Small Enough to be Family
Large Enough to Make a Difference
A quick note about Helping Hands
We at Trinity LOVE our Roanoke community and strive to serve those who live here. One of the ways that we do so is through our Helping Hands Ministry which works in conjunction with the Williamson Road Ministerial Association to provide financial assistance to those in need. This is one of our most important ministries, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to temporarily close the Helping Hands office. The office will reopen and we will keep you up-to-date as much as we progress towards that. If you need assistance please send an email with your first and last name, phone number, and a brief description of your need to roahelpinghands@gmail.com When the office reopens someone will get back to you as soon as they can.
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’



Services begin at 10:00 am.
Adult Sunday School and Chancel Choir rehearsals are on pause for the summer, but will start back in September.
We will resume our normal worship schedule on September 3, 2023.
A Note From Our Council President
Trinity’s 75th Anniversary Recap
What a great day and rousing success as we gathered on October 2, 2022 to celebrate 75 years of ministry at Trinity and to finally celebrate Pastor Ken Lane’s retirement and give thanksgiving for his call as Pastor at Trinity. The day started with worship lead by Pastor Luke. During the worship service, Pastor Kelly Bayer Derrick, Assistant to the Bishop of the VA Synod, officiated the “Thanksgiving at the Conclusion of a Call” portion of worship service where the congregation officially released Pastor Lane from his call as Pastor of Trinity and where he acknowledged the completion of service and ministry at Trinity. Pastor Lane was called to be Trinity’s Pastor on October 30, 1988. Hard to believe that Pastor Lane served the congregation at Trinity for 32 years.
Following worship, we gathered in the Fellowship Hall for lunch and a program to celebrate Trinity’s 75th Anniversary of service to our Lord and to share our thoughts, gratitude and love for Pastor Ken and Deborah.
After welcoming remarks and an opening pray by Pastor Luke, all gathered partook of a wonderful potluck luncheon. Trinity cooks never disappoint and due to the importance of this celebration, I think a little extra love and care went into every dish. Everything was delicious as usual. The only negative comment that I heard was that needed to have bigger plated (The Invite/Kitchen Team will take that comment under advisement for our next event.) During lunch all attendees were invited to observe all of the memorabilia displays created by Norma Beckner to reflect past events and people associated with our 75 year history. For me, the highlight was looking at the 1955 Annual Report which showed the church budget being $12,000 and a 1990 Pictorial Church Directory. Wonderful to see pictures of dear members that are no longer with us and to see how we have changed over those 40+ years.
After lunch, all of the guests in attendances stood to introduce themselves and tell a little about their relationship with Trinity. We were honored to have guests from the VA Synod and St. Phillip Lutheran Church join us for this celebration. We also had family of current members attend. It was also great to see past members of Trinity return for this celebration. We probably had a dozen guests in attendance. Then we had a “Member Joining” Game where all members stood up and were seated as their year of membership was called. The first to sit was our newest member – Pastor Luke Swanson who joined Trinity this year and the last member to sit down was Ron Crawford who was a “Charter Kid” when the church was started in 1947.
Next came the actual Celebration/Celebration part of the program to celebrate both Trinity and Pastor Lane. Following remarks from Pastor Luke and greeting from the VA Synod by Pastor Kelly, Ron Crawford led us on a stroll down memory lane. Ron started us off by sharing some of his earliest memories of Trinity, then opened up to the attendees to share some of their memories. From meeting in the old Lee Theatre to Luther League to youth gatherings in the Fellowship Hall to Shrove Tuesday Talent Shows to the Chicken Barbeque to Line Dancing to Brunswick Stew to Thrift Shop to Senior Luncheon and too many more to name. Everyone’s recollections brought back great memories. Thanks to all that shared.
Then Pastor Lane came to the front to share his memories of his 32 years at Trinity. What stood out most to me was when he talked about the joys that he and Deborah experienced through the relationships that he/they developed while at Trinity. He shared this thoughts on the impacts that Trinity as made in the community. He recalled our tag line – “Small enough to be a family, Large enough to make a difference.” He talked about the love and friendliness of the congregation. I was such a joy to have Pastor Lane address the gathering.
Following Pastor Lane’s remarks was the presentation of Pastor Lane’s retirement gift along with the sharing of some thoughts about Pastor Lane. Hard to believe that we had to wait 2½ years to finally celebrate Pastor Lane’s retirement and his 32 years of service to Trinity. We had originally planned to hold this celebration event for Pastor Lane on Easter Sunday 2020, but Covid had other ideas. It was so nice to be able to final gather to celebration him. When thinking about Pastor Lane, the following words were used to describe him: Fearless, Dedicated, Faithful, Leader, Committed, Involved, Calming. Rock, Doer and Friend. Then Dale Hurt and I presented Pastor Lane and Deborah with his retirement gift from the Congregation – a stained glass piece of art interpretation of Trinity’s stained glass window in the Chancel area along with a card and money. We can’t thank Pastor Lane enough for all of the wonderful years that he spent serving not only Trinity but other social organizations and churches in the Roanoke Valley. We wish you and Deborah all the best in retirement.
The last activity of the day was the reveal of items in the time capsule that was buried during Trinity’s 50th and 60th anniversary celebrations. The contents of the time capsule included letters from Elaine St. Clair, Candy Puckett, Louise Reep, Ken & Deborah Lane and June Broadbent. Family photos from Dale Hurt. 2006 Trinity Annual Report, plaque of church from 50th Anniversary, VCR of 50th Anniversary Worship Service at Trinity from Mark Moomaw, VCR of Pastor Lane’s doctoral graduation roast from June 1992, door hanger from Brandy, photo album from the 60th Anniversary Celebration, poem titled “Here at Trinity” from Jewel Grimm Reed (A copy is published elsewhere in this newsletter), cross stitch art and poem from Louise Reep and a Welcome Bag from Faith and Arts and a CD from a Trinity group visit to the D-Day Memorial in May 2007. But the most unique item was a pair of “Heelys” shoes from Justin Alls. All of the items are in the Church Office should you want to see them.
The event ended with closing remarks and a pray by Pastor Luke.
Thanks go out to Debbie Metcalf for her great leadership in organizing and planning this event. Deb would be the first to say that “TEAM WORK makes the DREAM WORK”. So I’d like to acknowledge and thank the “75th Anniversary and Retirement” team for making this event a rousing success. Team members include Pastor Luke, Laura Burk, Norma Beckner, Candy Puckett, Louise Reep, Lori Kincer and Troy Kincer. Also a special thanks goes out to all of the workers that helped set-up, purchase goods, order & pick-up food/drinks, work in the kitchen and clean-up. You all did a great job.
I received a letter from Ken four days after the event. He said, “Sunday was such a grand experience for us (he and Deborah). There could have been no more perfect gift to us than the stained glass portraying that of Trinity’s above the chancel. It is a beautiful work of art as well as a reminder of our life at Trinity. We already have it hanging in a window in our living room.”
Thanks be to God for our past 75 years, for Pastor Lane being such a wonderful part of that history and to Pastor Luke and each of you for all that you do for God’s church at Trinity as we look forward to our future.
Troy Kincer
Council President
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NRSV
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

Those seeking God’s touch