Trinity Lutheran Church marked its 20th anniversary on September 15, 2016.
Twenty years ago, Sunday mornings were called America’s most segregated hours. In 1996 three area Lutheran Churches (Good Shepherd of Meridian, Our Savior in Butler, and Christ Lutheran of Meridian) joined together to form Trinity Lutheran Church as a celebration of our unity in faith amidst cultural diversity. Good Shephard was a predominately black church; Our Savior and Christ were predominately white churches. Coming together as one people of God brought growth and we began our church building expansion program in 2001. We celebrated the retirement of our debt obligation by burning the mortgage during the celebration held September 18. Karen Miller, Sunday School Superintendent, led the children in creating a time capsule to be buried and retrieved in twenty years.
We were blessed to have Southern District President Kurtis Schultz deliver the message during the worship service. His message was titled, “What in the World Are You Doing?” Our pastor, Rev. Ken Boudreau, officiated and was assisted by our former pastor, Rev. Philip Wottrich, of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Whitney, TX. Pastor Wottrich served as trinity’s first pastor from 1996 until 2005, when he was called to be the pastor of Holy Trinity in Covington, LA, shortly before Hurricane Katrina arrived. Harold Woodworth of Hattiesburg served as our interim pastor until Rev. Kenneth Boudreau accepted God’s call to be our pastor in 2007. It is our joy that God continues to bless our church with the unity of Christ as brothers and sisters, united as one people of God, making our diversity a welcoming blessing in an ever more divisive world. We look forward to the next twenty years with faith and hope for a future of being God’s hands and showing God’s love to the world.