Join Pastor Hans on the Sundays of Advent (Dec. 7, 14, 21) for a study on the assigned Old Testament reading for the week. We'll be using Robert Alter's masterful, literary translation to delve deeper into these prophecies about God's promised salvation. Copies of the text will be provided.

Join Pastor Hans on the Sundays of Advent (Dec. 7, 14, 21) for a study on the assigned Old Testament reading for the week. We'll be using Robert Alter's masterful, literary translation to delve deeper into these prophecies about God's promised salvation. Copies of the text will be provided.

This winter we begin a five-week intergenerational series on the Lord’s Prayer: “Praying with Our Whole Selves.” In our first session, we’ll explore what it means to call God “Our Father” and to pray as part of a worldwide family of faith. Through a short teaching, table conversation, and a simple craft, we’ll reflect on the people who first taught us to pray and how God gathers us into one family at Trinity. All ages are welcome—no experience needed!

In week two, we’ll look at the line, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” Together we’ll wonder what God’s kingdom looks like in everyday life and where we already see signs of it in Reading. Our craft this week will invite each person to create a small “vision board” that shows God’s justice, peace, and mercy at work. Come add your imagination to a large communal artwork that will be displayed in our Narthex.

Our third session focuses on “Give us this day our daily bread” and the story of God feeding the people with manna in the wilderness. We’ll talk about what “daily bread” looks like at different ages and how God often uses us to help answer someone else’s prayer for enough. As a hands-on response, we’ll decorate bags or materials for a congregational food collection, connecting our learning directly to local hunger needs. Children, youth, and adults will all have a role to play.

This week we’ll wrestle gently and honestly with the words, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” Together we’ll reflect on God’s abundant mercy, why forgiveness can be so hard, and how grace can set us free. Our craft will be a “forgiveness paper chain” that names both hurts and hopes, later shaped into a cross or heart as a visual reminder of God’s reconciling love. The session will be accessible for children while still offering depth for adults.

We conclude our series with “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” Using Psalm 23 and Romans 8, we’ll talk about the real fears people carry at different ages and the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Participants will create simple “God is with us” prayer cards or mini-booklets to take home as tools for prayer in anxious times. We’ll finish by praying the Lord’s Prayer slowly and thoughtfully one more time, having walked through it line by line together.