The 40 days before Easter is known as the season of Lent, a time of preparing for the celebration of Easter through the practice of prayer and fasting, meditation, study and worship. It is also a time to repent of one’s sins and to seek reconciliation.
Lent is a profound time when we are asked to look deep within ourselves and face our own sinfulness, yet still know that we are held within the saving love of God. This love holds us, not to judge our sin, but to heal our very souls and to lead us to new life.
The word ‘Lent’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘lecten’, which means ‘spring’ and the lengthening of days. The 40 days of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Sundays are not counted in the 40 days, as the Sabbath Day each week is considered a ‘mini-Easter’ when we worship and give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus.
We invited you in these 40 days and nights of Lent to turn yourself toward God through the disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, study and worship; through giving to those in need, and through looking within your own heart.
Thanks be to God who through Jesus the Christ is our hope and our joy.
Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2023
Ashes & Coffee at the Conference Center parking lot from 7:30-8:30 am
7 pm Worship in-person and Livestream
Lenten Study
Most Christians know the Lord’s Prayer by heart. We pray it often, at different times and in different settings. We remember it as the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. But do we really understand and appreciate the meaning and power of its words and what we ask of God each time we pray it?
When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, Jesus gave them this prayer. He likely taught it to his followers often, not just one time.
It was Jesus teaching God’s people, through his disciples, how to pray.
Our Lenten study will use the book, The Lord’s Prayer: The Meaning and Power of the Prayer Jesus Taught, by Adam Hamilton. The study will explore each line of the Lord’s Prayer and how to use the prayer to guide our own prayer life.
Lent Study Opportunities:
-Wednesdays, noon-1:00 pm, Chapel (March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5)
-Sundays, 9:45-10:30 am, Conference Room, (February 26, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2)
-Thursday night Grace Café , Library (February 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30)
-Grace Café, Friday mornings, Chapel (February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31)
-Men’s Group, Saturday mornings (February 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1)
Lenten Collection
Easter Egg Hunt
We are excited for our annual Easter Egg Hunt that is open to the whole community on Saturday, April 8th at Wetmore Park. We will begin hunting eggs promptly at 9am. The hunt is for children of all ages. Please watch our social media and church communications for more information and to learn about the ways you can volunteer and donate to this community event.
Holy Week Worship
Palm Sunday- April 2- 8:30 or 10:45am Worship in person and on the Livestream .We will have palms for all and will participate in communion as part of this worship service. Children of all ages can join us for a palm parade at both of our morning worship services. They can meet Pastor Claire in the conference room at 8:20 or 10:35am depending on which service you attend.
Maundy Thursday – April 6 – 7 pm Worship in-person and Livestream
Good Friday – April 7 – 7 pm Tenebrae Worship in-person and Livestream