Crusader Chronicle
Middle School News
Journey to Easter
Lent! It is a time of regret for one’s sins and for self-examination, all in preparation for Easter. Christians demonstrate this self-examination by denying themselves of things they enjoy, such as sweets or television. People replace what they’ve given up with a positive or Godly pursuit, and it lasts until Easter. During 130-200 A.D. the season of Lent lasted about 2-3 days, not the 40 days we are accustomed to. In 325 A.D., there was a was discussion to make Lent 40 days. It is slightly unknown whether or not it was just for Christians who were to be baptised, or for everyone. Soon enough, it did include everyone in the Church.
Gregory the Great moved the beginning of Lent to what we now know as Ash Wednesday so as to ensure Lent to be 40 days—not, of course, counting Sundays, as they were feast days in the time of fasting. According to Pastor Davis at Trinity, “Lent reminds us of the 40 days in the desert, but chronologically is not together. The 40 days began his ministry, while holy week will ‘end’ his earthly ministry. So they are tied together going into Lent to pull together the entirety of his ministry.” In the Old Testament, fasting was an expression of grief, but in the New Testament, it was a way to focus on God and Prayer.
Yet you may still have some questions, such as:
Why do we put ashes on our heads?
What’s the purpose of Fat Tuesday?
Does Lent officially end on Easter or does it stop at Maundy Thursday/Good Friday?
According to pastors at Trinity, Pastor Mielke and Pastor Schallhorn, “Ashes are a biblical way of showing repentance.” When drawing the cross of ashes on our forehead on Ash Wednesday, they say “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” which is Genesis 3:19. According to some, Fat Tuesday means pancakes and sausage, and a way to feast before fasting. Traditionally, it was also the day when all the sweets were removed from the house for the Lenten fast, beginning on Ash Wednesday. While it is controversial when Lent actually ends, on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, it officially ends on Easter.
Lent is an important time to get back to God through study of His Word. It’s important to immerse yourself in the Word so the devil does not work his way further into your life. The practice of fasting gives more time for worship, so that can help you remain in the Word. We work through this self-examination in preparation for the glorious celebration of Easter and Christ’s wonderful resurrection.
article written by Josh Meeks and Elijah Martin
information from Christianity Today and About Religion, when referred to, answers from Pastor Mielke, Pastor Davis and Pastor Schallhorn, partially summarizedYouth @ Trinity: 4:12 & Sanctus
Youth group has been an important part of life at Trinity for a long time. Pastor Chris Davis has been a pastor at Trinity for two and a half years and has been leading youth group ever since. He says “It has been the best two and a half years of my life." Youth is for those who want to learn more about their Christian faith regardless of which school they attend. It’s also a place where the students go to socialize with one another.
Trinity’s youth group has been going on for awhile but after the previous youth leader left, Pastor Davis has continued it. He has renamed senior high youth ‘’Sanctus” and middle school youth “4:12”. He got this name from the Bible verse 1 Timothy 4:12. It says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
When asked about what his favorite part of leading youth, Pastor Davis said, “My favorite part about leading youth is getting to know the students and their stories, and interacting with them. I also like seeing the kids understand God’s word and grow in their faith. It’s also really cool to meet the new kids that come to youth and hear their stories.”
Although Trinity’s students’ favorite youth events are lock-ins, Pastor Davis enjoys scheduling service projects. He really likes seeing kids work and serve other people. One youth event that is coming up soon is the Middle School lock-in, which is on March 13-14.
Trinity’s youth group is fun and is always teaching students new things about their faith.
Written by: Sarah Brummet, Ruby Ledezma, & Allie Twitchell
Career Ideas
Transitioning into high school, getting an idea of what you want to do for a career is important. When in high school, it’s important to take the classes you would need in order to get into your preferred college. If you are unaware of what you want your future career to be, you can take a personality survey or a variety of classes to figure out what interests you and what careers apply to your interests.
