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This Sunday - Advent 4 - A Prayer for Redemption Cradle and cross are inextricably connected on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Between a lovely tribute to the little town of Bethlehem and the blessed virgin Mary’s magnificent song of praise, the letter to the Hebrews reminds us in no uncertain terms that Christ’s advent is for “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” It is the kind of tension in which the church always lives as when in the holy communion—with high delight—“we proclaim the Lord's death.” Readings: Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:46b-55, Psalm 80:1-7, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45 [46-55]  Bring Peace to the Earth Again This year, our Advent hymn is Bring Peace to Earth Again. Read more about this tradition on our blog. November 29 - Advent 1 + A Prayer for Deliverance December 6 - Advent 2 + A Prayer for Peace  December 13 - Advent 3 + A Prayer for Sanctuary   December 20 - Advent 4 + A Prayer for Redemption    Beer and Carols Tonight! Friends, Neighbors, Aquaintences! Join us for an evening of Fa La La and Folderol! We will be taking over the back room of ledgendary local bar, Schaller's Pump. Their kitchen closes at 9, so if you plan to get food try to come early. We don't want to overwhelm them!  Cash only - buy your own drinks. Snacks and Songbooks provided. Donations Accepted. And, of course, Bob Leone will be playing keyboard.   Christmas Pageant The kid's are at it again! This year's pageant includes a modern twist! All are welcome to attend the show and stick around after for the cast party and to get their program signed. Suggested donation $5 (goes to the FT Kid's Activity Fund).  Sunday - 5 pm.   Christmas Caroling Our annual trip to visit seniors and sing carols is coming up next Tuesday.  Times and route are still being finalized, but we are looking at leaving around 9 am. Please contact Pastor Tom, Rene, or Vicar Toby if you plan to go.  We need to make sure we have enough seatbelt! First Trinity Last Minute Pop Up Sale Sunday at 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM We had a great time at Armour Elementary's Craft and Vendor Sale, but we had a lot of leftovers. Sunday, December 20 we'll be presenting them for your last minute shopping needs. Gift items available for purchase include: Holiday pins and jewlery Handmade scarves and hats Paper flowers Grab-bag jewlery Gift tags, boxes, cards and wrap Holiday decorations   First Lutheran Church of the Trinity 643 W 31st Street Chicago, IL 60616 312-842-7390 welcome@firsttrinitychicago.com FirstTrinityChicago.com All Are Welcome! There is so much going on in December, we thought a calendar would help!   Our Friends at The Bridge have a show this Friday that you want to see! Followspot Friday, December 18 @8PM $10 or PWYC* at the door *Pay What You Can At The Orphanage Preview performances of works by The Bridge's artists-in-residence, which will premiere at the IN TIME >16 Performance Art Festival coming in February:  - Dao Nguyen presents "Holzwege", which employs thought experiments, play apparatuses, and obstacle courses to respond to the existential question How do I live?  - Elise Cowan presents "Up to the Elbows in What They Call Adventures", a performance spurred by two sources: historical patents for inventions that attempted to bestow the body with extraordinary capabilities and Cervantes's Don Quixote. Onward!  - Drag superstar Chic Filet will transport us to a world where queens are kings and kings are queens...  - Puppeteer Kely Nesheim will delight and entertain.  - Madeline Pell will break out of hell with her piece entitled "Music Box", which examines the question: Who is the music box doll when no one is watching?

Sunday: Worship 10:30 am Monday: Office Closed Tuesday: Lectio Divinia 9 am, God's Closet 5-7, Books to Prisoners 5-9, Bible Study 7 pm Wednesday - Yoga 7 pm Friday - God's Closet 10-noon, Office Hours 10-Noon, AA 8:00 Last Saturday of Each Month - 7pm Ben's Movie Night Last Sunday of Each Month - 9:15am The Lutheran Magazine Discussion Group Dec 17 - Beer and Carols Dec 20 - Advent 4 Dec 20 - Christmas Pageant  Dec 22 - Visit Seniors/Christmas Caroling Dec 24 - 7PM Candlelight Service, Lessons & Carols Dec 25 - 10:30 Christmas Day Worship & Brunch Dec 27 - Hymn Sing Sunday! Jan 6 - Joint Feast of the Epiphany with Christ the Mediator Did you know, First Trinity is a member of Concordia Cemetery?   If you have news for the benefit of the community, please send it to welcome@firsttrinitychicago.com Check out some of the groups who meet or perform in our space: The Bridge, Bridgeport Alliance, The Glint, LGBT Neighbors in Bridgeport, Midwest Books to Prisoners, The Group Project, Windy City Opera, and more!

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This Sunday Jesus says that the bread he gives for the life of the world is his flesh, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life now and will be raised on the last day. In Ephesians Paul tells us what this life Jesus gives us looks like, this life we live as those marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit in baptism. We live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The whole purpose of life is giving yourself for the other. Readings: 1 Kings 19:4-8, Psalm 34:1-8, Ephesians 4:25--5:2, John 6:35, 41-51  If you missed the #ELCAConfrontingRacism Webcast, you can see the recorded version here. First Lutheran Church of The Trinity's annual Jesus and Justice Day-Camp is coming soon. Details are coming, but what we can tell you now is that there will be fun games, good food, fascinating speakers, and campfire worship every evening.   This is multigenerational: All Are Welcome! August 11 - August 14 6:00pm to  9:00pm Cool Community Event:  Henry C. Palmisano Nature Center Advisory Council presents the 3rd Annual Bridgeport Air and Water Show.   on Saturday, August 15. Features will include: stunt kites, kites for sale, free paper kites, activities for kids in Palmisano and McGuane Parks, tours of the native plants and migratory birds in Palmisano, catch and release fishing, a scavenger hunt and more.  Admission as always is FREE.

