Trinity Lutheran Church stands at the corner of 3rd Street and Avenue A in Bismarck, North Dakota, just across from the Capitol grounds, and it has been a steady presence in the capital city for generations. The congregation lives by the phrase written across the top of its announcements: Nurturing a Living Faith with Open Hearts and Serving Hands. People who walk up to the red-brick building find a busy parish that worships three times a week, runs a deep music program, takes children and youth formation seriously, and reaches well beyond its walls into the Bismarck community through food, cards, and re-entry support.
Three Weekly Worship Services
The rhythm of the parish is built around three gathered services. On Sunday mornings the sanctuary fills twice: a 8:30 AM service and a 10:30 AM service, both offered in person and livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. The earlier Sunday service is also broadcast live on Radio 1270 AM for those listening across Bismarck and Mandan. Midweek, on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM, a shorter service with a more contemporary feel draws a different crowd, including many who appreciate the shared meal that precedes it.
Holy Communion is celebrated at the 1st and 3rd Sunday services and at the Wednesday services that follow those Sundays. Parents are invited to bring young children forward to receive the bread and wine or juice, and communion classes are offered to all 5th graders regardless of whether they have already started participating. Children who have not yet taken communion are welcome at the table when parents decide the time is right; the pastors and staff will provide resources to walk families through that decision.
Summer brings changes. The 10:30 AM service moves to the Community Center beginning in early June, and the Wednesday service steps outdoors to the Trinity Chapel (weather permitting). For the outdoor service, the congregation is invited to bring a blanket or chair, with extra chairs on hand. The Wednesday meal is paused over the summer except on listed dates.
Children Learning the Story
Children are woven into the life of the parish. The program Trinity calls Church School, offered on both Sundays and Wednesdays, is open to children age 3 through 5th grade. Sunday sessions run 9:35 to 10:20 AM and Wednesday sessions 6:40 to 7:25 PM. The children study the Whirl and Spark curriculum from Augsburg Fortress Publishing, sing together for a few minutes each week, share a song in worship two or three times a year, and put on a Christmas program for the congregation. Church School runs from the week after Labor Day through mid-May, with a few scheduled days off, and families are invited to add their child at any point during the school year.
First Communion is treated as a family decision. Parents who would like their younger children to begin receiving communion are given materials to learn together, and a Communion Class is offered to all 5th graders. After the class, students participate in a Celebration of Communion during the Maundy Thursday worship.
Confirmation at Trinity is called Affirmation of Baptism. It runs for youth in grades 6 through 8, with confirmation in the fall of the 9th grade year. The class meets Wednesday evenings from 6:40 to 7:45 PM, right after the regular church service. Each student is placed in a small group of the same age and gender, guided by an adult (often a parent), and the group generally stays together for all three years. At least two Wednesdays each month the full class gathers for a teaching workshop with small-group discussion and learning activities, and once a month each small group plans a fellowship or service outing on its own or together as a larger class.
Vacation Bible School fills a week each summer with games, singing, Bible stories, and crafts. The program is free and serves children age 4 through entering 5th grade. The week wraps up on Wednesday evening with the children singing in worship, followed by a supper of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.
Trinity also encourages its children and youth to attend an ELCA Bible Camp during the summer. The parish offers a scholarship of half the cost of camp to anyone enrolled in Church School, Confirmation, or Youth Group, with additional help available when needed. Camp of the Cross, a nearby ELCA camp, is highlighted as a favorite partner.
Music as Common Ground
Music is one of the most visible ministries at Trinity, with opportunities for almost any level of musician. The Chancel Choir rehearses at 8 AM on Sunday mornings to sing simple, worshipful anthems at the 8:30 AM service. The Sunday Praise Team rehearses at 9:30 AM to lead a more contemporary mix at the 10:30 service, and the church is always looking for additional vocalists, instrumentalists, drummers, and guitar players. The Wednesday Night Praise Band leads contemporary worship songs at the 6:00 PM Wednesday service.
For those who read music, a Handbell Ensemble adds the festive sound of bells throughout the year. A Brass Ensemble plays seasonally for Christmas and Easter services. Solo and ensemble special music of any age is welcomed into services by arrangement with the office. The music ministry is led by Worship and Music Director Dr. Jason Thoms.
Hands that Feed, Cards that Comfort
Trinity's outreach work touches many of the most vulnerable people in the Bismarck-Mandan region.
The Loaves and Fishes ministry puts small bags of ready-to-eat food out in the cubbies by the north doors most days for anyone who needs a meal. Volunteers pack the bags once a month and keep the cupboards stocked with individual-serving peanut butter cups, crackers, foil packets of tuna or chicken, individual ravioli or lasagna cups with pop-top lids, and granola or cereal bars. Plastic spoons and grocery bags round out the kit.
