TRINITY NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER
Trinity Lutheran Church
135 Crescent Drive, Sheridan, WY 82801
307-672-2411 + trinitylutheransheridan.org
Congregational Meeting
The Trinity Council
has called a Congregational Meeting
for Sunday, October 2nd, between services.
Dear friends in Christ,
I have two very important things to share with you:
First: Angela Zugel has taken on the important calling of serving as our Trinity Lutheran Church Secretary. Angela and her husband Mike have been members of Trinity for about ten years. Their daughter Cierra is a senior at BHHS, and Kaitlan is a freshman who will be confirmed this October. Thank you Angela for your willingness to take this call and serve our congregation in this way!
Angela plans to be here on Tuesdays and Thursdays - please stop by to say hello sometime!
Second: The Trinity Council has called or a Congregational Meeting between services on Sunday, October 2nd.
In January, the Trinity Council formed a committee to consider our next steps with the “Huffaker House” the yellow house by the Church which Trinity owns.
The Huffaker House Committee held their first meeting on February 15th, and decided right away that we would hold meetings every two weeks to consider the many possibilities that lay before us. They met biweekly on in to the summer, and brought their recommendation to the Council at our August meeting.
The Huffaker House Committee consisted of Linda Jackson, Dan Hills, Joyce Lofgren, Kay Tyra, Bill Rathburn, and I joined them at times as an ex-officio member.
There was a diversity of opinions in the group, as we began, with some certain we should keep the house, and some leaning toward selling it. There was also a great openness by all to consider all possibilities, as we prayed for insight to recommend what seems to be the best decision.
Their task is done now. They have brought a recommendation to the Council. They have recommended unanimously that we sell the Huffaker House. The Council has received their recommendation, and now the Council has called a Congregational Meeting for us all to vote on their decision.
Please read the recommendation from the Huffaker House Committee that follows… If you have any questions, I am sure that any of the members of the committee would be willing to share with you.
Peace to you, Pastor Phil
August 9, 2022
To: TLC Church Council
From: The Huffaker House Committee
Though our initial stated goal was to simply reach a recommendation to “keep and use wisely” or “to sell wisely” it was necessary for us to explore all available variations of these two options before reaching a consensus recommendation.
Along the way, since our first meeting in early February, we invited several congregation members to speak at committee meetings, and solicited information from other members, and from outside realtors, builders, developers, and surveyors.
After several meetings, it was determined that nearly all of the suggested “good cause” uses of the property would require significant costs to re-purpose, rehab, and remodel said property. In addition, a number of these beneficial suggested uses were deemed as not being needed, or would duplicate current available facilities and programs.
Of course, keeping the property just to hold onto it as an investment, was thoroughly processed as well, but even that raised issues regarding ongoing interior and exterior maintenance, upkeep, and related expenses along with the question of “who is both willing and able to conduct and oversee these needs.”
When the merits of “selling” were discussed there arose the question of selling “as is” or remodeling and/or subdividing in order to maximize financial gain. The issue of remodeling was fairly quickly dispensed with as we felt that taking months to put $20k (for example) into improving the property in order to raise the selling price by $25-$30k was not prudent. And again, the question of “who is both willing and able to conduct and oversee this work” was evident.
The relative merits of sub-dividing--either with, or without, infrastructure improvements--were thoroughly discussed and researched with the resulting strong feeling that the minimal net value gains were more than off set by the requirement of keeping the property off the market while the subdivision process took place. And, yet again, there was the question of “who is both willing and able to conduct and oversee this process?”
After carefully considering the pros and cons of all of the possibilities, the committee is unanimously recommending the immediate sale of the total Huffaker property “as is.”
We request that the Trinity Council present this recommendation to the congregation at a Congregational Meeting.
Respectfully submitted:
Linda Jackson, Kay Tyra, Dan Hills, Bill Rathburn, Joyce Lofgren
Choir Returns!
A note from Gale Wilson:
Trinity Lutheran choir will begin rehearsals on Sunday, September 18, 2022.
We will meet in the sanctuary between services, 9:45 am to receive music and information for the coming performances.
I look forward to seeing familiar faces and hopefully some new faces too. If you have questions, call Gale at 751-7177
or the church office. 672-2411.
Our Fall schedule begins Sunday, September 11th with worship at
8:30 and 11:00
Sunday School for ages 3 and up between services.
We will continue to post worship on the Trinity website www.trinitylutheransheridan.org
Trinity Prayer Page - Concerns & Celebrations:
We extend our sincere sympathy to the family and friends of Clara Leno upon her death on Thursday, August 25th in Sheridan. Clara was the mother of Darrel Leno and LaClaire Leno. Funeral services for Clara were held at Trinity on September 2nd. We give thanks for the witness of her life of faith and pray that the sure and certain hope of the resurrection brings comfort and peace to all who mourn.
Sad News: Jack Heuton, who, along with his wife Bev, moved to Iowa a few years ago, died on Sunday, August 28th. The Heuton's generously shared their many gifts with us during their time with us in Sheridan, and we give thanks for their faithful membership in Trinity, and deep friendship with many. Now we join their family in commending Jack to God's eternal care.
If you want to send a note to his family, you can send it care of Linda Fritz, 507 2nd Street SE - Altoona, IA 50009
For Health and Healing:
Barbara Plummer, Sylvia Miller, Mike Erusha, Marty Skatula,
Marsha Pinder, Dorie Thoma, Virginia Todd, Mary Skretteberg,
Mel Quick, Willie Frisbie, Mona Bilyeu, Narleen Engel, Ann Gooding, Dorothy Quick, Mary Jane Knauss, Tom Wollenzien, Vern Kluck,
Marv Wold, Reta Onstott, Leonard Harris, Donna Van Luchene,
Howard Fedden, and Roger Thorpe.
For those serving in our military: Sgt. Nathan Wolanin,
Spec. Kenneth Barker, CW2 Steven Marshall, Cpl. Casey S Roth, W1 Joseph Marshall, Captain Erick Eggers, Pfc. Bradlee Cranfill, 1st-Lt. Alex McMahan, Richie Cedeno,
1st Lt. Sawyer Johnson, Captain Erik Eck, Air Force Airman Brian Hier, 2nd Lt. Cole Kayser and Chaplain Jesse Brown.
Please share any prayer concerns you have by emailing us at tlcosheridan@gmail.com or by calling the church office (307) 672-2411.
TRINITY CHURCH COUNCIL
You are in our prayers.
Each Council Member has been asked to pray for a number of households every day. Know that we are praying for you, asking that together we might know God's great love for us and for all the world.
The members of Council are Kathi Swank, Susan Baker, Doug Dewald, John Holden, Joyce Lofgren, Jim Tyra, Donna Van Luchene, Nancy Wilson