We surveyed people number of students and teachers to figure out what they were and are planning on doing in high school and college, and what they want their career to be. The students we interviewed wanted to do a variety of things. Some of them consisted of: Lawyer, Doctor, Businessman, mechanic, athlete, and sports broadcaster. For example, Mr. Rosin and Bailey Petty, wanted to do something with sports as a career. Mr. Rosin said he wanted to be a professional basketball player, then in 7th grade he decided he'd rather be a teacher. He has fulfilled his aspirations to work in sports as a physical education teacher, coach, and assistant athletic director. Bailey, indicated that he would like to pursue a career as a professional athlete, or a sports broadcaster. Most of them said they wanted to go to a top college to study and excel in academics.
When in high school, you can apply for a job that would help you develop certain skills that are beneficial because it would build up your self-esteem, social responsibility, and expose you to social activity. This would also be beneficial to your college application. A few jobs teenagers do now are things like, hostess, waitress, and grocery store positions such as a bagger. All these can help you develop real life skills that can play a major role into what your future job might be.
Many of the students and teachers, wanted to do a variety of different things. The students recognized they must excel in academics, and have goals in order to accomplish their career path. Most of the time you won't know what you want to be right away, and that is fine. If you are unsure what job you would like to do, you can take an interest survey here to see what career might best fit you. As long as you have career goals,an education, the skills you might need,and a vision, you can achieve anything.
Written by: Lukas Rice, Chris, and Mike Troyer
Super Bowl Review
The Super Bowl is arguably the greatest sporting event of the year. It is one of the most watched events on television, and this year it had the most viewers ever. For those who are bored by the game, there’s always the commercials and that is the only reason some watch the game. For others they skip the game and wait for the halftime show. This years halftime show got 5 million more views than the actual the game. Most people can’t afford to go because of the cost.
The tickets are crazy expensive… $2,377 a person for some seats. The very first Super Bowl’s tickets went for $12 a person. The worst part is almost every year tickets prices go up, and up so average fans who want to go cannot because of the prices. However, for those who get in, there’s a decent chance a historic play will happen during game time.
One of the most famous Super Bowl moments was when New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree caught a miracle pass by pinning the ball on his helmet. This years Super Bowl had two of the amazing and controversial plays. Seattle, down 28-24 with the game winding down, Russell Wilson threw a bomb down the field and the ball was tipped at least two times. The ball somehow ended up in the hands of Seattles’ receiver who was on his back. On first and goal, the Seahawks gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch and gained a few yards. Seattle was on the one yard line, with THE BEST RUNNING BACK IN THE NFL, and they THREW THE BALL on a slant route. Unfortunately, the ball was slightly over thrown and New England intercepted the ball which sealed the game. Many experts were shocked by the play call. A lot of them said it was the stupidest call of all time. Sadly, it cost Seattle the Super Bowl and their back-to-back title.
It doesn’t matter if you like football or not, between the halftime show, the commercials and the drama of the game, it makes the Super Bowl extremely popular and should continue to be that way for a long, long time.
Written by: Nathanael Ganger
Q3 Birthdays
Student Birthdays:
Luke Rice, January 3
Meg Rice January 3
Michael Hoefle January 18
Robert Schrock January 19
Emily Hamilton January 30
Chris Troyer February 22
Mike Troyer February 22
Jesse Sullivan February 24
Olivia Gonsoski February 26
Jackson Trowbridge March 2
Staff Birthdays:
Denise Kidder January 3
Kristen McGirr January 5
Lynnette Tomasello February, 10
Sarah Galiher February 20
Mary Nywening March 6
Laura Alonzo March 19
Brigette Evens March 20
Upcoming Events
4:12 Youth Lock-in - 3/13-3/14
SBMF Blood Drive - 3/13
Midweek Lenten Services - Wed. thru 4/1
End of Q3 - 3/19
Early Release 1:00 pm - 3/20
Quarter Paddle Party - 3/20
Building Each Other Up!
Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” ~Samuel Beckett
Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese ProverbLife is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” ~Charles R. Swindoll
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” ~John Wooden
Crusader Crew
Email: coreycox@trinityl.org
Website: pk8.trinityl.org
Location: 30888 County Road 6, Elkhart, IN, United States
Phone: 574-674-8800