Vision , Mission and History of TULC
OUR INSPIRATION
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was
filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done
by the apostles Every day they continued to meet together... And
the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-43; 46-47
Our Vision
Throughout this past year, many
of you have been a part of a process through which we sought
to identify our vision for the future. I am grateful for your
participation and your wisdom. Based on your input, we are proposing,
at our January Congregational Meeting the following Vision Statement
which we submit for your approval:
"Trinity United Lutheran Church will be a welcoming
faith community where all are invited to experience the transforming
love of God through Jesus Christ."
What a powerful statement this is! To me it contains three critical
statements which help identify who we are and what we wish to
be:
Statement #1: "A Welcoming Faith Community" First
and foremost, we are a people of faith. Our reason for being
is to give witness to and to celebrate our faith in Jesus Christ
as our Lord and Savior. We are a community of people whose relationships
to each other and to Christ exist beyond the walls of our church
building. And we are a welcoming people, which means that we
seek to be intentional in reaching out into our community.
Statement #2: "Where All Are Invited" We have
the privilege of serving in a multicultural community. We seek
to embrace the rich diversity that exists within our neighborhood.
We welcome the gifts that diverse people have to share with
us. We intend to explore ways to communicate within our community
that all are welcome.
Statement #3: "To Experience the Transforming Love of God
through Christ Jesus" We acknowledge that there are
many ways to experience Christ. We seek to offer opportunities
for members to know Christ through a variety of experiences:
worship, learning, fellowship, service, prayer, etc. The goal
of each is to guide us in an experience that transforms us,
to make us faithful to the example Christ has set before us.
We further acknowledge that all of this possible only through
God's loving grace extended to all which seek to save us through
Jesus Christ.
Our Mission
Guided by this vision of who we will be, we then understand
what mission is to be in this time and place:
"In the name of Jesus, our mission is to:
Each of these three points are guided by
Christ's own words as recorded in scriptures. We follow the
example of Jesus who, "...went about all the cities and
villages...proclaiming the good news of the kingdom..."
(Matthew 9:35) We follow the command of Jesus who told his disciples
to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
spirit..." (Matthew 28:19) And when Jesus asks, "Do
you love me?" (John 21:15), he makes clear to us that the
way to show our love is to "feed my sheep." And elsewhere
he makes clear the way to serve Christ is to serve others, "...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).
Dynamics of Our Ministry
The Trinity Church council and other leaders of our congregation,
after careful study and prayerful consideration, identified
then the following dynamics of our future ministry:
Moving Forward
What do we need now in order to move forward? Members
and leaders of Trinity identified the following:
Formed in 1993 as a merger of three Lutheran Congregations :
Trinity Lutheran Church : A small group of Swedish people who felt the need for divine worship
appealed to Dr. M.C. Ranseen of Chicago, then the acting president of
the Illinois Conference of the Augustana Synod, to come to Waukegan
to conduct a worship service. The two laymen instrumental in making
the invitation were J.E. Johnson and Bernard Nelson. Dr. Ranseen accepted
the invitation and conducted a service in the home of J.E. Johnson in
the late Fall of 1889 or in the Spring of 1890.
From this little seed a strong congregation was to grow. On June 2,
1892 Trinity congregation was organized with 23 adults and 13 children.
Mr. G.K. Stark, student pastor, was then serving the congregation. Later
he returned as an ordained pastor and during his ministry the church
building at Oak and Liberty, Waukegan, was dedicated in 1899.
In 1952 the sanctuary at our current location was dedicated and Larson
Hall, was dedicated and included the statue of Thorwaldsen's Christ
which had graced the altar of the old Trinity.The educational wing that
has the classrooms and offices was built and dedicated in 1962.
In 1993, Chapel of the Cross, Lord of Life and Trinity merged into one
church, making us Trinity United Lutheran Church.
Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church : Chapel of the Cross was established in 1966 as a congregation
of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. It later was one of the congregations
that broke away from LCMS to form the American Evangelical Lutheran
Church in December of 1976. It then became part of the ELCA in 1987
when the LCA, ALC and AELC merged together.
Chapel of the Cross was located at 2031 Dugdale Road in North Chicago.
Following the merger of Chapel of the Cross, Lord of Life and Trinity
Evangelical Lutheran Churches in 1993, that site was leased by Northern
Illinois Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse (NICASA). In 1998, Trinity
United Lutheran Church sold the property to NICASA.
At the time of the sale, the Trinity United Lutheran Church Council
agreed that the 30 ft. steel cross that graced the entrance to the Chapel
site should be relocated to Trinity. The cross was removed in the Fall
of 1998 and installed at the Trinity site in April of 1999.
Lord of Life Lutheran Church : The first Pastor, the Reverend Paul H. Lechner began work in gathering
a congregation under the program of American Missions on August 29,
1962. He was assisted by Miss Helen Polege. The first worship service
was held on Oct. 21, 1962 and the first Sunday School October 28. The
congregation was formally organized and declared an official congregation
of the American Lutheran Church on Jan. 10, 1963. The first church council
was elected and a pastoral call issued to Pastor Lechner. He accepted
this call and was installed by Pastor Herman Jorgenson, North Chicago
Conference chairman on Feb. 10, 1963.
The first unit consisting of a worship and parish education unit, was
dedicated to the Glory of the Triune God on June 23, 1963, with Dr.
E. A. Nelson, guest preacher.
In 1993, Chapel of the Cross, Lord of Life and Trinity merged into one
church, making us Trinity United Lutheran Church..
ARCHIVE ROOM CREATED
Due to the hard work of our summer project assistants, a new area has
been created to store our historical documents. Over 100 years of accumulated
items; pictures, bulletins, annual reports, and membership records now
have a new home in the archives. We also have two display cases of historical
items. The archives are located upstairs in the room to the west of
the washrooms.
Due to the fragile nature of the items contained in the archives, the
room will be kept locked. However, if you any interest in viewing these
items, we would be happy to let you in. Just call the church office.
Now that we have a new home for our records we are looking for a team
of four individuals who would be willing to first organize the materials
and then maintain the files. If you have an interest in things of a
historical nature, then this might be the right ministry function for
you. If interested, please speak to Pastor.
Day of Pentecost: Red as the color of fire is used on this day when we remember the tongues of fire descended on the crowd in Jerusalem. In contrast to the color of scarlet, Pentecost’s red is a bright color.
The Holy Trinity: White is appointed, the expression of joy in the mystery of the Triune God.
Other Sundays after Pentecost: Green is used, to indicate our growth in faith as we follow the teachings and ministry of Christ.
