This
week we enter the Season of Lent. Lent
is a season which is a time of spiritual deepening in preparation for
Easter.
Lent begins this
Wednesday February 14 with an Ash Wednesday Service at 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary. It will be a service of repentance and
reflection underscored with beautiful music and ending with those desiring
receiving a cross of ashes on their foreheads indicating a desire for believers
to reorient and deepen lives in right relation to God and to grow as followers
of Jesus. Ash Wednesday is a poignant
and special time that I hope all will be able to attend.
Beginning next
Sunday February 18 and continuing until Easter there will be six services of
Music and Meditation on Sunday mornings at 8:30 am in the Sanctuary. These services will feature times for
reflection as local vocal and instrumental artists provide excellent Christian
music. There will also be time to
experience prayer practices and to be inspired by scripture. Director of Music Ministry Robert McBride and
the pastors are excited to provide this time of growth for the community.
Also during
Lent, there will be Adult Discipleship opportunities on Sundays and throughout
the week. Please consult the announcements in the
bulletins for times and locations of these events. Of special note is a course on “Bible Basics”
which is an excellent entry point for those desiring to know what the Bible says
and means, a course on the outgrowth of the Protestant Reformation. On Wednesdays there is a noon Bible Study in
the church Library which offers a mid-week source of inspiration. These are open to all.
This Sunday Feb.
11 after church there is a Legacy Funds Ministry Luncheon in the Fellowship
Hall. Robert Hay from the Presbyterian
Foundation will be present to help you learn how you might make an enduring
impact to support ministries of Eastminster while exercising good stewardship
of resources. Eastminster’s Planned
Giving Team, led by Claire Gibbs, will host this event and will follow up in
the formation of a “Legacy Society” of those who are passionate about providing
for the long-term ministry of Christ through Eastminster. There is no obligation to attend this
informational event.
Finally (for
now), Robert McBride and I will host an event, Planning Your Funeral, on Sunday
February 25 following worship in the Library.
Persons
present will receive information and advice on how to plan a service which
glorifies God and remembers the deceased well.
This is helpful for planning one’s own service as a witness to the
resurrection and planning the services of loved ones. Appropriate music and scriptures will be
presented as well as other key considerations.
The bottom line
is that in life and death we belong to God.
We are children of a God that loves us deeply, that sacrifices on our
behalf to show us a way of love and self-giving which brings light into the
world. My prayer is that this Lent is a
season of renewal, beauty and growth for the Eastminster community, even as we
remember “we are dust and to dust we
return,” yet “the gift of God is
eternal life through Christ Jesus.”
Blessings,
TIM
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