Thank you for a wonderful Christmas. It was wonderful to celebrate Christ’s birth with you for the first time. I was impressed by the children’s program and the simplicity and power of our Christmas Eve services. Thank you to everyone who helped out during the Christmas season to help make everything come together.
Our Confirmation classes just finished their section on the Ten Commandments. We will be having a parent/ student potluck on the 28th before starting a series on Baptism before Lent. Our Wednesday night High school group is starting a series on self-image and being made in the Image of God. Our Sunday morning high school group is continuing to write prayer petitions based on the narrative lectionary. They are also starting a theme of discussing meaningful song lyrics and music videos.
I know it seems like summer is far away, but we are already starting summer ministry opportunities. There will be fundraising opportunities for these programs in the near future.
You can sign up for week at WAPO June 21-26 at the WAPO website. We will also be doing a youth/adult Youthworks mission trip to Denver this summer July 5-11th. You may also be interested in the next TEC event April 10-12th.
With all these programs going on I don’t want you to miss something important. Lent. Don’t let Lent slip by you this season. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday Feb 15th. As we head toward the start of Lent you can start thinking about what you want to get out of this season of waiting, prayer, making amends, repentance of sins, and self-denial. Lent can be a wonderful season of grace for us if we give ourselves to it.
Don’t go through Lent alone. If you have a spouse, or children, or some close friends, you can begin now to talk about how you will support each other in this Lenten journey. This season of anticipation and the preparation is transformed with the companionship of family and close friends. We shouldn’t be deterred by the fear that our spouse or children or friends “won’t be into it.” Let’s begin now to tell others about our desires. Let’s help support others’ expectations. Let’s help others see that Lent doesn’t have to be something you avoid. Lent can be so much more than “giving up candy,” although that sort of thing can be a start for some. As we prepare for Lent we can help our loved ones to begin to imagine what they could receive from God in this season.
In Christ,
Pastor Steve