{"id":10,"date":"2024-10-11T15:55:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T15:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/?page_id=10"},"modified":"2025-08-19T16:58:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:58:23","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/?page_id=10","title":{"rendered":"About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns gap-60 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53\" style=\"width:453px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-855x855.jpg 855w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/freely-10107-800x800.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Biblical, Missional, Compassionate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list styled\">\n<li><strong>Our Mission<\/strong>: To Be and To Make Disciples of Jesus Christ<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Our Vision<\/strong>: to be a Christ-centered Bible-based Church, equipping disciples with Scripture to share the good news of God&#8217;s reconciling love with conviction, courage and compassion while responding to the needs of others in our community and the world.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Our <strong>Core Values<\/strong>: Biblical, Missional, Compassionate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is a congregation that hears and speaks the Gospel of&nbsp;<strong>Jesus Christ<\/strong>&nbsp;as we worship together. We believe that Jesus is the&nbsp;<strong>Word of God<\/strong>, revealed by the inspired words of Scripture. In the Bible we encounter Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who is the source and measure of our faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What We Believe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Confession of Faith\/Common Confession?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Holy Trinity is a congregation of the North American Lutheran Church. The NALC is a fast-growing, Christian church in the Lutheran tradition, uniting Lutherans in congregations across North America. The NALC embodies the theological center of Lutheranism in North America and stands firmly within the global Lutheran mainstream.<br>We are a&nbsp;church family committed to the authority of the Bible as the inspired Word of God. In keeping with the Lutheran Confessions, we believe all doctrines should and must be judged by the teaching of Scripture.<\/p>\n<cite>Learn more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/thenalc.org\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thenalc.org\/\">NALC here.<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Our Staff &amp; Council<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"928\" height=\"1022\" src=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pastor-Kathy-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-128\" style=\"width:309px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pastor-Kathy-2.jpg 928w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pastor-Kathy-2-272x300.jpg 272w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pastor-Kathy-2-768x846.jpg 768w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Pastor-Kathy-2-776x855.jpg 776w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pastor Kathy Pennington began her call with us November 2021 and has been enjoying life in North Central Ohio ever since. She spends her free time with her husband, Dan, who is the pastor at Trinity Lutheran, Monroeville, and her furry Goldendoodle attachment, Barclay. Free time activities include hiking, cooking, reading, playing the piano and organ, knitting, and taking care of their house and yard. Pastors Kathy and Dan have been married for 22 years, and they have an adult son who lives in Baltimore, MD with his fianc\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pastor Kathy has been actively serving congregations since her graduation from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 2006. Her previous calls were in Moorhead, MN and Amery, WI. Pastor Kathy volunteers her time serving as Dean for the North Central Ohio Mission District, NALC and is a volunteer for Prison Fellowship at Richland Correctional Institution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"899\" height=\"949\" src=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4.25-Palm-Sunday-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-123\" style=\"width:311px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4.25-Palm-Sunday-7.jpg 899w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4.25-Palm-Sunday-7-284x300.jpg 284w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4.25-Palm-Sunday-7-768x811.jpg 768w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4.25-Palm-Sunday-7-810x855.jpg 810w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 899px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael Smith<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michael Smith, Jr.<\/strong>, has served as the church organist and choir director since 2011.  First and foremost, Michael is a musician who loves sacred music and feels it is a gift to serve and lead the congregation in praise and worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Michael began with piano lessons and then moved to the organ.  He played at his first official event (a wedding!) when he was only 15 years old!  He began filling in for the organist at St Matthew Lutheran Church in Mansfield, and took more intensive organ lessons through Ashland College with Dr. John Gilbert.  He became organist at Mt Zion Lutheran Church in 1979 and remained there for 39 years.  He began as a part-time organist at Holy Trinity in September 2011, while continuing to play for Mt Zion.  In 2015 he became full-time at Holy Trinity.  And we are so glad he is here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He lives in Mansfield with his wife, Joan, to whom he has been married for 44 years. Michael retired from a 40 year career in healthcare, which he says does NOT &#8220;define&#8221; him.  Michael and his wife have a few &#8220;adopted&#8221; daughters, and has been known to take care of Barclay, the church mascot, upon request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2215\" src=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-124\" style=\"width:311px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-300x260.jpg 300w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-1024x886.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-768x664.jpg 768w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-1536x1329.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-2048x1772.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/debbie-988x855.jpg 988w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debbie Taylor<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Steve Flockenzier<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debbie Taylor is the Office Administrator. She married Greg, her college sweetheart, in 2003. They currently live in Crestline, Ohio, with their 3 children, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a variety of backyard poultry. She spent over 30 years working in various industries, including insurance, education, and mental health, and has worked for Holy Trinity since 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debbie enjoys spending time in nature, visiting her mom in Florida, going to Lake Erie with her family, crocheting multiple &#8220;works-in-progress&#8221; at one time, collecting purple pens and drinking iced coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"824\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-824x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-140\" style=\"width:233px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-824x1024.jpg 824w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-768x954.jpg 768w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-1236x1536.jpg 1236w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-1648x2048.jpg 1648w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot-688x855.jpg 688w, https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Barclay-the-Mascot.jpg 2018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 824px) 100vw, 824px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barclay is the four-legged church greeter and &#8220;mascot&#8221;. He loves to show off his pearly whites as he rapidly wags his tail to greet you. Then, he likes to hang on to you by grabbing your shirt sleeve or scarf. He wants to be everyone\u2019s friend. Ladies are warned to keep their purses closed or he may snag that loose tissue you have in there (or possibly your wallet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barclay is at church whenever Pastor Kathy can be found there. If he is not in one of the offices, he can be found in the sanctuary balcony supporting our organist, unless someone kidnapped him to go for a walk or do a home visit. Barclay gladly welcomes any and all treats as long as they are safe for dogs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">HOLY TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-bdf5e888 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bonnie Elias, President<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Doug Thrush, Vice-President<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shelley Barber, Secretary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Donald Karger, Finance Chair<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Linda Friedline, Parish Education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Barbara Fraifogl, Worship &amp; Music<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jerry Unruh, Property<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Holy Trinity Committee Chairs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Linda Boltman, Outreach Committee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dick &amp; Nancy Collier, Altar Guild<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Carol Bertholf, Staff Support<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mary Steude, Holy Carers Group<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biblical, Missional, Compassionate Our Story Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is a congregation that hears<span class=\"more-dots\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/home.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179,"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10\/revisions\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/holytrinitymansfield.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}