VOLUME 25 ISSUE 5

June

Newsletter

2020

The June newsletter is in honor of

the birthdays of our daughter

Robin Fatzinger and granddaughter

MacKenzie Fatzinger by

“Serving and Ministering to the Community Since 1873”

Rev. Brian Riedy, Pastor

Ph# 610-844-8924

Email: htmlcatasauquapbr@gmail.com

“Trinity Tidings” is a monthly publication printed on the

premises of Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church

Robin McCloud, Office Secretary,

Email: robin.holytrinity@verizon.net

HOLY TRINITY MEMORIAL

LUTHERAN CHURCH

604 Fourth Street

Catasauqua, Pa 18032

Phone:610-264-2641

Fax:610-264-2661

Website: www.holytrinitymemoriallutheran.com

Email: htmlcatasauqua@gmail.com

IF HOSPITALIZED,

BE SURE TO SIGN A

RELEASE CARD AND

USE OUR

HOSPITAL CODE

#244.

DEADLINE for July/August newsletter

is June 17th

Core purpose statement:

“Gratefully sharing God’s love through faith and service”

WE ARE CALLED

My dearest sisters and brothers in Christ,

Have you had an opportunity to drive past Holy Trinity heading east of Pine Street lately? If so, then you have

seen the portable sidewalk sign which directs a passerby to the Book of Romans 13:8-10. The message found

there helps to answer the question of why we do what we do. Take a moment and discover for yourself what

those verses tell us.

When I read the words found in Romans, I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns, “We Are Called.” Do

you remember last month’s newsletter article? In it, we learned that a local healthcare worker called us

“agents of hope”. Well, since that article, we have been gifted, or called, several other identities. First, I’ll

share some words from the song. Then, I’ll share those identities:

Come! Live in the light! Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord! We are called to be light for the

kingdom, to live in the freedom of the city of God. We are called to act with justice, we are called to

love tenderly, we are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

Come! Open your heart! Show your mercy to all those in fear! We are called to be hope for the

hopeless so hatred and blindness can be no more. We are called to act with justice, we are called to

love tenderly, we are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

Sing! Sing a new song! Sing of that great day when all will be one! God will reign, and we’ll walk

with each other as sisters and brothers united in love. We are called to act with justice, we are called to

love tenderly, we are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

Text and music by David Haas,b. 1957. Copyright 1988 GIA Publications Inc.

So, have we been living our calling, are we living in the light? Now it’s time to share with you the identities

we have been called since April first.

A colleague shared on social media that we are beholders of God as he said, “I can say with certainty

God is in this place.” A retired pastor confirmed this statement with, “A real presence.”

An office holder in the greater church told me in a phone conversation that we are agent of change as

she said, “I am getting goosebumps just hearing about the ministries coming out of your church at this

moment of time.”

Another colleague called us believers as he said, “Your church is fully trusting that God will provide

all that is needed.”

A local businessperson who was once marked as an atheist by others called us messengers as he shared

with me, “What you (our church) are doing there on Pine Street has allowed me to believe once again

that there is a God.”

A friend of our church called us examples as he shared with me, “Your church has inspired me, ME OF ALL

PEOPLE!, to do good for others. Life truly works on: you give abundantly to others and abundance pours

back on you.” cont’d on page 7…...

Church Council Members

Barb Fister: 610-266-1160 (President) Cheryl Kneiss: 610-262-0467 (Vice President)

Diane Czar: 610-739-6006 (Secretary) RuthAnn Reinsmith: 610-264-4346

Carol Cunningham: 610-264-2045 Joe Schwindenhammer: 610-573-1957

Robert Bastian: 610-266-4287 Robin Ruch: 610-849-6585

Carole Nacci: 610-264-8785 Rick Martson: 484-661-5183

Bob Schweitzer: 610-393-4736 Stephanie Chimics: 484-553-2992

At the end of April, Holy Trinity had a budget surplus of $7,835.90. The

budget surplus at the end of last April (2019) was $4,516.73 ...$3,319.17 less.

