Welcome to all of you who are visiting the Holy Trinity website. I am happy to introduce you to a very special community of believers. About 8 years ago, I moved to Thousand Oaks from North Carolina. I started to look for a church and I wasn’t wedded to any particular denomination. After visiting several other churches, Holy Trinity was where I settled.
The factors that brought me back to Holy Trinity after my first visit were pretty simple – the warm welcome I received and the wonderful music; the Spirit of God was clearly alive and well in this place! And then some of the factors that kept me coming back were the strong commitment of this congregation to caring for the world – reaching out to people in the neighborhood and around the world; the thought-provoking sermons, that both speak to my daily life in relevant ways and stretch my faith; and being part of a community that strives to journey with God and each other in significant and authentic ways.
Holy Trinity is a vibrant and diverse community. Like many members, I was not raised Lutheran, though a Lutheran congregation shared our church building in the small town where I grew up in rural PA. Still, I have found, in this community of believers, a home where I can continue on my winding spiritual journey. It has made a transformative difference in my life and in the joy I’ve found as a person of faith.
Our mission statement is: “Serving Christ in our Neighbor”. Since I was very young, the parable of the Good Samaritan has been one of my favorites. In part because the person you would least expect to help the injured man takes care of him beyond all expectation. But also, because Jesus told this story in response to the question from a religious leader – “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus’ answer in this parable challenges and stretches our understanding of who our neighbor is. And so we at Holy Trinity continue to ask ourselves – who are these neighbors to whom we can minister?
Just a few examples… Our preschool, Honey Tree, serves families and toddlers with grace-filled early childhood education. Holy Trinity makes participation in the annual CROP walk a high priority every year – with all ages participating and raising money to help end world hunger – one step at a time. We also support Manna (the Conejo Valley food bank) year round and we partner with Lutheran Social Services – providing meals and shelter for the hungry and homeless every Monday. We have a “sister” congregation in El Salvador and we support their ministry with our visits, monetary resources, and prayer. Our sale of fair-trade coffee and chocolate is currently supporting a student in Tanzania to graduate from nursing school. Some of our members volunteer regularly as tutors for local elementary school students and their families who can benefit from an extra hour or two of help with homework and language studies. We provide a space for many different 12-Step programs, ESL (English as Second Language) classes, and Troop 761 of the Boy Scouts. And several times a year, we gather around the peace pole in the center of our campus to pray and advocate for peace locally and internationally.
Holy Trinity Supports Poor Farmers with Fair Trade Products
The heart of our community is worship and praise. An important component for me is the music from our choir, praise band, rock’n kid’s singing group – “The Aisle Cruisers”, and many very talented musicians. And we take community seriously. Our “Caring Friends” group keeps a watchful eye on those who are home-bound, sick or in need of assistance in one way or another. A team of Eucharistic ministers take Communion to those who are not able to get to Sunday worship services. And our prayer ministry includes a prayer chain, a ministry of prayer through this web site, as well as church services which include a time for prayer for healing and wholeness for all who are in need.
As an added bonus, we have great neighbors! We are on the corner of Avenida de los Arboles and Mountclef Avenue in Thousand Oaks, right next door to California Lutheran University (CLU). We are blessed to have CLU as our partner in mission and ministry. This relationship with a university helps to satisfy my need, as a research scientist, to be continually learning.
Needless to say, in all these opportunities we come together and find God in our midst, no matter who we are and what we bring to our life together. The Spirit of God is always working in wonderful and powerful ways in our midst; sometimes when we least expect it!
So, I hope that you will visit Holy Trinity on Sunday and that you will keep coming back, until you too have found a place to call your spiritual home, a place to grow in faith and a community with whom to serve God – with joy.
All are welcome. I hope to see you in church!
Mary Anthony, Council President, Child of God
