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Lutheran Disaster Response
By Pr. Lisa Rygiel

One of the organizations Zion’s Lutherans Church of Trinidad has supported through our 5th Sunday Blessing is Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR).

Since 1973, LDR has remained grounded in their mission to share God’s hope, healing and renewal with people impacted by disasters and other humanitarian crises. They recognize that every disaster is local and that community leaders and organizations are best equipped to address needs following a disaster.
LDR works with partners worldwide across the disaster cycle—response, recovery, mitigation and preparedness — providing financial support, technical assistance, advocacy and networking. This work is relational: they stand with communities, congregations, and synods, social ministry partners, community-based organizations, tribal nations, companion churches and ecumenical partners.
Through the faithful work of this organization is a trusted and dependable partner. They work with everyone and stay as long as needed, often for years. Key work includes providing emotional and spiritual care for affected people and leaders who respond, assisting communities holistically to meet varied needs, and preparedness planning and providing long-term recovery by addressing unmet needs months or years after a disaster strikes.
In 2024, LDR supported work in 53 countries (including the United States) and 36 U.S. states and territories, which was made possible due to more than $17.4 million in donations. Your gifts make it possible for this church to provide fast and effective support to communities in need, whenever and wherever a disaster may strike. Gifts designated for a specific response will be used entirely (100 percent) for those whose lives have been impacted in the specified region. You can donate by clicking the Give Now link or using the information below. Follow LDR on Facebook to see how they are meeting the challenges posed by recent and past disasters.

Give Now

How to Give:

Online – ELCA.org/GiveLDR

Phone – 800-638-3522

Make checks payable to “Lutheran Disaster Response” and mail to:
ELCA
P.). Box 1809
Merrifield VA 22116-8009

Contact Us:
Email – disaster@elca.org

18th Sunday After Pentecost, September 27, 2026

Announcements

  • Fellowship: Join us after worship for coffee and conversation. All are welcome.
  • Zion’s Book Club: Our Adult Study is at 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday in the Fellowship Hall. Our next study is Tuesday, Sept. 29 in the Fellowship Hall as we discuss “What if Jesus was Serious about Prayer”.
  • 5-Loaves Volunteers Needed: We will prepare and deliver 5-Loaves meals next weekend, if you can help with preparations on Friday, Sept. 25, or with deliveries on Saturday, Sept. 26, please let Jo Moss or Norine Hazen know.
  • Blessing of the Animals: Our annual blessing of the animals will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, on the lower lawn of the Fellowship Hall, with Pr. Robert Hoenike officiating. All socialized animals are welcome. Please bring animals on a leash or in a crate/cage for a blessing. If your pet cannot be with you or has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, bring a photo or even their “stuffy” for a special blessing. Stay afterward for food & photos.
  • Docents Needed: The Trinidad Chamber of Commerce is coordinating a Doors Open Trinidad event on Saturday, Oct. 3. This will be a walking, driving, and trolley tour of Trinidad. Organizers are asking key Trinidad landmarks and historic buildings to open their door from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to let people learn more about the rich history of our area. Zion’s Lutheran and Temple Aaron both have been asked to participate. We need volunteers that day who can volunteer for 2-hour shifts to welcome people to Zion’s and to share our history and message. We will have handouts and a brief script about Zion’s available. If you can help, please talk to Steve Hanson or Jo Moss.
  • Proverbs Study: First United Methodist Church (FUMC) of Raton/Trinidad has invited Zion’s to participate in September’s study of the Book of Proverbs (see the September newsletter for details). The study begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at FUMC in Raton and at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at FUMC on Broom Street in Trinidad.
  • We’re Here for You: For pastoral care, Pr. Lisa has office hours from 9 – 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and by appointment. Call Zion’s at 719-846-7785 or send an email to zionsluth@gmail.com.

E-Formation
The gospel reading for this coming Sunday includes a short parable for all of us who have sometimes said No to God, and then later regretted it. Come to worship, to hear about God’s welcome to us and to receive that welcome at the table of holy communion.

Matthew 21:23-32
Even at the close of the Sermon on the Mount (7:29), Jesus is said to have preached with authority greater than that of the scribes. In Matthew 21, Jesus has entered Jerusalem in a triumphal procession and has cleansed the temple. This leads narratively to the Jewish religious leaders, who are expected to distinguish true from false prophets, now inquiring about his authority. When Matthew writes, by the year 80, the temple had been destroyed, and the early Christian community is depicted as debating its religious stance with the Jews who were not part of the Christian movement. The fifth section of Matthew (21:1—25:46) includes seven parables. This parable grounds religious authority in following “the will” of God. Recall that both the Lord’s Prayer (6:10) and Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane (26:42) ask that God’s will be done. For Matthew, even disreputable persons might have religious authority, if they follow the will of God as revealed in Christ.

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
Ezekiel 1–24 record the prophet’s judgments against Jerusalem and Israel. Probably one of the elites who had been deported to Babylon, the sixth-century prophet anticipates the final destruction of Jerusalem, which marked the end of Judah and the puppet king Zedekiah. In chapter 18 the prophet lists many offenses which in his eyes merit the divine punishment exemplified in the kingdom’s defeat. Today’s excerpt opens and closes the chapter by urging individual repentance to avoid what the prophet refers to as “death.” This announcement of personal responsibility contrasts with other parts of Hebrew tradition (for example Exodus 20:5) which indicate that the children do suffer for the sins of their parents.

Philippians 2:1-13
Paul’s call to humility cites what was likely an early Christian hymn. The first three strophes sing of Christ, the second three of God. Grammatically verse 5 might refer to the individual’s imitation of Jesus’ humility or the community’s manifestation of the unity given in Christ. Verses 12 and 13 present the biblical paradox: work out your own salvation; God is working in you.

Zion's Lutheran Church
zionsluth@gmail.com
719-846-7785