What About Easter

Easter has arrived and with it the end of the Lenten season. For this month, I would like to write about what Holy Week meant to me since my childhood, and how it has been changing through my life’s journey.

Holy Week for me in my childhood had only two important days. As you are reading this, I’m sure you are guessing that Easter Sunday is one of those two days, but let me tell you — no. The two days that were very important to me as a young Catholic boy in El Salvador were Palm Sunday and Good Friday. On Palm Sunday, attendance exceeded the capacity of the building. The capacity of the church was twice that of Ascension, but the worshippers that were last to arrive had to sit among the stones that were in the garden outside the church. On Good Friday, the streets filled with hundreds of parishioners accompanying the holy burial. For my family and most people that we knew, those were the only days we attended church throughout the year. Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking and you are wondering what about Easter?  I can’t tell you what an Easter service was like in those days because no one I knew attended church on Easter.

When I started going to the Lutheran church in my country, the celebration of Holy Week was a little different. The celebration of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday had the same level of energy as any Sunday of the year. There was nothing special about these days. I have not experienced Holy Week in El Salvador since 2017 and on that trip, our delegation returned home the day before Easter, so I don’t know if things have changed since moving to the U.S. ten years ago.

In my new life in the United States, the celebration of Holy Week is one of the things that impresses me in the Lutheran Church. Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday are all treated as high Holy Days, but the big difference occurs on Easter Sunday. On my first Easter Sunday, my wife told me, “This Sunday you should dress a little nicer than normal.” I was confused and asked her why. Her response was “Edwin, it is Easter.” My response, “So??” Finally, I listened to her and dressed a little nicer than most Sundays. To be honest, I thought that she was exaggerating. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the church, everyone was dressed in formal clothes for the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank goodness my in-laws had saved seats for us, because the congregation was nearly to the Hearth Room. I never expected a crowd on Easter Sunday. I was equally surprised after church ended, the conversations taking place in the narthex were about whose house people were going to be visiting for the day for their Easter dinner. I was so confused. I couldn’t understand why people were making such a big deal about this day. I didn’t understand why we were going to a dinner at my in-law’s house, but I enjoyed the party, even if I didn’t understand what ham was either.

Over the years, I began to see Holy Week in a new way. If we only gather for Good Friday to remember the suffering, but not on Easter to remember the resurrection, our Holy Week and our faith journey are incomplete.

This is true throughout the year, all of us will experience moments of anguish and pain, but in the end we have to remember that there is always new life. Our Lord, through his sufferings, death and resurrection has released you, me and all humanity. Joy is always coming. Easter Sunday is the most important holiday for Christians and should be celebrated in church, and with family and friends. Happy Easter!

Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern

Holy Week 2023

To mark the days of the journey of Jesus in life, in death, and in resurrection joy.

April 2, Palm Sunday, Domingo de Ramos

8:30a & 10:45a (English), 10:45a (en español)

“Hosanna in the highest!” will be our cry as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into the gates of the holy city. We will celebrate the beginning of this holy week with the reminder that our expectations and God’s expectations are not always exactly the same. Where the people want a powerful king, Jesus comes as a suffering servant riding a donkey. Through the events of day, we will be reminded of the coming of the promised Messiah – the chosen one of God. Worship is at 8:30am and 10:45am. Between services, BLAST students and families will share in the creation of the alfombras (sand carpets) for Holy Week.

April 6, Maundy Thursday, Jueves Santo

6:30p (English), 6:30p (en español)

Maundy Thursday Dinner 5:30p: Experience and learn about the foods of the Passover. A sampling of Passover food will be provided. Plan on bringing a dish to pass. Reservation only. Reserve your space online or by call to the church office, 262-547-8518.

Maundy Thursday Worship:  We will gather in the upper room with Jesus and the disciples to celebrate the Last Supper. This year, we will hear words of confession and forgiveness and be reminded of the powerful image of the Savior washing the feet of the disciples. As is tradition, we will honor the memory of Jesus’ humiliation at the hands of those in power before he is led to the cross to be crucified by the stripping of the altar. Worship is at 6:30pm.

