Sabbatical Information

Here is some of the upcoming plans for our (Hoffs) planned Sabbatical which starts April 21 and runs through August 21. We are still in shock over the generous gift which you have afforded us in time and resources to pursue our goals of reviving and renewing our relationships and particularly our life in God! Psalm 1 talks about the blessed person’s roots running deep into the revelation of God so their leaves do not whither. We are seeing this sabbatical time as a major anti-withering measure. THANK YOU, dear church for your gifts to us!

The following calendar shows what is planned at Trinity. Pray for us! We will pray for you! Jesus is the Senior Pastor of Trinity! These upcoming days are important for Trinity. We are not pushing a big “pause” button. The ministry of Jesus in feeding us and growing us in grace through His Word and Sacraments will continue! The sacrificial outreaching call to bless with grace will continue! Please commit yourself to your sisters and brothers, and to the Lord of the Church in pressing in during this next season. With the exception of Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and all but the first Sunday in August, the 5pm Table Service will continue. The Sunday night schedule compatible with adult and youth programing, catechism and WordTime will be 6:30-7:15pm with special presentations of “Buck Denver” from 7:15-8pm (from April 24-June 5).

For those of you who want to follow the Hoffs, you can keep a tab open to trinitypastor.blogspot.com for regular reports. Here is a general calendar of what I/we will be focusing on, and where we will be traveling. Nathan’s Bible Reading plan will continue to follow thebibleproject.tumblr.com/readscripture

April 21-June 15

• Daily walk to the top of Friendship Park
• Plant my garden
• Read Eugene Peterson’s 5 Pastor Books: Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work; The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction; Working The Angles: The Shape Of Pastoral Integrity; Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness; The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call.
• Paint the exterior of Hoffa Casa
• 3 Prayer retreats
• Annika’s Graduation from 8th Grade!
• Lots of soccer games
• Worship at a few church planting churches in Southern California
• Get the tour parts of our overseas trip ready (Luther, Bach, Geirtz, Rosenius, Sandel, Hauge, Hallesby)

June 16-August 21

London (Holy Trinity Brompton), York, Amsterdam (Corrie Ten Boom house), Darmstad (Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary), Luther lands in Northern Germany, Berlin, Sweden, Oase (Lutheran Renewal) Conferences in Fredrikstad, Norway (with Pr Paul and Joe Johnson), Århus, Denmark (nearby Poul Erik’s home, where I’ll be an evening speaker and the morning speaker to young adults), Jonkoping, Sweden, and the last 3 weeks in Norway (with friends, visiting Christian’s birthplace, Joy’s family of origin, sites important to the historic renewals of the church). HOME!

As you can see, we have a lot planned! 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. Part of our time will be investigating those places and people who have been influential in fostering Biblical renewal in the church. We want to see how worship, prayer, and discipleship have nurtured the church over the last 500 years. We hope to share some of our pictures and stories when we return!

While we are gone, we want to make sure you have access to contact information for various needs that arise.

Pastor Poul Erik will still not be full-time, but the council has increased his hours. He will post his weekly office hours, but is planning to take Fridays off. Poul Erik will be the daily leader at Trinity, and is the one to go to with pastoral leadership cares or concerns.

Deaconess Sue Scott will maintain her current schedule. Sue will be main Pastoral Care contact. She will be meeting with a group of people (Pastoral Care Pow-Wow) near the beginning of every month, who serve with her on a pastoral care team to schedule visits to people who are home or otherwise in need of a visit. Please let her know if you are desirous of a care visit during this time. She may respond to pastoral care needs herself, or delegate the visit to another elder or caregiver to respond to your need.

Elders: Bob Bowker will no longer serve as President after the congregation meeting on June 13 at 7pm (He is termed out). He will continue to serve on the Elder team, along with Jerry Anderson, and Tobiah Scott. All three of these men are ready, willing, and able to serve in their God-given calling as an extension of the pastoral office. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to them for spiritual care and counsel. 

What about Joy? People have been asking what Joy’s role at church will be during Nathan’s sabbatical. Joy will continue to lead worship once a month with the youth band, and she have office hours on Wednesdays from April 20 - June 8. She will continue to rehearse weekly with the youth band and youth choir on those Wednesdays. God Rocks choir will not be meeting again after their April musical until the fall.

Grace and peace to you, Trinity. You are dear to me and my family, and you are dear to the Lord of the Church! 

In Jesus, Nathan Hoff