ELCA Sanctuary denomination

And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’  Matthew 25:40

On August 7 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its Churchwide Assembly, voted to become a sanctuary body. 

The ELCA has a long history of advocating for immigrants and working to welcome and resettle refugees. In fact, several congregations in our synod sponsored refugees in the years after World War II and again after the Vietnam War. In line with our historic understanding and action responding to the needs of immigrants and those seeking asylum within our nation’s borders, the ELCA has declared itself to be a sanctuary body.

This is a declaration of our continued commitment to “welcome the stranger.”  As a sanctuary church, the ELCA is committed to serving and supporting migrant children and families in communities across the country (https://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/8000).

How each congregation lives into this commitment will vary. Some members will volunteer or donate to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), others may wish to host our synod’s AMMPARO team to learn more about immigration (more information can be found at http://semnsynod.org/ammparo/), still others may find ways to support immigrant families in their own communities.

As a denomination, we are still living into what this designation means. Part of the action the Churchwide Assembly took was to direct the ELCA Church Council to provide guidance and resources related to the question what does it mean to be a sanctuary body?.

To be clear, this action does not require congregations or individual members to engage in any particular activity and nothing in this action binds synods or congregations.

It is our hope that as individuals and congregations you will thoughtfully engage in prayer, discernment and conversation in light of this declaration. As you do so, a centering question might be: how can we best live into our identity as the people of God in this place?

May peace and courage be yours, 
Bishop Steven H. Delzer and Bishop-Elect Regina Hassanally

Links to more information about what this means:

Talking points from the ELCA
Letter from Bishop Suarez of the Florida-Bahamas Synod
Biblical texts on being a sanctuary church

MN Farm & Rural Helpline

New and Updated Policies

Various Teams at Trinity and the Council have been working on updating policies for the church. Below are links to these policies. Click on the name to view that policy.

Safe Church policy

Family / Medical Leave policy

Definition of Offerings

Winter Weather Policy

Services will be held at 9:15 a.m. each Sunday unless conditions are so severe around Spring Grove that travel is unsafe.

Announcements about the Sunday service will be made by 7:30 a.m., and broadcast on KVIK-FM 104.7 FM, KQYB 98.3 FM, as well as KTTC-TV Channel 10, and WXOW TV-19. We will also post updates on our Facebook page, Instagram, and website.

Decisions about the Saturday service will be made by 3:30 p.m. that day and broadcast in the same places.  

Remember our Sunday service is audio-streamed on KVIK 104.7FM. Please stay safe when considering traveling in bad weather.

Convenience of Electronic Giving

We want to remind you that Trinity offers electronic giving as a way to automate your regular weekly offering. Electronic giving offers convenience for individual congregation members and provides much-needed donation consistency for our congregation. 

Direct Debit Giving is used to automatically transfer funds from your checking or savings account to the church’s bank account. 
Credit & Debit Card Giving lets you make offerings automatically on a predetermined schedule using a credit or debit card. 

Online Giving lets you go to www.trinitysg.org at any time to set up an automatic donation plan, change your donation plan, make a one-time donation or view your online donation history. As you contemplate future contributions, please consider electronic giving. 

Simply follow these easy steps: 
1. Visit the church website at www.trinitysg.org
2. Click on the [Contribute] button, then [Contribute Online] button
3. Click on the [Create Profile] button, then 
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring contributions or give a one-time gift.
5. Please note that you can change your schedule at any time.

Hearing Loop System Installed

We’re in the Loop!
Our new hearing loop system was installed in the sanctuary on April 28.  Anyone with a hearing loss will be able to clearly hear the spoken word during church services.  If you have a T-coil in your hearing aid, switch it on during services.  If you do not have a T-coil but need some hearing assistance, we have T-coil loop receivers (headsets and receivers) available when you pick up your Sunday bulletin.  Either way you will receive a direct signal straight from the microphone directly to your ear, free from reverberation and ambient noise interference.  We will be sharing more information about the loop system in May.

Bread and Soup Recipes from Trinity's Empty Bowl Events

Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger and was created by The Imagine Render Group. Guests are invited to a simple meal of soup and bread. In exchange for a cash donation, guests are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. The money raised is donated to organizations working to end hunger and food insecurity. The money we raised at Trinity went to the Houston County Food Shelf and to ELCA World Hunger.

At our annual event, we serve homemade breads and soups. Theyare delicious! Thank you to our bakers and soup makers! We have asked our chefs to share their recipes, which they did, and they are compiled here. Thank you to all who make these events successful, the donations for the meal were very generous.

Click here for recipes