Glen Auten has counted the number of Lutheran churches between his home in Shelby Township and Trinity. Five. He passes five other Lutheran churches on his way to church on Sunday morning. Glen drives on, however, because he trusts God put his family at Trinity to grow their faith together.

When Glen was in sixth grade, he had a conversation with his mom that he says went something like this:

Glen asked his mother, “What is so good about Good Friday?”

She responded, “You don’t know what Good Friday is?”

“No.”

“You know what Easter is, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the day Jesus rose from the dead.”

“But you don’t know what Good Friday is?” she asked.

“No,” Glen replied.

“Well, we have got to fix that.”

The Autens were Mount Clemens residents and knew several families in the neighborhood that attended Trinity for church, so the summer between Glen’s sixth and seventh grade school years, the family began coming to church on Sunday. By the fall, he was enrolled in the school.

“And that’s where I met my wife, Julie,” said Glen.

That wasn’t the moment their love story began, but it is one of the instances where Glen said he can see God working in his life. They went to different high schools, but Glen and Julie reconnected while at Wayne State University. Through a mutual friend, they connected again, began carpooling to WSU, started dating and eventually married.

His wife wasn’t the only thing to come out of his time at Trinity. Glen also found a connection with Jesus and a joy to serve. He said everyone at Trinity can serve according to their strengths and talents. As a high school teacher, Glen was drawn to Vacation Bible School. With the summers away from his classroom, Glen devoted his time to being part of VBS, and using his skills as a teacher to teach others about Jesus.

“I wanted to be part of VBS. My kids wanted to be at VBS. It was fun, it was loud and we drew in up to 300 kids, who would be in the church singing at the end of the day and it was such an amazing experience,” said Glen.

That’s not the only place he’s served. Glen has been an elder, served on Mission Council and volunteered as much as possible.

“The leadership at Trinity always tries to find your strengths. Trinity has been a place of enabling and empowering so many to share their love of Christ, grow in their family and become part of the church community,” said Glen, adding that his parents and in-laws have gotten involved at Trinity, each finding their niche within the church.

“My father-in-law, Marty Harrison, has been at Trinity since he married his wife, Bonnie. His heart is in it completely. He finds joy in serving behind the scenes, doing things nobody would ever even know about. He has been on the HARP mission trips, he helps Manny (Delitela) and Gary (Trombley) go out and build wheelchair ramps and help with projects like that,” said Glen. He said his mother-in-law Bonnie Harrison, who has been at Trinity her entire life, is involved in the Women's League and is active with the counters that help with offerings.

Glen’s mom, Annie, has been a Stephen Minister and is still active in helping maintain Trinity’s gardens.

Glen said they don’t do these things because they have to, they do it because they want to serve Jesus. And it doesn’t stop with Glen and his wife — they, too, are raising another generation of Trinity members. Their children Allison and Henry were baptized and confirmed at Trinity. They didn’t attend the school, but Glen said it was still important to him that they were part of the Trinity community. Both completed confirmation, but each found their own way to connect to the church. For his daughter, it was through the Youth Group.

“When Allison was young, we’d drive her back for youth group events and when she got old enough to drive, she’d still go and she’d bring along her friends,” said Glen.

Now that she’s an adult, he said Allison is excited to see what the LoFi (group for young adults) can offer to the young adults that grew up together.

Glen said the experience at Trinity isn’t always serving, it’s living in a community of believers.

“One of the best things that happened to me at Trinity was joining the Trinity golf league at 18. I met so many people through the golf league that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I’ve played on the men’s softball team. My daughter and my wife both play in the women’s softball league with the other Lutheran churches,” said Glen. “It’s cool to have those connections and be around people who believe in Jesus and live their lives similarly.”

And Sundays are also a chance to be together. The Autens are often at church with Julie’s parents, the Harrisons, and Glen’s mom Annie. “We go to church and then we go back to Marty and Bonnie’s house and we have breakfast. It’s a time to worship and then time to spend with family. It’s in our DNA. It’s been modeled for us by the patriarchs and matriarchs of our family and down through us.”