April 7, Good Friday, Viernes Santo

12p & 6:30p (English), 6:30p (en español)

The ancient title for this day is “the Triumph of the Cross.” A reminder for us that the church gathers not to mourn this day but to celebrate Christ’s life-giving passion and to find strength and hope in the cross as a symbol of new life. We will share in the unfolding drama as Jesus is led to the cross. We will hear the stories of the day and give witness to the closing of the tomb.

April 9, Easter Sunday, Domingo de Resurrección

8:30a & 10:45a (English), 10:45a (en español)

First we hear only hoped-for whispers on the wind. Resurrection? Are you sure? We gather to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus, the Christ. We will hear the story of that first Easter sunrise and be surrounded by the joyful sounds of songs that have been sung for generations and songs that new generations are singing.  Worship is at 8:30am and 10:45am with a continental pot-luck breakfast reception in-between services. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In Search of Sanctuary

As an immigrant learning English, the word sanctuary confused me at first. I saw it at church. I saw it when hiking. I saw it in news about immigration. What in the world was the meaning of this word that it was being used in such different settings? Now of course I know that it means a place of safety and protection from the dangers of the outside. And after everything we have been through in the past couple of years, we all need a sanctuary more than ever.

We were so excited to be back in our sanctuary for Holy Week for normal worship this year. Holy Week services in 2020 were all online and the alfombra was on my home driveway on a cold and rainy Good Friday. Last year we were at least back in person, but there was no singing and communion was at the door as everyone exited the building. We were making big plans. And then we received the exciting and disappointing news that the renovations of the Spanish Sanctuary were going to be taking place over Lent and Holy Week. We would be worshipping in the Hearth Room for the rest of Lent and possibly all of Holy Week. So our plans changed. We slashed the number of alfombras we were planning. We uninvited the guest musicians for Easter Sunday since it was unknown where Easter worship would be. If we were still in the Hearth Room, there would barely be room for the piano. There definitely wouldn’t be room for extra musicians.

When we first started down this road, we were so excited about the project that the disappointments weren’t that big of a deal. But by the time Palm Sunday arrived, it was our third week in the Hearth Room. The energy level of worship was lagging regardless of my energy level. We decided to avoid publicizing our Holy Week worship schedule because we were afraid if visitors came, they would never come back again.

But at the same time, as we were having our own little moment of feeling sorry for ourselves, there were stories of worship in bombed buildings and in subway stations in Ukraine. We were seeing stories of drought and locusts in Tanzania. Yet worship continued. Violence and the government reaction was taking over life in El Salvador, yet worship continued. The story of Jesus’s death and resurrection always overcomes the troubles of this world. If worship was continuing in these terrible circumstances, surely we can do Holy Week in the Hearth Room.

And then we had our own little miracle, and we were able to get into the sanctuary in time for Maundy Thursday. We had a place for the alfombra procession for Good Friday. It was still under construction, but we were energized. And in spite of our efforts to try and hide our worship schedule from visitors, we had over 20 visitors for Easter morning. We had to bring in extra chairs and run additional bulletins. It was a full worship service filled with singing and shouts of resurrection joy. ¡Él ha resucitado!

Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern, Spanish-Language Minister

Welcome to Resurrection

Well, my friends, we do not always get to choose the timing for the work God calls us to do. We are neck deep in the season of Lent. At the same time, we are neck deep in the second phase of our remodel as walls and kitchen are demolished; asbestos is abated; and flooring is being prepared to be installed. So much chaos. Welcome to the wilderness, and if I am being honest, welcome to the story of the resurrection.

The key word for all of us in this season of Lent is flexibility. Please take a moment to thank staff who are redesigning worship, meetings, storage areas, and tending ministry on-the-fly. If the pandemic has taught us anything: even when we have made all the preparations, anything can change with a moment’s notice.

There are times when the wilderness is something that happens to others, and we watch from afar. Like the people in Ukraine. The wilderness they find themselves in was not of their choosing. At other times, the wilderness is the place we go to find a new road. When we choose a new relationship, career, vacation, retirement – all are wilderness moments that we can often choose for ourselves.

The wilderness, even when we enter by choice, can be a place of chaos. We can be fearful. We can be optimistic. We can be emboldened. We can be discouraged. In the wilderness, we can meet all those emotions and much more.

