Grace and Peace to you All!
This is the start of Holy Week.
Picture it: Our Savior arrived on a donkey, crowds cut palm branches to wave him into the ancient city of Jerusalem. People were calling out, "Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" It must have sent waves of excitement through the hearts of many.
We all know that excitement, when the thrill of good news is shared amongst us. I admit that it is probably hard for us to find those thrills we ordinarily seek during Holy Week. From Sunday to Sunday, we are those thrill seekers. But between these two Sundays, our Savior will go to a place that scares us all - accused of blasphemy, misunderstood by many, deserted by his closest friends, nailed to a cross, dying a terrible death.
It had to happen before the Day of Resurrection. Even if it is difficult for us to understand, trusting that our Creator is faithful and good, this is what God decided had to happen.
I have enjoyed getting "group emails" from you all sharing online music videos! I think by your sharing (keep it up!), you have been encouraging others to be worshipful each time we open up our email! What else do you want to share with each other? If you want to share a webcam photo of yourself, or of your pets, or something important to you, that would be awesome too!
Prayers:
Business owners and their employees affected by COVID-19
The homeless, the hungry, the lonely
Our Elderly or infirm who may be feeling very isolated, or have need for help getting to stores
Our nation, and our leaders
Healthcare workers, social workers
Scientists
Students, teachers and families, trying to keep abreast of their education
Our Essential Personnel
Lorraine (Teresa Brake's daughter) - difficulty swallowing, scope procedure postponed
Gloria (Teresa Brake's sister) - problem with veins
Ruth Johnson
Sondra Moore Carlson
Tom Anderson
Char Montgomery and family, at the death of her dad, Harold Montgomery
Kurt Goldston
Friends, please be mindful that the Session has voted to put all of our church facilities on "lockdown" to all foot traffic including those with Rummage Sale donations. The governor has extended the "stay home" order till April 30th. This means that the Presbyterian Women will have to postpone or cancel the May 1-2 Rummage Sale. PW will need to talk amongst themselves as to what they want to do. Our Rummage Donation Room is completely packed already. We might have an alternate location to store some donations, but this requires some discussion first.
Thanks to all who have let me know what you think of our online worship experiments. Each time, I hope it improves bit by bit. I'm afraid that we will have to do it that way again for Maundy Thursday and Easter too, even though I had been hopeful that we'd be able to see each other in person.
I plan to lead a brief Maundy Thursday service, to be available by Thursday morning, and then by Saturday night an Easter Message.
Click below to view the the multimedia bulletin and sermon from yesterday, Palm Sunday, if you missed it. It uses an online software called Microsoft Sway.
Friends, please send me your prayer requests, your status, your expressions of concern, your ideas for how to do mission and outreach during these interesting times. I am eager to hear from you! I will proceed to make my way through our phone directory to see how you're doing. If you have a prayer request, please call me, or call Sharon Huffman (ph 575-403-6905), who is at the top of the Prayer Grapevine and she will call the different branches. It's a great way for us to also just keep in touch!
I became particularly enamored with one song, shared in the online worship, but I think it's beautiful. It's called "In Christ Alone," performed by Solas Sound. https://youtu.be/8kvFtXphmMU
Each time we run into each other at the grocery store, or anywhere else, remember we are the Church gathered! It always gives me joy to see you, even if we have to be 6 feet away!
The Lord bless you and keep you this day and always.
Much Love,
Rev. Amy
RSS Feed
