Thursday, February 8, 2018

02-11-18


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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