The season of Lent invites us to explore the faith we hold on to while also nurturing the relationships we hold so close. Our relationship with God, with stories of faith, with family and friends, and with strangers as well. These long forty days call us to remember who we are while at the same time releasing our grip from what we hold onto. And yes, these days can sometimes feel chaotic but God does not leave us to figure things out on our own. God is with us, even when we have difficulty believing God is present.

The season of Lent moves us to the holiest of weeks when Jesus enters Jerusalem to crowds gathered to welcome him. An upper room on Maundy Thursday gathers friends for a Last Supper and a cross overshadows the “good” of Good Friday. There will be upset in the temple grounds when Jesus turns over tables of the moneychangers. Chaos. There will be darkness and an earthquake to blot out both the light and our hope for a time on Good Friday. Chaos. A stone will be rolled in front of a tomb and the story of God’s one and only Son will come to an end. Chaos for all who believed.

Perhaps the chaos is just one more opportunity for God to reveal God’s self to us.

Come Sunday, there will be rumors of a stone rolled away and an empty tomb where Jesus once laid. Chaos. Roman guards will not be able to tell the story with much clarity. Chaos. Disciples will question the validity of the stories of three women who believe Jesus has risen from the dead. Chaos. Jesus, himself, will appear to Mary in the same garden where he was laid to rest, and Mary will question his identity. Chaos.

And the days of Easter will reveal Jesus to disciples in a locked room; on a beach; on the road to Emmaus; and on a mountain before his ascension into heaven. Chaos. I love that God uses the chaos of Easter resurrection stories to balance the chaos of our days in Lent and our journey through Holy Week. The same chaos that cause us to struggle and to doubt becomes the chaos that offers us the miracle of God’s resurrection power and the stability and grounding of our trust in God’s promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus, the Christ. Thanks be to God!

On a personal note…I would invite you to not let the chaos of these last two years of pandemic planning keep you from remembering that on Easter Sunday in 2021 we did not have the opportunity and benefit of praising God with our voices through the journey of Holy Week and into Easter Day. Perhaps, you will not take worshipping our God in such simple ways for granted ever again. Come, join us for the journey of our Savior. Find your way to worship, if you have not been for a time. We will be glad to welcome you home. See you in church!

Pastor Chris

Every Day Is Easter

Our Lenten Journey will soon be over. We will gather in the upper room on Maundy Thursday with Jesus and his disciples and hear Jesus say those powerful words that we are reminded of every Sunday morning, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We will travel to the foot of the cross on Good Friday and hear Jesus utter a lonely cry of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” We will hear the words of finality that Jesus spoke with his last breath as he paid the ultimate price for our sin, “It is finished!” And we will travel again to the empty tomb to hear about the group of women that traveled there early on the first day of the week only to find it empty. We will hear once more the words of the angels at the empty tomb, “He is not here, but has risen.” And once that final, culminating event of the Resurrection is complete. Then what? What are we supposed to do then?

The month of April reminds us that Easter is more than just one day. Easter is an “every Sunday” celebration during which we come together to receive the blessing of the cross and resurrection of Jesus – the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life with God. Easter is also an “every day” celebration in which we live each day trusting in God through Christ, knowing that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” for us.

So, what do we do as we go forth from the empty tomb? Let us follow the example of the first witnesses of the empty tomb. After the two angels reminded the women that Jesus had risen, St. Luke tells us that “then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.” They went forth from the tomb changed by the resurrection of Jesus. They went forth from the tomb to bring an “every day” witness of God’s power over sin, death, and Satan himself.

So where are we to go once we leave the empty tomb? Let us follow the example of Jesus’ first disciples. After Jesus walked through locked doors to appear to the eleven disciples and to show himself to Thomas, seven of the eleven disciples went back to their fishing business. They went back to their vocations or stations in life and took the witness of the resurrection with them. They lived in the joy of the resurrection of Jesus while carrying out the daily, ordinary labor and responsibilities that had been given to them.