Regular budgeted income of $69,095 received thus far in 2020 was

$6,846 more than what was received for the same period in 2019. As a matter

of fact, for the 4-month period ending 4/30/20, the church generated a net

income of $7,611.

Despite the on-going Covid-19 Pandemic, funds have continued to flow

regularly into the church office. Thank you for not forgetting about Holy

Trinity’s financial needs at this very strange time.

During April, the on-line donation option on the Church’s website

produced 11 donations totaling $2,900. Budgeted income donations totaled

$1,200. The remaining total of $1,700 was donated to support the Church's

Community Help Feeding Program.

Hopefully these positive financial trends will continue since April and

the Easter season have now passed.

John Marakovits

Treasurer

About the 3rd week of June, you should be

receiving your offering envelopes for July &

August. If you do not receive them, please

contact Robin in the church office.

What is the “Simply Giving” Program?

The Simply Giving Program offers a variety of

secure electronic payment solutions that allow

individuals to make regular offering payments

to churches. It is convenient for you and

provides much-needed consistency for the

church. Collection basket offerings can

fluctuate significantly from week to week but

when contributions are automated, the church

receives funds on a steady, uninterrupted

basis.

The Simply Giving Program helps churches

transition to an era in which families

increasingly expect the same electronic

payment options they have in all other areas

of personal finance.

At any time, you can give donations to the

“Pastor’s Discretionary Fund”. This fund is used

to give temporary financial assistance to people

of our congregation and community when a

sudden need arises. You may send

contributions to the church or place them in the

offering plate on Sunday mornings. Please

mark your checks or envelopes “Pastor’s

Discretionary Fund”.

HOLY TRINITY NEWS

Happy Birthday!!!!

6/01 Maria Gillette

6/01 Jack Wetzel

6/05 Janis Charvala

6/05 Melissa Knecht

6/07 Traci Reitz

6/07 Stacey Strickland

6/07 Kathy Horvath

6/08 Vicki Chimics

6/08 June Hahn

6/09 Brooklyn Williams

6/11 Linda Wiland

6/12 Juliette Santoroski

6/13 Lewis Heller

6/25 Harper Santoroski

6/26 Sandra Lower

6/30 Jacqueline Younger

Did you know?

Blood transfusions save more than 4 million

Americans each year?

Holy Trinity is a member of the Blood Bank

Program. If you give blood, you may

designate it as Holy Trinity. Also, if you ever

need blood, tell them you’re a church

member.

Ocean Grove bus trip for July 12th

has been cancelled.

Altar Flowers

TO THE GLORY OF GOD:

June 7th In loving memory of John

Medence, Jr. by his

wife Rita.

June 14th In honor of our daughter

Robin to celebrate her

birthday by Frank and

Carole Nacci.

June 21st In loving memory of

Joseph Baragone by

Sandy and Erich Svitana.

June 28th In honor of our grand

daughter Mackenzie to

celebrate her birthday by

Pop Pop and

Mam Maw Nacci.

Bulletins

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND:

OPEN all month…..

“Trinity Tidings”

All dedications are taken for 2020

Thank you.

Please Note: The council has decided that

the standing dedications for flowers will

still stand but on the “open” Sunday’s we

are asking people to sponsor bulletins ,

Pastor Discretionary Fund, Etc…. to off set

that cost. Your dedication will be in the

bulletin. If you have any questions, please

call the church office.

Our sympathy goes out to the entire Coffin

family on the passing of Terry Coffin, Sr. on

April, 23rd. And to the Corcoran family on

the passing of Margaret on May 4th.

