remotely related to Jesus. The original web site version had a beautiful photograph of the Altar in the Sanctuary with the stained-glass windows in the background. This picture was easily worth one thousand words, but a search engine, which only understands textual content, could not interpret the beauty and the message in the picture.

After we started adding content to the site, search engines started categorizing our site as a Lutheran Church. Visitors were finally able to locate Holy Trinity on the internet. With the new web site version launched last May, every Ministry has a dedicated page that can be used as a vehicle to provide important ministry information that is so valuable to the church and to web site visitors.

I encourage you to visit and contribute to our web site. Everyone has a story to share. The web site now has a news feed capability that you can easily share your personal witness with the entire world in a matter of seconds. With everybody’s contribution, the next time someone “Googles for Jesus,” they will find the answer at Holy Trinity.

Worship Times

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Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Sanctuary

First Worship Service

The first worship service is Traditional and starts at 8:30 AM with Holy Communion on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. The Senior Choir sings on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month during this service.

Education Hour

The education hour starts at 9:45 AM and continues until 10:45.

Second Worship Service

The second worship service is Contemporary and starts at 9:45 AM with Holy Communion on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month.

Third Worship Service

The third worship service is Traditional and starts at 11:00 AM with Holy Communion on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. The Senior Choir sings on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month during this service.

Handbell Choir

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Holy Trinity Lutheran HandbellsHoly Trinity Handbell Choir, directed by Beverly Mersing, is in 10th season. This fun-loving, hard-working and caring group rehearses on Monday evenings from 7-8:15, in the Music Room and rings 4 octaves of Malmark handbells. The choir rings approximately once a month at church worship services. Musical selections are chosen according to the church year seasons and special celebrations, keeping in mind the ability of the individual members of the group. More experience ringers are challenged with ensemble, duet and solo work if they so choose.

The group consists of eleven to thirteen ringers and welcomes anyone who is interested in music and handbells to join in searching the church community with this beautiful instrument. A familiarity with reading music is helpful but not required. The director is available on Sunday mornings or other mutually agreeable times to offer assistance outside of regular rehearsal times for those who desire it.

The minimum age requirement is seventh grade or 12-years-old. However, a youth demonstrating a mature attitude, and a genuine desire and commitment, will be considered. There is no age limit except for physical and mental capabilities.

The best time to join Handbells is in September but anyone wishing to join at other times will be considered. A sincere commitment to attend rehearsals and performances is essential for success. The group is dependent upon the individual and the individual is very much dependent upon the group.

Music is such an important part of the Lutheran tradition and Handbell Choir takes its roll seriously in the uplifting of God’s Spirit during worship. The Choir is a Christian family that rings together, laughs together and is very happy to welcome anyone who wishes to join in celebration with music!

The Easter Season Continues

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The Easter season will continue to be a part of our worship together through the rest of this month. The Resurrection is the hope-filled message to our world that we must proclaim, and do with boldness. As the Easter season ends we find ourselves in the season of the church. The birth of the church with Pentecost, points us towards our mission as the “body of Christ Jesus” in the world.

Recently, I believe the Holy Spirit, which our God sent to guide us after Jesus ascended, has been speaking volumes. The proposal recent made to improve our Youth Ministry and our Christian Education Ministry have come in ways that lead me to think that God is working marvelously in our midst. Couple that with a year’s work on developing a third worship opportunity and one can visibly see our Lord at work here. Holy Trinity is an exciting place to be. I know change isn’t always an easy thing to deal with, but it is something that God does with us from time to time to make His work even stronger. Pray about that won’t you, that we will be doing the will of our Lord in this place, touching many in His name.

See you in church,

Pastor Frank

Honey Tree Early Childhood Center

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Honey Tree Early Childhood Center is accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC is the nation’s largest organization of early childhood educators. Accredited schools have complied with the Academy’s criteria for high quality early childhood programs through a comprehensive process of internal self-study and external professional review.

Please visit www.myhoneytree.com for additional information.

Visiting Holy Trinity

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WORSHIP. Sunday worship is shared at 8:30 AM, 9:45 AM and 11:00 AM each week. Additional special times of worship announced throughout the year.

EDUCATION. Growing in faith is for all ages! 9:45-10:45 AM is the education hour for youth aged 2 through 102.

  • Adult Education Classes meet in the Library, Fireside Room, and Fellowship Hall. Ask an usher for assistance to any location.

  • Youth Sunday Church School classes are grouped by age. A list of classroom assignments are posted on the patio near the preschool building.

    • NURSERY CARE. Superlative, loving care is provided from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM for children, birth through 3 years. Four year olds and above are encouraged to be in worship and share in special dines set aside just for them!

    ASSISTANCE

  • Audio: Earphones for hearing assistance are available from any usher. Please, simply let them know of your interest in using one of these devices.

  • Visual: Large Print Hymnals are available in the Narthex for any who would prefer to use them.

    • RESTROOMS are located in the Narthex lounge (“cry room”), as well as immediately to the right as you walk outside the sanctuary and in the breeze way across from the Fireside Room. The outside restrooms are accessible to all, with features to assist the elderly and handicapped among us. An infant changing station is located in the nursery.

    USHERS are here to assist you in your worship experience in any way they can. If you need something, please ask!

    Proudly Bear the Name of the Lord

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    We try to worship with my Mother as much as possible at her church, Faith Lutheran, in Carpinteria CA. This month we attended Faith Lutheran’s 45th anniversary worship service and celebration. Like Faith Lutheran, we will celebrate Holy Trinity’s 45th anniversary next spring.

    Over the past forty-five years, the ministry of Holy Trinity has seen wonderful works of “joy complete[d] by being like-minded having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” – Philippians 2:2.

    The same spirit – The Holy Sprit – brought my wife Ann and I to Holy Trinity nearly three years ago when we attended the Christmas Eve worship service. Perhaps it was the sign out front advertising the worship service that attracted our attention, but I really believe the Holy Spirit called us here.

    Today, a similar sign advertises our new Contemporary Worship Service for those driving by Mt. Clef and Los Arboles. I pray that they may be fortunate to see the wonderful works of Holy Trinity’s ministry.

    But sometimes, a sign is not enough and it requires us to “thank the Lord and sing his praise; tell everyone what he has done.” As Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:1, have “encouragement from being united in Christ.” Have courage to tell your friends, your neighbors, and co-workers what Christ has done for you. “Proudly bear his name,” and they will celebrate with you.