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This Sunday A house divided against itself cannot stand. Jesus makes this observation in light of charges that he is possessed. He is possessed, not by a demon, but by the Holy Spirit. We who have received the Holy Spirit through baptism have been joined to Christ's death and resurrection and knit together in the body of Christ. Those with whom we sing and pray this day are sisters and brothers of the Lord. With them we go forth in peace to do the will of God. Readings: Genesis 3:8-15, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 4:13--5:1, Mark 3:20-35 The Art Bowl Next week is The Art Bowl.  If you are planning to donate soup or bread, please see Dan Pugh or Rene for delivery instructions.  This promises to be a great time!  Details in the flier below. Bible Study From Pr. Tom - Great times reading Athanasius of Alexandria tonight. Seriously. Completely awesome conversation around ancient texts. We've got an awesome group! Join us Tuesdays, 7 pm.   School to Summer Service + Worship and Celebration Sunday, June 21at 10:30am - Come help us celebrate the good work of our students as they complete another year of school. They have worked hard to get good grades, and now get a much needed break!   #MoralMondayIL Monday, June 15, Lutheran Bishop Wayne Miller will be joining faith leaders, people of faith, and all people of good will as we stand on the side of the poor, the downtrodden, the vulnerable, the 99%. Join us as the #MoralMondaysIL movement moves.    Monday, June 15at 10:30am - 12:00pm James R. Thompson Center 100 W Randolph St, Chicago, Illinois 60601

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We are having a great time at Catechemmunity.  Be sure to join us next week! 

The First Trinity Community Lenten Devotional is available for download, on the blog, on by following #FTLent on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, or you can just pick up a paper copy on Sunday!

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The second covenant in this year's Lenten readings is the one made with Abraham and Sarah: God's promise to make them the ancestors of many, with whom God will remain in everlasting covenant. Paul says this promise comes to all who share Abraham's faith in the God who brings life into being where there was no life. We receive this baptismal promise of resurrection life in faith. Sarah and Abraham receive new names as a sign of the covenant, and we too get new identities in baptism, as we put on Christ.

Readings: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Psalm 22:23-31, Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38

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Tomorrow is Ben's Movie Night.  Free movie, popcorn, and fun!  Potluck beverages and snacks!

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Tickets for Seder are now available online or by contacting the church office at 312-842-7390.

Catechemmunity Bridgeport Ecumenical Lenten Series Holy Week

Lenten Devotional Movie Night Seder

Strengthening the Powerless

First Trinity E-News

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Don't miss Katie's preaching debut this Sunday!  
Katie Jacob, our Ministry in Context student from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago will be preaching this Sunday.  10:30 am, All Are Welcome!

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In Isaiah it is the one God who sits above the earth and numbers the stars—it is that God who strengthens the powerless. So in Jesus' healing work we see the hand of the creator God, lifting up the sick woman to health and service (diakonia). Like Simon's mother-in-law, we are lifted up to health and diakonia. Following Jesus, we strengthen the powerless; like Jesus, we seek to renew our own strength in quiet times of prayer.

Readings: Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalm 147:1-11, 20c, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, Mark 1:29-39

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God keeps the promise made to David, to give him an everlasting throne. The angel tells Mary that God will give David's throne to her son Jesus. She is perplexed by Gabriel's greeting and by the news of her coming pregnancy, but she is able still to say, "Count me in." We who know that Jesus is called king only as he is executed still find it a mystery hard to fathom, but with Mary today we hear the news of what God is up to and say, "Count us in."

Readings: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:46b-55, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38

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This week, it's going to be a busy week.  A couple things to note:

• Sunday after church Marge and Tom Fashing will be sharing latkes in celebration of Hanukkah.
• The Christmas Pageant on Sunday evening is going to be fantastic!  More information below.
• God's Closet will be open Tuesday and Friday as usual.
• Christmas morning we will be serving potluck brunch after worship.  You are more than welcome to bring a dish to pass.  Let us know if you know what you are bringing by replying to this email.

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First Trinity E-News Click to read more  After a fantastic Thanksgiving Feast we had to burn off some calories... wait until you see the chapel! And speaking of Thanksgiving:  We were blessed with so much wonderful food and friends who brought food, gave thanks, danced, sang, cleaned, and ate we are very blessed... Thank you. Stir up your power, and come! The psalmist's plea in Psalm 80:2 has become familiar to us in the Advent prayers. Isaiah wants God to rip the heavens open. Both cry out for an apparently distant, angry God to show up, to save, to restore. When we hear Jesus describing the coming of the Son of Man with stars falling from heaven, it can sound dire and horrible, not like anything we would ever hope for. But when we really look at the suffering of people God loves, we can share the hope that God would tear open the heavens and come. Readings: Isaiah 64:1-9, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Mark 13:24-37 Color of the season is Blue. Happy Birthday this week to Charlie Rumppe!