2020 Monthly Fellowship and Refreshments

Future 2nd Sunday of the month

Fellowship and Refreshments

June 14th Diane and Youth

(CANCELLED)

July 12th Joe and Diane (TBD)

Aug 9th Open (TBD)

Updates: ~ 30 Hour Famine will be rescheduled. PARENTS: If your youth is interested in doing the Famine, please let me know about their sports, family vacations, and other commitments as soon as you get that info once we get back to "normal". I have been choosing Easter weekend for the Famine for several years because it is one of the few times with minimal sports and other schedule conflicts. We'll reschedule the Famine once the dust settles. Maybe during Thanksgiving or Christmas break? ~ Postponed: Saturday, May 17 Junior Victorian Tea. New date to be determined. Parents, let me know if you'd like to be involved by helping before or during the Tea by donating/assembling baskets for the raffle, baking, soliciting gift cards from local businesses, room set-up and clean-up, inviting young guests that you know, etc. This youth-hosted fundraiser is the source of funds for our monthly sponsorship commitment for our World Vision sister, Linathi, in South Africa. ~ It's not looking good for Sunday, June 14, is it? Watch for updates about the traditional youth-hosted after-worship refreshments - baseball style!!! I'll be contacting parents and youth to confirm the date, and your availability to participate and to contribute supplies for this annual youth event. ~ Saturday, August 15 - Hopefully this can go on as scheduled. The youth will host the Taco & Baked Potato Bar, 4-7pm. Set-up date and time TBD. Youth will decide on who benefits from the proceeds. Stay safe, everyone...and don't lose hope! Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

- Romans 13:8

We were delighted to receive May orders from all of our regular monthly SCRIP card users -

big thank you to them! Your continued support helps us prepare for scholarships for our

2021 graduating seniors.

The calendar doesn't know about self-isolating. Birthdays, Father's Day, and

graduations that prompt gift-giving roll on. Even if you can't get together for some of

those special occasions, a gift card received in the mail might brighten the day of that

special relative or friend. And now we're looking ahead with hope to businesses slowly

reopening, and to feeling safer about doing take-out food.

In addition, we still need groceries and gas. Did you know that Giant SCRIP cards can be used

to pay for their home-delivered groceries? And if you've caught the home improvement bug,

we have some Home Depot and Lowes in stock, and new to SCRIP: Wayfair!!! The next regular

order deadline is Sunday, June 14th - in time for Father's Day!

We welcome texts, calls, or emails to Diane (610-739-6006, czarmom45@aol.com) for card

requests. IOUs are welcome! We can mail or safely deliver the cards to your home. We have

these cards available for immediate purchase, and we have cards we can reload, such as

CVS, Burger King, and Speedway:

Amazon Applebee's Bed Bath & Beyond Boston Market Buca Cracker

Barrel Dunkin GameStop Giant

Home Depot Kohl's Longhorn Steakhouse ($10 each) Lowe's Michael's Olive

Garden ($10 each) Panera

Red Robin Ross Ruby Tuesday Sam's Club Speedway Starbucks ($5 and

$10) Subway

Taco Bell ($5 and $10) Target TGIFridays TJ Maxx Walmart Wawa Wendy's

Holy Trinity's SCRIP card fundraiser in a nutshell:

~The second Sunday of each month is the deadline for our regular monthly order.

~With no regular church services, cards are delivered to you at home, or we contact you to

make arrangements for you to pick them up during church office hours. We receive them 4

days after the order deadline.

~All of our profits are rolled into an inventory of the most popular cards, available for

immediate purchase. The exception to this is when there is a Christian Education-related

expense to pay, or a Paul Frantz scholarship to be awarded.

~Order forms are available from Diane. Contact Joe (610-573-1957) or Diane (610-739-6006)

for more information or to browse the cards in stock. IOUs are welcome!

Pastor’s message cont’d…... Lastly, a person who we help at the present called us different as she said during a food distribution, “Please

don’t ever let this world convince you to conform to its rules. Holy Trinity plays by something greater. We

(the people in line) can see that you bring a new life into our hearts. We know that others care. A mere

‘Thank you!’ doesn’t do justice.”

