We had our first annual Pentecost Feast on Sunday.  This one was “potluck”, but we all brought foods of different cultural origin, to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the spread of Jesus’ reign to every tribe, tongue, nation, and people.

The ladies decorated the tables with maps.

Food from all over the world!  (Well, the food was all from the Wichita area, but recipes represented all sorts of cultures–Greece, Japan, the C.S.A., Germany, Mexico, and so on.  There were even dishes claiming origin in “Kidland” and “Middle-Earth”.)

Some beautiful flowers.  The plant in the pot is nice, too.

Covenant children feasting before the Lord.

Digging in.

Jeff and Kathy.

“Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters…”

The afterglow…

Today our church family celebrated together with a Passion Week Feast.  It’s our desire to mark our time by the life of the Lord Jesus, so we’re making it a tradition to celebrate (and feast!) together on some of the highlights of the church year.  So many of our families have long-standing traditions to celebrate Easter Sunday with extended family, and we rejoice in that!  We chose to have our feasting today, Palm Sunday, at the beginning of Passion Week.

Unlike our monthly fellowship meals, this feast was catered by a local Italian restaurant.  There were lots of helpers to get everything ready for the feast.

Our Elders and Deacon served the delicious meal to us:

Each child was sent home with a little bag of candy and toys, in accordance with Pastor Sean’s philosophy that there are few things better than the giving of chocolate to covenant children.

December and January saw a flurry of covenant children being born to TCC families.  Here are two:

Seth Michael L., born January 5.

Seneca Luke S., born January 28.

Welcome to these sons of Abraham, and congratulations to their delighted parents!

The men of Trinity Covenant Church had another Trinity Tavern Thursday on Thursday of last week.  It was again well attended, and enjoyed by all.  In addition to the sort of discussions that go with shared lives, we also considered the introduction to Peter Leithart’s A House for My Name, which led to some interesting conversation about the very important issue of typology in interpreting the Bible.

We made a disappointing discovery when we arrived at Torre’s Pizzeria in Old Town Wichita, though.  They (for reasons unknown) had lost their liquor license and were thus unable to serve us the brews our mouths were set for.  Proof that we we had every reason to believe that we would be able to get something at least resembling beer is available from the pictures below.  Word is that they will have their license by the next TTT, which is scheduled for March 15.

The men.

Proof.

After the fact.

Last night the men of Trinity Covenant Church fellowshipped together at our first ever “Trinity Tavern Thursday”.  A good number of men from the congregation met at Old Chicago for brews and fellowship and lively discussion.

As it was the “kickoff”, our main formal topic of discussion was our purpose(s) in having such an event: to provide an opportunity for manly fellowship, to undergird the educational ministry of the church by means of discussion oriented study, to show the world that the coming of the kingdom means that life is to be a joyful celebration–that the Christian life is the “good life”, and to provide an occasion for outreach: a safe and informal setting for us to bring our friends.  Some guidelines and cautions were also given in order to help us make the event all it is intended to be.

Our first TTT went swimmingly.  Many more men showed up than expected, given the fact that we were unable to worship together last Lord’s Day due to the ice (which means much shorter notice in terms of an announcement) and the conversation was quite enjoyable. 

We are still trying to find the ideal venue for this event.  The culture in which we find ourselves cannot imagine life without a constant stream of sports on television and/or loud music.  I like both of those things…in their time.  But where is the pub or tavern in which men can enjoy a pint and visit with one another?  There does not appear to be such a thing in Wichita.  If you have any ideas, let me know.

Nevertheless the event was a success and we are all already looking forward to the next one, which will be the third Thursday of February (the 15th).  Perhaps I will remember to bring the camera to that one, so that I can post some pictures.

