Greetings From Pastor Lyn
Dear People,
March marks the start of Lent. It begins late this year and means Easter will be “late” too. Saying that Easter will be late sounds odd because Easter is never “late!” Easter is every Sunday of the year. But the Day of Resurrection, Easter Sunday, is April 20 and, while that sounds like a long way off, it’s just around the corner.
Ash Wednesday is March 5. There will be a service at noon with the imposition of ashes and communion. Plan to attend and get your Lenten season off to a good start. Then in case you didn’t know, Soup Suppers are back! They will be at 5 pm on Wednesday evenings beginning March 12th. Holden Evening Prayer will follow supper. Additionally, there are multiple ways to individually honor Lent. One is to participate in the 40 items/40 days project. Get instructions and a bag in the Narthex on Sunday.
The Wednesday Bible study group will reconvene on March 12 with a Lenten study titled “Around the Table with Jesus.” If you enjoy Mediterranean food, this may be a treat for you! Everyone is welcome so come join this amazing group of Bible-studiers! Wednesday afternoons, 1:30-2:30 pm.
Lent calls us to a time of reflection and somber meditation. Ash Wednesday reminds us that one day we will return to the dust from which we came. I’ve read a couple of articles recently that imagine our souls returning to the stars and assert that we are, each one of us, stardust. It’s a charming image to be sure. The Season of Lent is a time to kind of take stock of who we are, where we are going, what matters most to us and how all of that either informs our walk with Jesus or detracts from our faith journey. It is more than spring cleaning (although Lent means “springtime”).
But if we give something up for Lent, we should also take something up, e.g add a new thing. For example, I could give up coffee (yikes!) and decide to drink more water. But again, Lent is more than that. As a Lenten discipline giving something up is to give up a behavior that gets in the way of our God-relationship, in favor of healthier ways of being in that relationship. It could be as simple as giving up screen time and taking on additional Bible study or meditation time. Whatever we take on should reflect our desire to deepen our relationship with Jesus.
As most of you are aware, there is a lot of business-type activity going on for Emanuel. There will be another congregational forum on March 16 to get you up to date and help keep you well informed on what has happened, what is happening, where we are in the short term (the next 3-4 months) and for the long term (2-5 years). I encourage you to attend these forums so that you can get accurate and current information.
Remember this: we have come this far by faith. God has never let us down. We are still on this journey with God at our side as we blaze this new thing God is doing for Emanuel.
Lent is the perfect time to ponder what or Who is important in our lives and to make the necessary shift, if needed, to get into better alignment with our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
A blessed and holy Lent,
Pastor Lyn
March marks the start of Lent. It begins late this year and means Easter will be “late” too. Saying that Easter will be late sounds odd because Easter is never “late!” Easter is every Sunday of the year. But the Day of Resurrection, Easter Sunday, is April 20 and, while that sounds like a long way off, it’s just around the corner.
Ash Wednesday is March 5. There will be a service at noon with the imposition of ashes and communion. Plan to attend and get your Lenten season off to a good start. Then in case you didn’t know, Soup Suppers are back! They will be at 5 pm on Wednesday evenings beginning March 12th. Holden Evening Prayer will follow supper. Additionally, there are multiple ways to individually honor Lent. One is to participate in the 40 items/40 days project. Get instructions and a bag in the Narthex on Sunday.
The Wednesday Bible study group will reconvene on March 12 with a Lenten study titled “Around the Table with Jesus.” If you enjoy Mediterranean food, this may be a treat for you! Everyone is welcome so come join this amazing group of Bible-studiers! Wednesday afternoons, 1:30-2:30 pm.
Lent calls us to a time of reflection and somber meditation. Ash Wednesday reminds us that one day we will return to the dust from which we came. I’ve read a couple of articles recently that imagine our souls returning to the stars and assert that we are, each one of us, stardust. It’s a charming image to be sure. The Season of Lent is a time to kind of take stock of who we are, where we are going, what matters most to us and how all of that either informs our walk with Jesus or detracts from our faith journey. It is more than spring cleaning (although Lent means “springtime”).
But if we give something up for Lent, we should also take something up, e.g add a new thing. For example, I could give up coffee (yikes!) and decide to drink more water. But again, Lent is more than that. As a Lenten discipline giving something up is to give up a behavior that gets in the way of our God-relationship, in favor of healthier ways of being in that relationship. It could be as simple as giving up screen time and taking on additional Bible study or meditation time. Whatever we take on should reflect our desire to deepen our relationship with Jesus.
As most of you are aware, there is a lot of business-type activity going on for Emanuel. There will be another congregational forum on March 16 to get you up to date and help keep you well informed on what has happened, what is happening, where we are in the short term (the next 3-4 months) and for the long term (2-5 years). I encourage you to attend these forums so that you can get accurate and current information.
Remember this: we have come this far by faith. God has never let us down. We are still on this journey with God at our side as we blaze this new thing God is doing for Emanuel.
Lent is the perfect time to ponder what or Who is important in our lives and to make the necessary shift, if needed, to get into better alignment with our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
A blessed and holy Lent,
Pastor Lyn