Like the women at the empty tomb and the eleven disciples, we too are “every day” witnesses and participants in the resurrection of Jesus. We believe. We have the hope of eternal life. We have the joy of the resurrection living inside of us. Also, like the women at the empty tomb and the disciples, we have vocations or stations in life that God has given to us as gifts. Most of us are not fishermen, but all of us have one or more of these callings: mother, father, partner, wife, husband, daughter, son, sister, brother, grandparent, employee, retiree, caregiver, friend, and neighbor. Each of these callings comes with a set of duties and responsibilities. And as followers of Jesus, redeemed by God’s grace we are called to wrap the daily duties and responsibilities of our vocations in the joy, love, peace, and forgiveness of Christ. And when we do this, more than likely, others will take notice and God will bless our faithful work by giving us more opportunities to “tell all these things to all the rest.”

So, what are we to do then? My dear friends, we respond to God’s grace, love and mercy by going forth from Easter Sunday and the celebration of the empty tomb as “every day” witnesses, freed to live and love and serve as God’s forgiven children in Christ Jesus. And as we go forth empowered by God’s Spirit, living and active within us, may we live in the joy of the resurrection so that everyone, everywhere will see just how great God is! Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Tony

Prepare the Way of the Lord

During fifty-one weeks of the year, when the church is decorated, it is the altars and the walls we adorn to enhance our worship experience. But during Holy Week, sometimes the ground receives most of our attention. At Ascension, like churches of all denominations around the world, on Palm Sunday we recreate the actions of the early disciples of Jesus by covering the ground with palm branches. On the original Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a humble donkey, but the Passover celebrants recognized him as the potential Messiah. They threw their robes and branches on the ground to prepare a path worthy of a king.

Jesus walked a far different path later that week when he was paraded through the streets on the way to his crucifixion. I imagine it was the ugliest of walks, filled with fear, humiliation, and pain. In Central America, we spend Holy Week covering the streets with colorful alfombras that are part of the Good Friday processions that take place in every town. In recent years at Ascension, on Palm Sunday afternoon we begin to create our alfombras. The walk of our worshipers over the alfombras on Good Friday is a reminder of the beauty of God’s love being darkened for those three days.

This year, without a sanctuary for Holy Week worship, the pathway for our alfombras is less obvious. In spite of the fact that we won’t have our usual Spanish Sanctuary for our alfombras, we will look for creative ways we can maintain the theology of the alfombras, and our culture.

Advent may be the season of preparing our hearts for Jesus, but Holy Week is the season of preparing our feet to walk the walk of Jesus. Preparing the way of the Lord is such an important idea, that the verse is mentioned twice in the Bible. “A voice is crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, Make straight His Path.” ~Isaiah 40:3 & Matthew 3:3. For those other fifty-one weeks of the year, the weeks when we are not decorating the floors of the narthex and sanctuary, how will you prepare the path for Jesus?

 Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern

The Wonder of Worship

Join us for Holy Week, in-person or live-stream

This year, we’re excited to offer live-streaming on our You Tube channel for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday (6:30 p.m.) and Easter Sunday (8:30 and 10:45 a.m.) worship.

Holy Week Begins April 10

Holy Week will be all the more powerful this year due to the opportunity for us to sing together to worship our God. We will move through the events of Holy Week remembering the last days and moments Jesus spent with his disciples.

Sunday, April 10 — Palm Sunday

A day of celebration marking the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem where palm branches and an explosion of colors allow us the opportunity to experience the joy of the crowds in Jesus’ arrival. Shouts of “Hosanna!” will fill the sanctuary. Worship times are our normal 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. in English and 10:45 a.m. in Spanish.

Thursday, April 14 — Maundy Thursday

Making our way to the upper room, we will gather with the disciples around a simple meal of bread and wine as Jesus gives us the gift of holy communion to give us strength for the days ahead. We will give thanks for a meaningful word of forgiveness from our Savior and then watch as the altar is stripped as we remember Jesus’ betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. We worship at 6:30 p.m. this night.

Friday, April 15 — Good Friday

“Why is this day called good?” Because without Good Friday we would not have the joy of celebrating an Easter resurrection. We will gather at the foot of the cross to hear the seven last words and rest in our weariness after these long days of Lent. Worship at 12 p.m. is the traditional time of worship to remember Jesus’ sacrifice. The noon service will be quiet and reflective. Our 6:30 p.m. service will offer the gift of choirs to bring powerful offerings of music to give us pause as we hear each of the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. Our Spanish congregation will worship at 6:30 beginning with the procession of alfombras in the Memorial Gardens.

