Let me ask, how are you and God doing this Lent? I’ve been walking around the park each morning before I start my day (except sipping my coffee). With two working parents and two small kids, you can imagine that having a “good” morning is important yet hard to come by! God’s been good to bless me with peace and perspective as I start each day with Him and His creation. Have you been practicing something new or in a different way to bring you closer to Christ, closer to God’s creation, closer to our human family? How has that been? (By the way, these aren’t just rhetorical questions…you’re always welcome to reply to my eDevo messages!)
Lent is often compared to Spring Cleaning that you may do in your homes. You want to open the windows more often, and in the process you notice the dirt on the sills. So you take some time and clean them. You want to be outside in the garden or working in the garage, but you notice that things have gotten overgrown or crowded. It’s time to rearrange and organize. The same can be true of our souls. We can neglect our souls. Dust can collect on certain virtues like mercy, sacrifice, repentance from lack of use. Lent is a good season for clearing out some of the junk we’ve been holding to: regret, resentment, disappointment. Lent is also a good time for re-prioritizing our time, our energies, our devotion. Some things need re-arranging every once in a while. Most of all, I like to think of Lent as a season of renewal…renewal of our souls, our love for God, our spiritual practices as Christians. Stay tuned next week for some more thoughts on “Lenten Renewal”….
Part of my renewal this season will be a vacation that we are taking next week. Our family leaves this Saturday and will return the following Saturday. The occasion is my brother Rob’s wedding to a kind and beautiful woman named Naomi, please keep them in your prayers. Sunday our guest preacher will be Gary Marcelin of South Florida Urban Ministries. Gary works with the Branches program in Florida City where he counsels families in financial stability. Gary is also recently married and has accepted a call to ministry and attend Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. Gary will be sharing about his SFLUM work at the Men’s Breakfast at 8am and preaching on Christ’s words, “I AM The Light of the World.”
Office hours will remain the same. Please contact Katie if an emergency arises for which pastoral care is needed. Otherwise, you may contact any church leader for assistance. See you soon…
Peace,
Pastor Amber
• Just a reminder, anyone is welcome to attend the Men’s Breakfast. Ladies & kids included!
• There will be no communion this Sunday. In April, you are invited to participate in Holy Communion at Maundy Thursday, 4/2, or Easter Sunday, 4/4.
• Keep in your prayers the people of Chile and pray for the NGOs and global charities that will be responding to yet another humanitarian crisis. This Sunday’s mission box will be for SFLUM, and the following week is for UMCOR (checks may be designated for Haiti or Chile.)
• We are preparing an update to the pictorial directory contact information. We need any NEW corrections or NEW information as soon as possible. Church members as well as any regular attendees who would like to have their contact info included in this document can 1) reply to this email or 2) submit changes on the paper provided Sunday.
Coming soon…
News on narthex renovations
Collecting plastic Easter eggs and candy
Easter lily dedications
Holy Week service information
