Mission Statement

The Mission of Trinity Lutheran Church is to proclaim the Good News that through Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, our sins are forgiven and we are made whole.

With a rich heritage in the heart of the Pennridge community, we proclaim, practice, and witness to our faith - We…

This we shall do with the help of God.

From the Pastor's Pen
November 2008

 Dear Friends,

  Here's a line from a devotional I was reading earlier in the week: "God loves me even more when I fail." I was taken aback by the impact this had on me.

          In our society, failure is a dirty word. To speak openly about failure is, as one sociologist puts it, "the great modern taboo. In America it's our unmentionable subject." In confidential pastoral conversation, people will divulge the most salacious details about their marital infidelities and addictions, but the last taboo is to speak about any sense of failure, whether at work or with regard to other life achievements. The shame, apparently, is just too great.

          Then we have the "rah-rah" world of sports in which teams, coaches and fans yell out, "Failure is not an option." Yet in our heart of hearts, we all know the reality of feelings of failure or inadequacy. Whether or not we have actually failed by some arbitrary measurement, is irrelevant. Since we've been taught not to whine, we bury the subject, and even the possible reality.

          Well, here's the good news: Jesus loves us even when we whine! Perhaps especially then. Let's face it: in the world's eyes, the crucified Jesus was God's divine Loser! But we proclaim the good news that his loss is our eternal gain!

          When we take the risky step of soberly embracing (rather than denying) our losses and, yes, even our failures, we are on the threshold of something altogether new in life. Our losses and failures are in truth the gateway to a new life. Isn't this the good news of the cross and the empty tomb? Trust the signs of death and resurrection that are woven into the fabric of your daily life.

  Yours in Christ,

 Pastor Berntsen

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