Pastor Joel's Mid-Week Reminders for 4/6/2011
This entry was posted on 4/7/2011 8:43 PM and is filed under Mid-Week Reminders.
'Then
Jesus,
again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave,
and a stone
was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the
stone."' St John
11.38-39
This
is the
story of Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha and the good friend
of
Jesus, whom Jesus would raise from death. The scene is eerily
reminiscent of the description of the tomb in which Jesus
himself would
shortly be buried. Perhaps part of his feeling deeply disturbed
was that Jesus was looking at a
mirror image of what awaited him.
None of us want to face the grim realities of death,
especially not our
own. The power of the life force within us, given by God
himself, is
so great that all our instincts fight for preserving life.
But Jesus
reminds us often in the gospels that we must spiritually die
to
ourselves in order to live to Him. This is the power of
Baptism, in
which we are united with the death of Christ and also his
resurrection,
as St Paul tells us: "How can we who died to sin go on living
in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into
Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried
with him
by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from
the dead
by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of
life."
(Romans 6.2-4)
So dying well means living well--and that means living in the
promise
that nothing in life or death can ever separate us from the
love of God
which is in Christ Jesus. (See also the note just below
about our
class, Dying Well.)
PASTOR
JOEL'S
ADULT SUNDAY CLASS: We are
currently discussing the topic of "Dying Well" in our
ongoing class,
Practicing Our Faith. This coming Sunday,
April 10, Jonet Schutz, our Faith Community Health
Minister, will be
our guest. She will help us understand
POLST and Advanced
Directive to Physician forms and their place in the
process of dying
well. Jonet will also answer whatever other medical
questions we may
have about the role of medicine in dying well. Please
join us in the
Commons Room for
this
guided discussion
class based on powerful Christian ways of
living out our faith in the
world. We meet from 8:50 - 9:45am. Coffee
and refreshments are
available.
MIDWEEK LENTEN VESPERS AND SOUP
SUPPERS:
Take advantage of this wonderful oasis in the middle of our
busy weeks.
We
invite you to join us for a 6pm Soup
and Bread Supper, followed at 7pm
by
Lenten Vespers using
the Holden
Evening Prayer service. We will need
your
help with the soup
suppers,
so please offer that help on the sign-up sheet posted on the
main
bulletin
board. My preaching theme for these Vespers is "From
Brokenness to
Healing". We'll be looking at stories of healing from the
Gospels,
stories that cover the breadth of the healing we all need in
body,
mind, and spirit. This week's topic: Our Bodies.
FRIDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY CLASS
RESUMES:
After a few weeks break, this class will once again resume
weekly
meetings, beginning this coming Friday, April 8, at 10am. Bob
Kosta
and Glenn Edwards will be interim leaders.
VOLUNTEER
LABOR NEEDED UPSTAIRS: Our permits
expire
in early May, and there is still much work to be done upstairs
before
that deadline. If you can help, please talk with Al Binder,
Randy
Giesbers, Eric Westerfield, or others on our Properties
Board. You
don't have to be skilled--much of the work can be learned and
mastered
quickly. Our thanks to all who have put in many hours of
volunteer
labor helping
to complete these projects!!
DATES
AND
EVENTS TO NOTE ~
Wednesday, April 6......6pm
Soup Supper; 7pm
Midweek Lenten Vespers
+++ Midweek Lenten Vespers on Wednesdays of
Lent, 7pm +++
Friday, April
8..............Friday morning Bible
class resumes
Saturday,
April 9............9am-12noon, Church
Spring Cleaning Work Party
Sunday, April 10.............Worship with
opportunity for healing
prayers
Sunday,
April
17............Palm Sunday
Maundy Thursday, April
21....7pm worship with
Communion
Good Friday, April
22..........12noon and 7pm
worship
Sunday, April
24............Easter
7:30am, Sunrise Worship with
Communion
8:30am, Full Breakfast
10am, Festival Worship with Communion
Sunday,
May 1...............12noon, Serving soup at St
Mark's
Sunday, May 8...............Habitat for
Humanity recognition and
blessing
May 10 -
12.................Oregon Pastors
Conference, Portland
Saturday, May
14...........Community Garden Work
Party
June 10 -
12................RLC Women's Retreat,
Turner
June 27 - July
1...........Vacation Bible
School
**Please see the weekly
bulletin, Spirit Call, and
master
calendar for a complete listing of dates and
events.