The Fresh Start Kit Ministry partners with Heart River Bridges of Hope and Ministry on the Margins to provide backpacks filled with supplies for residents leaving the Youth Correctional Center, the North Dakota State Penitentiary, and the Missouri River Correctional Center. The backpacks are designed to ease the stress of reentry into the community. Donations of items and financial gifts are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Heart to Hand is a card-making ministry that meets on the last Saturday of each month in Fellowship Hall. Volunteers create handmade greeting cards for the new women's prison in Mandan, with the goal of branching into assisted and non-assisted living homes across Burleigh and Morton counties. Materials are provided and food and drinks are served.
The Grief Support Group meets on the 1st Saturday of the month at 10 AM in the Conference Room. It is open to any adult who is grieving, whether the loss is recent or long ago. The group is discussion-based, confidential, and led by Pastor Martha along with Stephen Ministers. Participants are invited to bring a memento of their loved one to the first session.
Mission Opportunities go beyond Bismarck as well. Each year the parish organizes a slate of mission trips and partners, and the Mission and Outreach Committee helps guide the work. Helping serve meals for funerals held at the church is another quiet but consistent outreach.
Bible Study, Quilts, and Coffee
A wide range of small groups meet throughout the week, and the church encourages newcomers to find one that fits.
Bible 101 meets most Sundays from 9:35 to 10:15 AM in Fellowship Hall, between the two morning services. It is built for people with little or no Bible experience and for those who simply want a deeper relationship with Jesus. Coffee and treats are served, no one is put on the spot, and the church provides extra Bibles.
The Upstairs Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 10 AM in the Conference Room. Theology and Coffee has merged with this group for the time being; it is a forum for discussing and debating topics of faith and current events.
The Quilting Group gathers every Tuesday at 9 AM in Luther Hall's Quilters Room. Bible Journaling, a creative devotional practice of responding to scripture with art, doodling, prayers, and notes, meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at the Lynne Center at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Materials are shared and all ages are welcome.
Two Ladies Groups provide study and fellowship on different schedules: the 1st Monday of the month at 2:00 PM, and the 3rd Thursday of the month at 9:30 AM. Lend a Hand gathers on the 2nd Thursday of the month from 9 AM to noon in Fellowship Hall for coffee and small building-care projects, with no special skills required. The Men's Group meets on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 8 AM in Fellowship Hall for devotion, conversation, and breakfast.
Serving Hands is an all-ages service group that gathers for small projects that help community partners, like baking cookies for Ministry on the Margins' Coffee House. Beer and Hymns is an evening of music and fellowship for any adults who would like to attend.
Rejoicing Spirits Worship, on the 2nd Sunday of each month at 2 PM, is an inclusive service for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the friends, family, and supporters who worship alongside them.
Children in the Pews, and the Nursery
Trinity's welcome of children goes beyond its Church School program. The parish makes a nursery available for parents during worship and Church School, located just inside the North entry. A parent or adult must remain in the nursery with their child. The nursery is not to be used with a child who has had a fever of 101 or higher, two or more diarrhea stools, vomiting, discolored drainage from the eye or nose, or watery, red, draining eyes in the last 24 hours.
Pastors and parents at Trinity also openly acknowledge that bringing little ones to worship can be hard. As the congregation puts it: children giggle, they wiggle, and they swing their legs simply because they are children, but they also sing, pray, and worship with the rest of the assembly. Children are encouraged to take their places in the church family even when their manners are still a work in progress.
Joining the Parish
New members are received about twice a year, usually in the spring and the fall. An orientation class is held ahead of each new-member Sunday to help newcomers learn about the life of the parish.
Baptisms are scheduled at almost any of the regularly scheduled worship services.
Weddings at Trinity begin with a phone call to the church office. Pastors then meet with the couple to provide information, answer questions, and help plan the service.
Pastors and Staff
Pastor Mark Narum serves as Head of Staff. Pastor Martha Harrison serves as the second pastor and oversees much of the outreach work and the Grief Support Group. Gracia Johnson is the Youth and Children Ministry Coordinator, the point of contact for Church School, Confirmation, Vacation Bible School, and the Bible Journal. Dr. Jason Thoms is the Worship and Music Director. Klarissa Pudwill is the Office Manager, John Brintnell is the Facility Manager, and Brent Winkelman is the Financial Administrator. The church's office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to noon and 1 PM to 5 PM. The mailing address is 502 N 4th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501, and the parish sits at 3rd Street and Avenue A.
Staying Connected
Services can be heard live over 1270 AM on Sunday mornings, watched on Facebook and YouTube, or downloaded afterward through the parish's podcast archive, which stretches back well over a decade. A weekly Taking Faith Home devotion is published for personal and family use. The parish also sends an e-newsletter; readers are invited to call or write to the office to add an email address to the list. Online giving is available, and sign-ups for serving as an usher, communion assistant, scripture reader, projectionist, or Wednesday meal helper are open throughout the year.
Trinity Lutheran Church in Bismarck makes a generous welcome: three weekly worship services, a deep music ministry, strong children's and youth programs, and a network of outreach, grief care, and small groups that reach into the city and beyond. The motto on every announcement captures the parish simply: a living faith, open hearts, and serving hands.