For me this Lent has been speeding by at warp speed. It is hard for me to believe we are only a little over a week away from Holy Week! In Lent, we are trying to shape our lives to be more Christlike, we are trying to live lives more fully shaped by Christ and his teachings. One of the aspects of us being more like Christ is that we call out things in the world that are not right and we strive to set things right. For example, when we hear about anyone, but especially children and the disabled, that dont have food or a strong family system to support them and show them love, we should be finding ways to feed them bodily, emotionally, and spiritually. We should use our days and lives to try to make the world around us more like God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, justice reigns, but that kingdom will not fully come into existence in the world until Christ returns again. We are part of God's plan to try to make the world more just, more like the way of Jesus the Christ. Often I don't focus on justice because it can feel like we are diving into the political and yet the justice of God's kingdom transcends the political and ideological divides of this nation and the world. So we will look at the justice of Jesus and how we can attempt to reflect that in our lives and how in our actions we can try to bring about justice. As we look at justice, I ask you to put aside the common political battles of the day and instead look at what the justice of God's kingdom truly is and how we can help the world to be more just and reflects God's values.
This is a communion Sunday and the communion offering is going to the UMCOR Advance to support the people of Ukraine with humanitarian help. When we give through UMCOR, 100% of the money donated goes to direct help and aid! At the communion table we will have all the options we have had for communion. We offer several ways to receive depending on where you are on your COVID journey and steps you are taking to protect your health. People watching at home feel free to have your bread and juice on hand to join us!
The bulletin for this Sunday is attached for you to look at. Remember that in the bulletin we have announcements, a prayer list, church attendance, the amount of offering that has come in that support our ministries, along with the outline of the service. We attach it weekly so that those of who can't be with us can keep up with the church and more fully join in worship online. We appreciate everyone who continues to worship and be a part of our community even if they can not come to the church building. While we always prefer to see people in person, we also love those who join us from afar and we are blessed to have you as part of our worshipping community!!
We are live-streaming on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel. For those that are watching when we live-stream we do have a person that can see the comments posted if there are sound or visual issues. While we don't want to fixate on every little issue we do want to know when something is way off and affects your ability to be able to enter into worship. Unless you are watching worship when it is live I would recommend watching on the YouTube channel because the quality is MUCH better.
We are not passing offering plates so the wooden boxes are available to put your offering in. The 2022 offering envelopes are in church mailboxes for those that continue to use them for their offering. Of course you can also give online, use text to give (844-406-0358), or mail the offering to church.
We will be collecting prayers in the prayer box on the table in the parlor. Also, if you have announcement that you need to be shared please write them down and give them to me before the service. This will be an ongoing practice for prayers and announcements to help ensure that they are heard and understood by all (especially those worshipping with us virtually).
I can't wait for us to gather together as God's family again this Sunday. I hope and pray that Sunday morning is not just an obligation for you and your family but something you look forward to and enjoy. Worship should feed us mind, body, and soul and prepare us to better be God's agents in this world. I hope you come to worship the same excitement I do!!
Blessings,
PH
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