Pastor Sean Brandt

Pastor Gene Helsel of Trinity Church, Wenatchee, Washington came to visit us this past Lord’s Day (December 3), to officiate at Pastor Brandt’s installation as our Pastor.  In addition to officiating the installation ceremony, Pastor Helsel also preached an encouraging sermon from Acts 20.  After worship, we celebrated this event with a meal together.  In addition to the installation, we also rejoiced over our transition to “full membership” in the CREC, and thanked Pastor Helsel and Trinity Church for their oversight and pastoral care over us the past two years as a mission church.

Elder Derek Hale, Pastor Sean Brandt, and Pastor Gene Helsel.

The Lord’s Table, set for the first Sunday of Advent.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity…

Women of Excellence, Part one.

Women of excellence, part two.

Lúthien received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism on November 26, 2006.  What a special time in the life of our church!

When we have a baptism, we gather at the rear of the sanctuary with the whole family of God gathered about to welcome our newest sister in the Lord.  Then the whole church processes into the sanctuary singing St. Patrick’s Breastplate: “I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the three in one and one in three”.

Here is the baptismal meditation that Pastor Brandt gave for the occasion:

It was coming up on four years ago now that Amber came in to my Ethics class, and then just a few months after that that she took me at my word and brought her husband Kary and a gaggle of other students from Friends to our house on a Sunday afternoon for a Bible study.  I don’t think any of us could have guessed that we would all be standing here doing this, but I’m so glad that we are.

Today Kary and Amber are presenting their daughter, Lúthien Marie, born just six days ago, for covenant baptism, and so today little Lúthy will be received into the bosom of the church and will have all the promises of God applied to her in a visible sign and seal that sets her apart from the world and unites her to the Lord Jesus Christ and his body, the church.

In the Bible we have numerous accounts of the Lord appearing to people and speaking to them, as individuals directly.  But that doesn’t happen to us.  The Bible itself is God’s Word, but it is directed to the Church, and none of us are called by name therein.  But God has spoken to all of us here, directly, one time, even as he is about to speak directly to this little girl.  The Holy Sacrament of Baptism is the one time in each of our lives in which the Lord directly addresses us—he calls us by name, he makes extravagant promises to us, he changes our identity, he makes us his own. 

And so in a few moments our Lord Jesus will address this covenant child.  He will declare that she is his child, he will promise her that he will always be with her, and that he will be her God and the God of her children and her children’s children.  He will promise to wash her clean of all her sin, the unclean nature that she inherited from our first father Adam, and all the sins that she will add to the world as she grows up and matures.  He will ordain her to the Royal Priesthood, giving her the privilege of approaching the throne of grace in union with Christ Jesus.  He promises the Holy Spirit, to unite her to Christ, to convict her of sin, to lead her in the way of righteousness, to empower her prayers, to bring her to more and more to life day by day.   He promises to raise her from the dead on the last day, and he marks her as one of his own, distinct from the world.  He also places upon her all the obligations of being one of his children.  She must trust in the Lord Jesus in everything.  She must repent of all her sin and faithfully walk in the covenant.  She must day by day put her flesh to death and by God’s grace be raised to new life.  She must keep the commandments, seeking the Lord’s help to do so, and so exhibit a living faith. 

And the Lord says all of this, to her, in this wonderful sacrament of baptism.  And this is only a taste of the fullness of what the sacrament means.  And he already said all of this to all of you when you were baptized.  So as grace is given to Lúthy, remember that she is receiving the same grace in which you now stand.  Lay hold of your own baptism, and remember who you are, and live accordingly, with faith, hope, and assurance of the love of God for you and all the church.

Lúthien practices the Gloria Patri for her first Lord’s Service.

Delighted parents of a daughter of Abraham.

On Monday, November 20 at 4:28 pm Amber H. gave birth to Miss Lúthien Marie H. Lúthien is 18 ¾ inches long, and weighs 6 lbs 15 oz. Amber and Lúthy (and Kary) are doing very well.

Unless we are providentially hindered, Lúthien will be baptized this coming Lord’s Day, November 26.