Sunday, April 17 — Easter Sunday

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! The story of God’s love knows no end. We hear whispers of resurrection and then see the empty tomb for ourselves. It has been two years since we have gathered to sing songs together in praise of our God on Easter Day. Worship is at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. in English and 10:45 a.m. in Spanish. So much to celebrate!

Holy Week 2020

Even in these days of the pandemic, we continue to mark the days of the journey of Jesus in life, in death, and in resurrection joy. Join with us as we worship in a new way, online (and in print in this newsletter).

Palm Sunday: “Hosanna in the highest!” will be our cry as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into the gates of the holy city. We will celebrate the beginning of this holy week with the reminder that our expectations and God’s expectations are not always exactly the same. Where the people want a powerful king, Jesus comes as a suffering servant riding a donkey. Through our online worship experience, we will be reminded of the coming of the promised Messiah – the chosen one of God. This worship will be posted on Palm Sunday morning.

Maundy Thursday: We will gather in the upper room with Jesus and the disciples to celebrate the Last Supper. This year, we will hear words of confession and forgiveness and be reminded of the powerful image of the Savior washing the feet of the disciples. As is tradition, we will honor the memory of Jesus’ humiliation at the hands of those in power before he is led to the cross to be crucified by the stripping of the altar and the chanting of Psalm 22. This worship will be posted on Maundy Thursday at 6 p.m.

Good Friday: The ancient title for this day is “the Triumph of the Cross.” A reminder for us that the church gathers not to mourn this day but to celebrate Christ’s life-giving passion and to find strength and hope in the cross as a symbol of new life. We will share in the unfolding drama as Jesus is led to the cross. We will hear the Seven Last Words of our Savior from the cross. And we will give witness to the closing of the tomb. This worship will be posted on Good Friday at 6 p.m.

Easter Sunday: First we hear only hoped for whispers on the wind. Resurrection? Are you sure? We gather to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus, the Christ. We will hear the story of that first Easter sunrise and be surrounded by the joyful sounds of songs that have been sung for generations and songs that new generations are singing. This worship will be posted on Easter Sunday at sunrise around 6:15 a.m. on our website and Facebook.

(Reprinted from the April 2020 newsletter.)

Instead of the End – the Beginning

The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Elizabeth Eaton offers these words:

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. So begins the Easter story in the Gospel according to Matthew. The women had lived through the pain of Friday and the emptiness of Saturday and were expecting death. All of their hope had come to a dead end. And just then, as the first day of the week was dawning, hope was restored. The angel said, “Do not be afraid; I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: for he has been raised, as he said.”
 
Instead of death – life. Instead of the end – the beginning.
 
On Easter, we will have glorious celebrations in our congregations and worshiping communities. There will be rejoicing and music and flowers and alleluias. And that’s a good thing. But when the flowers fade and the pressures of life seem so heavy, when the brokenness of this world breaks our spirits, when we have come to a dead end … rejoice. Because it is exactly there where the risen Christ meets us. It is precisely there where we are given resurrection life. It is at that point that we say, “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah.”

The cries of resurrection can still be heard on the mountaintops. Thanks be to God! From the mountaintops we travel to the upper room where the disciples have hidden themselves out of fear. There, Jesus appears. A week later, disciples are still in the upper room. There, Jesus appears. It will be on the beach, where a campfire is tended, that Jesus will appear to his disciples and feed them breakfast. There around the warmth and light of the fire, the light of the world, will ignite a flame in the disciples that will inspire the world.

Instead of death – life. Instead of the end – the beginning.

I read this reflection before the great celebration of Easter. It has carried me forward since we began the celebration of these great 50 days of resurrection. It is entitled Setting Out Once Again by Kelly Hall and Phuc Luu:

Out of the stale darkness, he rises into the light, bright rays of sun split the tops of trees, and clouds depart and blue fills the sky – the smell of angels lingers in the air – his hair feels the cool breeze again. This was not the garden, but a new world made from the eruption of hope and a life that could not be held down. We were witnesses to the life that rose from the dead. God’s relentless love, who comes close to us moving stones from tombs opening the heart to another possibility, death no longer stands. My heart races in my chest as I step forward to face the future, my future, that I grasp with open hands with new naiveté, a child toward a mother to be held and lifted up, and cradled with care. At times, I hesitate and I grasp onto memories of what once was but I know that I am not alone in my apprehension. I feel the hands of others holding me. These are my sisters, my brothers, who are not strangers to my fears and frailties, who have also confronted a hope that frightens them – who can feel their own scars, both fresh and old, they step in pace with me – the weeping women at the gravesite, the scared disciples waiting in the upper room.
 