In closing, I say to all of us, keep being who we are. Keep living the life which can be examples for others.

Keep holding the trust of Christ for that is what is pouring from our hearts to Catasauqua and beyond. Keep

living the Two Great Commandments. May the grace of God keep us firmly in the kingdom of God as we

walk in this kingdom of the world.

Your brother in Christ,

Pr. Brian

NEIGHBOR SUPPORTING NEIGHBOR

The virus isn't the only thing that's contagious. There's a "pandemic" of joy spreading through Catasauqua...and this article should more appropriately be entitled "Neighbors Supporting Neighbors" (plural on both). If you're on Facebook, you've probably been experiencing this joy. If you read the weekly announcements that Robin emails to us, you've had a taste of it. If you've been volunteering at Holy Trinity, you've been creating as well as feeling the joy first hand. If you're stuck at home, wishing you could be more hands-on in serving, please know that this joy is for you, too, even if Holy Trinity's monthly newsletter is your only way to hear about the great things that are happening in our church community. So again, thank you Pastor Brian and all those in the background, running to the store for supplies, preparing and distributing meals, writing thank you notes to heroes on the front line (soon to include LANTA bus drivers). Note: if you'd like to write thank you notes to the 150 LANTA drivers, call or text Diane Czar (610-739-6006). Thank you to Michelle Kasunic for raising our awareness of these heroes. If you'd like to help with this latest note-writing project but don't know what to say, here are some ideas to get your pen moving:

“You got this.”

“Good luck today! I know you’ll do great.”

“Sending major good vibes your way.”

“I know this isn't easy, but I also know you’ve got what it takes to get through it.”

“Hope you’re doing awesome!”

“Just wanted to send you a smile today!"

“Keep on keeping on!” “Sending you good thoughts—and hoping you believe in yourself just as much as I believe in you.” But back to the plural "Neighbors". Some of what's happening in Catty isn't directly related to Holy Trinity. Becky at Blondie's on Front Street has started "Sunshine Bags", filled with treats and homemade note cards for area kids, to keep their spirits up during their isolation from school, friends, sports, playgrounds...What started a few weeks ago as a10-bag offering in Catty has exploded into hundreds of bags going out to Bethlehem, Northampton, Emmaus, Egypt, Fullerton, and Coplay, with many volunteers in the community making cards and buying treats and delivering the bags. Cards and dollar-store-style items for kids can be dropped off at Blondie's during their store hours. [I can provide you with construction paper, stickers, and markers to get you started on kid-friendly cards.] Blondie's has also started hosting meal giveaways. Catty police officers have been helping with deliveries of Sunshine Bags in town, and have also been wowing us with chalk messages and "Flat Pat" chalk outlines around the borough - including some on Holy Trinity's driveway! Looking back through the weekly announcements beginning Palm Sunday (April 5, when Holy Trinity's meal giveaways had just started) through May 17th, HT has received $14,235 for the community meals and an additional $140 to kick off the summer lunch program. Lots of that has no doubt come from all of you generous HT family members...but substantial sums have also poured in from people in or connected to Catasauqua itself. Neighbors...plural. Is this the work of the Holy Spirit, or is it simply the rise of the human spirit as we pull together during our quarantined separateness? I think it's one and the same. It's God's intention for us, created in God's image which is love, and living God's command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Is this the ripple effect resulting from Pastor Brian's presence at Holy Trinity? Again, yes. Although Holy Trinity has long been active in giving out, we were never focused on our Catasauqua neighbors. God used Pastor Brian's first 2 years with us to raise our awareness of our community's needs, and to establish relationships with community businesses and leaders, so that when this crisis hit, the foundation was already prepared for the needed services to Catasauqua. Kind of reminds me of the way God did things in the past, like Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery in Egypt, where he became the resource for food years later when famine

