All Members, Winter Residents, Family and Friends,
Greetings on this cold Wednesday! We should be thankful that we do not have the snow or low temperatures that North Florida is enduring today. Pray for those still suffering without heat and many still without their homes up and down the West Coast of Florida and those in Western North Carolina. Please remember to check the needed list that I gave out Sunday and bring it to church or if you would rather just put cash in the basket that will be in the Narthex Sunday.
Trinity has been blessed throughout the years with many talented individuals coming to share their talents with us here at Trinity. We are still looking for Patrons/ Sponsors to provide a gift to Keith Goodson who is coming to our Special Worship Service on February 23rd, 2025. He will be painting LIVE during the worship service focusing on Children. It will be a great service and experience for everyone. Bring your friends to worship, it would be a great way to introduce them to our church.
I have attached the Bible Study Guide on Baptism for Sunday. Mike Bardon will be out of town so I, Pastor Norris, will b leading the discussion Sunday morning! Come on out and join us!
Yesterday I spent the morning with fellow Pastors from around the county meeting with our County Adminstrator and others from the county staff. We were discussion the ongoing saga of the County Fire Assessment being levied on everyone, including churches. In 2024 Trinity paid $896.00 dollars and in 2025 we paid $1,185.00 dollars. That is a 30% increase in one year. Our discussion centers on this issue as a 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. First Amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Many of us feel that this “Assessment” is really a “Tax. We feel this is conflicting with our right to free speech and the ability to gather for worship. The reason is simple, because like a “tax” if we fail to pay it or refuse to pay it, the county can come in an put a lien on our property and even sell the property out from underneath us if we do not pay. We are encouraging our County Commissioners to rethink their stance on this issue and put churches in a special category of our own. Currently Trinity has “Residential”, “Institutional” and “Commercial” properties all assessed at a different rate. Please remember that all of us who own a home here in Highlands County are already paying this assessment and if you own a business you are already paying the assessment and if you go to church you are in essence paying it once again.
I have been discussing this issue with the County Commissioners since 2017 prior to the implementation in 2018. There are 95,000 different properties all being assessed this Fire Assessment. Unfortunately we are in the same category of “Institutional” in which all care facilities and hospitals fall as well. Since Advent Hospital and their properties are claiming 501.c3“Not for Profit” the same as churches. There in lies the dilemma that the County Commissioners are facing. If they exempt 501.c3 churches they would have to exempt all of Advent Hospital and properties. The saga continues and tomorrow morning several of us are going to the County Commissioners meeting to remind them we have not gone away and we want to help find a solution as some counties in Florida have exempted Churches from the “Fire Assessment”. To say that we are frustrated is a woeful understatement.
Rev. Richard A. Norris
Trinity Lutheran Church
25 Lakeview Street
Lake Placid, Florida 33852
863-441-4168
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