The Sunday School season is nearly at an end and the children are working on their “last day” presentations coming up soon.  Classes will be held as usual during the 9:45 service.  (Kids are welcome to join at any time.  Children are led from church to their classes by the teachers, after the Children’s Sermon portion of the worship service).

Youth Middle and High School classes will be held as usual today.

The Spiritual Growth Adult Forum will be held at 9:45 and 11:00AM in the Fireside Room (inside the large building that is on the other side of the Church Office).  All adults are invited to attend and you don’t need to have attended the first two sessions of this series: “Uppity Women of the Bible: God’s Message in the Book of Ruth”.  Pastor Janet leads this class.

All members don’t forget to attend our Annual Congregational Meeting following the 11:00 service and beginning at 12:15PM.  Your votes are needed to approve new council members, congregational goals, and more.

As this is Mother’s Day, there is no Sunday School so that all the Sunday School teacher mothers can be with their kids during worship.  Class will be held as usual on the following Sunday, May 20th.  Most classes will be preparing for their “Last Day of Sunday School” presentation to the congregation, coming soon!

There is no Youth Sunday School (middle and high school) also, today.  Classes will be held as usual for all ages next week.

At our Spiritual Growth Adult Forum (9:45 and 11:00AM in the Fireside Room) we continue with the 3rd presentation of “Uppity Women of the Bible: God’s Message in the Book of Ruth”.  This fun class is for everyone and it’s not necessary to have attended the first two in the series.  The 11:00 class includes child activities for families with kids.

Many moms will be wearing corsages made of mosquito netting, in honor of both Mother’s Day and ELCA’s Malaria Campaign.  Let’s help the ELCA contain malaria by 2015.

Jerry will be recognized at a very special awards event on May 31st at the beautiful Baxter Healthcare Corporation hall. The Conejo Valley Unified School District and Las Virgenes District will each have a teacher honored as Teacher of the Year, and additional honorees include law enforcement agencies, fire protection agencies and armed forces personnel.  Tickets may be purchased online.

Jerry, who retired as President of CLU in 1992, has been a great blessing to the entire community and serves as an inspiration to many.  Thanks, Jerry, for all you do and congratulations for your well deserved recognition.

Jerry Miller on the HTLC patio with Council VP John Wise

The log-in can be found at this “Assess Me” link.

Please give it a try and you may learn something new about yourself.  Please contact Pastor Janet if you have any questions.

Healing Services are reflective in nature, and they offer an opportunity to gather for personal prayer, as well as to pray for the healing of others and our world.  Small tables are set up with candles which can be lit in honor of someone being prayed for.  There is also an opportunity for the laying on of hands, prayer and anointing – for those who desire it.

It’s most likely my age and continual use of a Day Planner – and now Evernote — to keep track of my wanderings the past 30 years, that I’ve lost the capability of the oral tradition that early Christians evidently used to spread the word.

But today in our world, the traditional is alive and well, more or less, in the form of digital recordings.  Now instead of trying to remember the important message delivered by our pastors, I simply bring up iTunes and listen to it again.

Now this doesn’t give you an excuse to miss the sermon or snooze during that time, but if you happen to be out of town that day, you can still hear the word with our sermon podcast when you get back home or while still traveling.

Click here to subscribe to the Holy Trinity Lutheran iTunes Podcast.

The program at Holy Trinity relies on volunteers for hosting the meal each Monday night and then on the 3rd Monday of the month our church brings the meal and serves it.  Our guest count is usually between 35-45 each night for dinner.

The Schedule for the meals program is:

Monday – Holy Trinity
Tuesday – Calvary Community Church 5495 Via Rocas, Westlake Village
Wednesday – Westminister Presbyterian Church 32111 Watergate Rd. Westlake Village
Thursday- Emmanuel Presbyterian Church 588 Camino Manzanas Thousand Oaks
Friday – Thousand Oaks United Methodist Church 1000 E. Janss Rd. Thousand Oaks
Saturday – St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church 2475 Borchard Rd. Newbury Park
Sunday – St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church 1 Church Rd. Thousand Oaks

There is no Sunday School on the first Sunday of the month, as we celebrate Family Worship Day where all can be together during the middle service when Sunday School is usually held.

Our Spiritual Growth Adult Forum takes place in the Fireside Room ( it’s the 2nd biggest building on campus other than the Sanctuary).  The topic this week is “Uppity Women of the Bible: God’s Message in the Book of Ruth”.  This is the 2nd in a 4-week series, which can be joined anytime…and it’s being taught by Pastor Janet Hansted.

Special things happening this weekend include our Youth program’s continuing fundraising for their trip to New Orleans, as well as Mother’s Day corsages available (made from mosquito netting) to raise money to help the ELCA fight malaria in Africa.

We are a Christian meditation group, affiliated with the World Community of Christian Meditation (WCCM) started by John Main.

We meet every Thursday at 4:30PM, beginning with 30 minutes of readings and a discussion, then 30 minutes of silence.

“Silence releases the power of God in our heart.” – John Main

All are welcome, whether you are new to meditation, or not so new.

Our Children’s Ministry is led by Co-Directors Tracy and John-Paul Abraham who work closely with Pastor Janet Hansted Meadors as well as our Youth Minister Shannon Savage-Howie to oversee the following programs:

Village Sunday School Our Sunday School takes it’s name from the African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child”.  We strive to involve the whole congregation, not just parents, in teaching our children about God’s love.  From September ‘til June, we meet in the Sanctuary at 9:45AM on Sunday mornings for our opening and then proceed to our classrooms.  Our goal there is to support our children’s faith journeys through age-appropriate Bible stories and activities in a safe, nurturing environment.

The Aisle Cruisers Children from 2^nd through 6^th grade meet weekly from September until June in a children’s choir with a twist!  Under the direction of Steven Johnson-Egertson, they write and perform their own songs based on themes including The Ten Commandments, peace, and Christmas.

Nursery Loving nursery care is available during all services for children from newborn to 36 months old.  Books, music, and art are just some of the activities available to our youngest friends.  Pagers are available to help you keep in touch, if desired.  There are diaper changing tables available in the nursery (located across the courtyard from the sanctuary) and in the “cry room” off of the Narthex. (The Narthex is the main entry area inside the doors of the church.)

Vacation Bible School Though our Village Sunday School is on hiatus during the summer months, there are still other activities going on.  Vacation Bible School is a fun-filled week of crafts, stories, games, and snacks focused on a different Bible-based theme every year.  Sign-ups begin each spring.  See our news section on the home page or call the church office for information.

Milestones Ministry Milestones Ministry recognizes and celebrates the many different faith milestones our children experience.  We celebrate nine milestones throughout the year including baptism, service, and prayer.  It is a very special experience for the children.

John-Paul Abraham leads the children in prayer before classes.

“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