famine struck the region. Very cool. Here are Holy Trinity outreaches for Catasauqua since mid-April: ~ April 22 - meal giveaway to over 200 families. Local businesses supporting the program expanded to include Pies On Pizza and Bistro, Blondies, Blockers Coffee House, Sazon Dominicans, Catty Corner, Tony's Top Cat, Fossil's, Catty Pizza, La Herencia El Camacho, D 'n D Market, M&B Market, and Pantry One Food Mart, as well as the Catasauqua Food Bank. [Please keep these small, local businesses in mind as you venture out.] ~ May 1 - meal giveaway ~ May 3 - Bells across PA - 14 members and friends of Holy Trinity rang handbells to celebrate and thank essential workers, while others gathered to observe the celebration, which could be heard blocks away! ~ May 7 - meal giveaway...and a visit from Catasauqua police officers Potak and Best, raising up Pastor Brian and the summer lunch program, and reading a children's book, "Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?". Officers Potak and Best are responsible for the #chalkyourwalk and "Flat Pat" movement in Catty. ~ May 13 - meal giveaway ~ May 21 - meal giveaway ~ With the postponement of the June yard sale [to be run by the Catasauqua library at Holy Trinity], the usual donation of flowering plants was in need of another outlet. Facebook to the rescue! Posts showing the availability of lily of the valley, pink and purple columbine, rose campion, bleeding heart, lilac, and forsythia starter plants has netted $240 in donations for the library. Many of the plants are still available...any further donations will be directed to Holy Trinity's Community Help fund. Call or text me for plants - they're free, donations are optional! [Diane 610-739-6006] The financial means to carry out these outreach activities has come from within our church family, and from businesses and individuals in the community who have heard of the "good things Holy Trinity is doing in Catasauqua". Thank you for continuing to mail or drop off your offering and additional support to the church (604 4th Street, Catasauqua 18032). Our congregation continues to support our neighbors during the quarantine. Even though you might not be physically able to participate in these activities, your continued financial support plays a huge part in keeping our staff paid, our lights on when needed, our ovens and refrigerators running, and our shelves stocked with food that we can share with our community as they struggle with school closings and unemployment. Not everyone can or needs to be at the church building to help with these giveaways. We are blessed by the people who participate. But you can also be of service in other ways, in addition to your financial participation. There is great value in your prayers for Pastor Brian, our other volunteers, our community businesses and residents; your thank-you notes (such as those for the LANTA drivers); your phone calls and cards to friends and church family members, and other unsung gestures of caring.

"The church is not empty. The church has been deployed."

MORNING GLORIES: Our June 15 meeting has been

canceled but our July 20 meeting is still scheduled. We’ll be meeting in the church sanctuary to allow for social distancing.

There will be a few other minor changes to our normal meeting, also. Watch for more news in the July/August Trinity Tidings.

Murder Mystery Update: The Morning Glories’

September 19, 2020 Murder Mystery Dinner Theater

“Death and Doo Wop” will be rescheduled for

September 18, 2021.

June 2nd Holy Trinity will be used as a polling place.

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Holy Trinity, In some ways it seems that time has flown by over the past two plus months. Yet, it also seems like it’s been way too long since I have seen your faces, talked with you, shook your hands and gave you hugs. Through this long haul of quarantine, I think the latter is what strikes me hardest. I miss all of you! You are all truly family. As we move forward, Pr. Brian, myself and Church Council will be discussing when to open our doors for Worship and how we will do it to keep everyone safe. Many of you have expressed a strong desire to return to worship. However, some are still anxious and concerned about the potential of virus spread if we gather again. The decision to open will not be made lightly. There will be a lot of discussion and research to determine the best time and way to proceed. Even when we do open, there will likely be stringent restrictions on how many people can gather, and how we can all safely participate. Please be patient with us as we try to navigate through this discussion. I ask for your prayers as we seek guidance and develop plans (and those plans may change frequently as we find some things do no work as anticipated). I hope you all remain safe and well. May the peace of Christ be with you, In Christ’s love, Barb Fister