Newsletter

Circuit Rider - 2/14/12

Here Comes Lent

Lent is that season in our church year of introspection and preparation for the celebration of Easter.  It last 40 days (not counting Sundays) and kicks off (so to speak) with Ash Wednesday.  Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for Baptism by member-wanna-be’s, and later became a time of penance for all Christians.  It concludes with Holy Week, in which we travel with Jesus into Jerusalem through the waving palms of Palm Sunday, sup with Him on Maundy Thursday, weep at His cross on Good Friday, and awaken to His Resurrection on Easter morning.

So let’s begin with Ash Wednesday.  Most services on this sacred day include quiet music, times of silence, and lots of candlelight, set off with earthen colors and rough textures. Like our spiritual ancestors of the Old Testament times, we remember that God is God and we are not.  It is a time set apart to confront our own mortality and confess our sins before God. We may take the sign of the cross upon our foreheads as a symbol of mortality, repentance, and reconciliation.

This year, our Ash Wednesday prayer opportunities will begin with a Come and Go Prayer time in the Sanctuary from 6:30am-8:00am.  There will be candlelight, devotional materials, and you may receive the mark of the ash.  Later, that evening at 7pm, we will gather as a worshipping community of faith, and celebrate the healing power of God’s grace in gathering together the broken pieces of our lives and creating something new and beautiful with them. A very special artistic opportunity will be provided that evening.

As we prepare our hearts and minds to enter into this time of Lent, let us join the psalmist of old in praying,

        Create in me a clean heart, O God,
       And put a new and right spirit within me.
                               Psalm 51:10

On Sunday then,
Pastor Sharon

Two Opportunities to start the Lenten Season with Prayer

BEFORE WORK COME-&-GO                   
PRAYER TIME
(With Imposition of Ashes)
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
6:30a.m.-8:00a.m.

ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP SERVICE
(With Imposition of Ashes)
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
7:00p.m.-8:00p.m.

Youth To Fast For Haiti

Our youth will be participating in a 2012 Winter Fast for Haiti, beginning February 24th, they will need sponsors.

Checks should be made payable to First UMC of Webster Groves.

Healthy Church Initiative

IMPORTANT GATHERING
           You are Invited!

          ALL CHURCH
    HEALTHY CHURCH INITIATIVE                           
        WORKSHOP

         Sunday, March 4, 1pm-4pm
       Carry In Lunch at 12:15                                             
        (meat dish provided)

What is the Healthy Church Initiative? Come and we will find out together.

Sunday Worship

8:30 a.m.
Service written and led by lay members

9:30 to 9:45 a.m.
Coffee and conversation in Fellowship Hall

9:45 to 10:45 a.m.
Sunday School for all ages

11:00 a.m.
Traditional service led by the pastor
Newsletters

    Circuit Rider - 2/8/12

    Circuit Rider - 2/1/12

    Circuit Rider - 1/25/12

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