Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Marietta GA

International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) increased its initial financial commitment to support relief efforts in Haiti to $600,000. The Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission, made the announcement Jan. 15, emphasizing the significance of a coordinated response by the “Lutheran family” in the United States.
Following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, the ELCA made an initial financial commitment of $250,000 to the disaster.  The church said it would advance another $500,000 based on member giving.
Malpica Padilla said the $600,000 commitment is based on “a strong and generous response” this week by ELCA members.  The figure could soon be increased to more than $1 million, pending the continuing response of members, he said.

Financial contributions to support relief efforts in Haiti can be made at http://www.ELCA.org/haitiearthquake or by calling 800-638-3522.

We are down to our remaining days of photography sessions so if you haven’t had your family’s portrait made yet, please schedule your sitting time either at the link below, or by contacting Judy Hausfeld at dahausfeld@yahoo.com or 770-587-0514.  Help us put faces with names by having your photograph taken for our new directory and receive a free 8 x 10 portrait.   Visitors, friends and family are also encouraged to have their photos taken and will also receive the free 8 x 10 portrait.  Photos will be taken Tuesday, February 23 – Saturday, Feb. 27 but we must fill up Thurs., Fri., & Saturday first.   Starting February 13 & 14, we will have a Ministry Station to schedule your family’s sitting appointment, or you can sign up fast and easy online at this link.  We would love to have 100% participation so our directory will be most useful.

(copy this into your browser if the link above does not work https://www.appointment-plus3.com/ap/holytrinitylutheranchurch/index.php?page=10)

Pastor Birkholz leads this group, meeting at Harrison Park off Shallowford Road at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.   The group will run, walk, or  jog for a half hour and then follow with coffee and conversation nearby at the home of Rich and Irene Murphy.    Along with the Bible, the group will be using the book “Faith and Fitness” by Lutheran pastor, Tom Hafer.

The “Brief Summary of Actions” report from the 2009 Churchwide Assembly is now available online in two formats:  A downloadable tri-fold piece in PDF format, and as a Word document.  You can find these on the Web at http://www.elca.org/assembly/summary

There is an article on the website bestofneworleans that gives another view of the enormous impact our youth had on the city and people of New Orleans during the week-long ELCA National Youth Gathering. After you read the article, continue reading to see the additional comments that came in response to the article.

If you would like to see what our youth are doing in New Orleans, you can read about the latest updates at this link to the elca.org web site.

You can also find some coverage from other sources. I am sure this is the first time the Lutheran Youth Gathering has made Forbes.

Biggest post-Katrina convention visits New Orleans

Finally, here are some pictures uploaded from the HT group.

There is a news item on the ELCA web site that gives some of the details behind the creation of the movie, “Get Low”. The movie cast includes a few actors you may have seen before, such as Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray. There is also a newcomer to the silver screen – Pastor Beth Birkholz. You can learn more about her film debut at  this link.

To help both visitors and members find information on our web site, we have made a few more changes. The new theme allows us to have a set of “drop-down” menu options at the top of the page. This should make it easier to browse through the titles of each section of the site. On the left hand side of each page, you will find Special Events and Items that will be of interest to many. On the right hand column, there are some items of Useful Information that pertain mainly to members (Newsletter, calendars, etc.). In the coming weeks, we will be tweaking this new look and adding more pictures, etc. Let us know what you like and what can be improved.

Welcome to the new Holy Trinity web site. We have just switched over from the previous design which had served us well for the last few years.

In addition to offering a new format and navigation, there are several new features that we think will make it easier for everyone to use our web site. First, there is a search function accessible from each page. If you are interested in “lenten services” for example, you can just enter that phrase in the search box and you will see a list of any notices or permanent web pages with those words.

Second, there is a distinction now between the permanent (or semi-permanent) web pages on this site and the time-limited notices or posts. These notices include special event advertising, announcements and other bits of information that are needed for a week, or a month but will not need to be a part of the site forever. The ten most recent notices/posts are listed on the home page but all of the active posts can be accessed through the search function.

Third, we have new functionality if you use an RSS news reader or use a home page such as those provided by Google or Yahoo. Using a link at the bottom of our web pages, you can link your RSS reader to the Holy Trinity web site. This will allow you to see the latest news items as postings to your RSS reader / personal home page. This is an easy way to keep up to date on the news from Holy Trinity without needing to make a special visit to the site just to see if anything has changed.

There are other differences as well and we hope you find these changes to your liking. While the site is still very much a work in progress, we would appreciate any feedback you have on the new format. What do you like? What would you like to see changed? Send an email with your feedback to admin@htelcm.org.