This is our future, where we walk together toward our new home built by the hands of a wounded king – the new Zion, forsaking the kingdoms marked by borders and divides where all our settlements are only temporary shelters, sanctuaries of rest for the wounded and weary. Then the Christ returns to visit us, as Galilee’s boats pull to shore, these places seem familiar – the lapping water and the sand, but we are not to return to these lands, not those dreams – but become pilgrims, to set our belongings in another home, to wash our sandy feet in some other place, to lay down our tired souls on a distant promise, quilted from both the today and the tomorrow.
 
And we dine as a day sees another setting sun sitting across from each other once again – seeing each sweet face laughing deeply feeling whole once more. And we see the Savior’s smile, he knows our journey’s end and pours us another cup full of his own love and this time, our eyes tell him that we understand.

Thanks be to God!  See you in church,
Rev. Christian Marien

(This article is taken from Ascension’s May 2017 newsletter).

Welcome to Lent

Welcome to the season of Lent!

Wednesday, March 1, is Ash Wednesday. We will worship God with the imposition of ashes and Holy Communion at both our 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. services. Our hope is that you will take time, not find time, to let the world know that for just a moment on Wednesday night, March 1, you will come before your God and bow down and worship and praise to honor the One who has given you life in this world and promises you eternal life in the world to come.

I am always grateful to God for the change in rhythms during the season of Lent. Wednesday night gatherings for soup suppers and worship are a gift to my heart. God provides an opportunity to share in this journey of faith in different ways from Sunday mornings at  Ascension. On Wednesday nights, I have more time to simply sit and enjoy conversation with friends in the congregation. Worship is intended to be brief but meaningful. Music orients our focus to the worship of God. Sermons are exchanged for brief meditations. In the dark of night – the candles shine brighter. There is a beautiful quiet that hovers in the sanctuary even with the joyous sounds of children squealing with delight over the little things in their lives that we so often miss. On Wednesday nights in Lent, this year, Pastor Angela, Tony, and I will all be taking different aspects of our worship. Children’s messages will be a part of each Wednesday night and music will guide our steps in worship into the way of peace. I hope you will consider joining us for a time of refreshment…one night a week – you can skip cooking and the dishes (unless you sign up for either one at church). What a wonderful gift to come share in the joy of gathering together to the glory of God.

We will gather for soup suppers at 6 p.m. on March 8, March 15, March 22, March 29, and April 5.  March 8 will be hosted by JOLT; March 15 will be hosted by our Tuesday Morning Bible Studies; and April 5 will be hosted by CRASH. Congregational sign-ups will be available to help with soup and bread for both March 15 and March 29. Check the narthex/lobby for the posters. We need about 18 soups each week to provide for the 100-150 who attend. Our Wednesday night gatherings will center on some wonderful reflections offered to provide us with directions to wander while we find ourselves in the wilderness of Lent.

Wednesday Worship Themes
March 8
Discovering the Spirit
March 15
Renewing My Mind
March 22
Redeeming My Time
March 29
Deepening My Relationships
April 5
Transforming My Experience

I am grateful to the psalmist who wrote these words for us, “How very good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Come and join us on the journey. I wonder – how could your life be different if you made the conscious decision to gather with fellow believers for fellowship and worship on the Wednesday nights in Lent? What would change in your life? Would you be happier? More content? Would you discover new things about God? Would you find your mind renewed? Would you find your time better spent? Would your relationship with God and other believers go deeper? Would you find your life transformed? My guess is that your answer would be yes!  I know, for me, year after year, my answer is always, always…yes!
Peace be with you. See you in church.
Rev. Christian Marien

(This article was first published in the March 2017 newsletter).