My brothers and sisters in Christ,
How are your Intentional Acts coming for Lent? Some of the acts are subtle. Some of them are in the form of daily activities, while others are a one-time act. I saw one activity was making baked goods and bringing it over to a neighbor. I know many of you walk. On your walk, are you praying for the people in the houses you pass? Do you wonder what is going on behind those closed doors? Whatever is happening, I am pretty sure they need to be covered in prayer. We will be turning them in (if you care to) on Palm/Passion Weekend. I will have a box for you to place a piece of paper with your name, group (family, spouses, or individual), and the number of boxes completed. If you misplaced your sheet, just let us know, and we will send you another.
There is a 3-week, 3-episode series titled Faithful Women in the Bible. It starts on March 22 and is shown on the Fox Network. I am also told that it will be streamed on Hulu the next day. It will focus on 5 women in the Genesis story. They will include Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel. In my internship, we did a Bible study on faithful women in the Bible. I still think I have the special edition of Time Magazine that covered this topic. You may want to take a look.
What I did see is a short film found on YouTube called Forevergreen. It’s an animated film that I think the whole family will enjoy. It was created by over 200 individuals from Disney on their own time. I believe it is up for an Academy Award. It is about 13 minutes. I think it is worth a look. I hope you see the religious overtones in this film.
We had another Living Last Supper event at the New Bedford Christian Church. We have a number of new people who were recruited for this event. Someone commented that they are doing a better job than the regulars. I have to admit it’s probably true. We have one more date, then we will be hosting this event at our church during Maundy Thursday. I hope you are planning to attend this event. Bring a friend.
I performed the funeral for Norma Hoover last Friday. She is the wife of Larry Hoover, who many of you know. During the last two years, I have seen them walk past the parsonage. Their picture actually made this letter twice. I found out, after talking to their daughter, that they had close ties to St. John’s. Some were baptized and confirmed at our church. Norma, Larry, and I had a couple of wonderful conversations, always under a shade tree. I will miss not seeing them walk together this year. They were married just short of 69 years. For many, including your pastor, they have been married longer than we have been alive. Sort of cool to think about. How old were you, if you were even born yet, when they got married?
Thank you, Jan, for your Temple Talk on stewardship. You can take a look at our progress at the display in the Narthex. This is one of those items that directly affects you. If you have any questions, please ask anyone on the Stewardship committee. Also, take a look in the bulletin for further information.
I mentioned during my sermon if anyone has been making a list of the characteristics of God. Might be a good time to start. Maybe we should look at them every day to be reminded about the God we worship. This is my list so far during Lent:
1) Our God will chase us down, and his love and mercy will be with me “all the days of my life” (Sermon: fourth week of Lent).
2) God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy (Psalm 51- I hope you are reading this every day during Lent).
3) Showers us with grace – something we don’t deserve but receive. Grace is a gift (Sermon: third week of Lent).
4) Nothing can separate us from his love (Romans 8:38-39; Sermon: third Week of Lent).
5) He is always present (Sermon: second week of Lent).
6) Our helper (Psalm 121; Sermon: second week of Lent).
7) God guards, protects, preserves and keeps us safe. God is our shade ( Psalm 121; Sermon: second week of Lent).
8) Not only gracious, merciful, and abounding in steadfast love, but God is also slow to anger, and relents from punishing (Joel, 2:14b; Sermon: first weekend of Lent).
9) “Forgive us from our wickedness and remember our sins no longer” (Jeremiah 31:34; Sermon: first week of Lent).
10) God’s mercy will never come to an end, “they are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22b-23a; Sermon: first week of Lent)
These 10 characteristics of God are ones that we talked about during Lent. I still have one more week before we head into Holy Week. I’m certain there are many more, but I am staying right now in the Lenten season. Did I miss any? If we stray outside of Lent, can you tell me more? Look forward to hearing from you.
I know it is early, but it is never too late to put the schedule down for Holy Week.
March 29 – Palm/Passion weekend – normal weekend times.
April 2 – Maundy Thursday- 6:30 p.m.
April 3 – Good Friday – 6:30 p.m.
April 4 – Easter Vigil (Saturday) – 5:30 p.m.
April 5 – Easter – (Sunday) – 10:15 a.m.
It does seem the times bounce around a little. This might clear things up. Weekday services are always at 6:30 p.m. April 4 & 5 fall on the weekend, therefore, they are at our normal weekend times.
Cross marked and spirit sealed.
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for the fifth Weekend of Lent, March 21 & 22.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 130 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45