ALPLAUS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
  • Home
  • About
  • Pastoral Message
  • Video Message
  • Calendar
  • Muse
  • Activities

Picture
Ash Wednesday Info
        As previously mentioned, this year Ash Wednesday is 2/17.  This is the day we start our Lenten journey.  We usually begin with an afternoon/evening service that includes the imposition of Ashes.  Last year we had a series of stations set up in the sanctuary for personal devotions at your leisure, ending with Ashes.
        What is the deal with Ashes on this day?  Have you ever wondered why we do this?  We can see when someone has been to a service and started their Lenten journey because the Ashes are visible on their face.  But in our worship, we specifically read in Matthew 6 about NOT making a show of our faith with outward signs…  It seems like a contradiction and it is a bit confusing.  Back in the day [Bible times] people who were repenting for a transgression or a significant change in attitude would adopt a manner that would involve humility and public display of repentance - wearing sackcloth and covering oneself with ashes.  This behavior of repentance would be very public and draw attention to a person’s devotion and faith.  Sometimes, it would be a bit of a show and occasionally more show than actual change.  This led to the teaching that repentance should be more private and less of a “production.”
        So why, then, do we have such a visible sign of repentance at the beginning of our Lenten season with the imposition of ashes?  Not for their visibility but as a reminder.  Primarily, the ashes are used to remind us that our life is finite.  We are born and we die as children of God.  Marking the beginning of our Lenten journey - as we dedicate ourselves to journey with Jesus to Jerusalem - we are remembering our own mortality and our fleeting opportunities to mend relationships, with God and with one another.  Traditionally, the palms from last year’s Palm Sunday - now crisp and dry, are burnt to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday [“Sunday’s Palms are Wednesday’s Ashes - as another Lent begins…” TFWS #2138].  We use these ashes to remember that the adoration of the crowds as Jesus entered into Jerusalem quickly turned to the crowd’s cry of “Crucify!”
        Can we enter Lent without Ashes on Feb 17?  Absolutely!  Look to Facebook and the website for worship elements and look for a little devotional booklet to come to you in the next couple of weeks.


Pastoral Message

9/11/2019

0 Comments

 
 I am excited!  I have had a marvelous summer and I do feel refreshed and renewed.  There is a lot that is getting ready to get started in September.
 
Youth Group - will get restarted (I’m not sure when yet).
 
Confirmation Class - open to youth grade 6 and above - will start 9/8 at 9m.  This class will be in place of regular Sunday School.  Aiming for Confirmation on 5/31 (Pentecost). 

From umc.org: “Confirmation includes three aspects,” This Is Your Baptismal Liturgy summarizes. “a) God confirms the divine promise to those who were too young to grasp what God was doing in their baptism, b) they respond by professing their own acceptance of the grace they have received and their own faith in Christ, c) the Church, as represented by this congregation, confirms the commitments they make.”  Confirmation is not a destination.  It is more of a way station, a place where we renew our commitment to the journey we have been traveling under the care of others.  “It is the first time that persons publicly declare their intention to live out the vows of the baptismal covenant,” Burton-Edwards teaches.  “It is not intended to be the last time.  It’s just that confirmation is the label we put on the first time.”  It is also a time for a congregation to celebrate their young people’s commitment to “live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ,” and to renew their commitment to do the same.
 
Adult Book Study - Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World:  Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life, by Joanna Wever.  We will begin 9/5, 12:30.  I am reading this on my Kindle.  It is available in paperback as well, and on Amazon for $4.99.  Study guides are also available  for $10.99 for a 10 week session.  Let’s all get the book, study guide is optional.  If you are interested in this (or a different book study) and would prefer/need to meet in the evening - PLEASE reach out and let me know!  I am available for studies in the evenings, but I haven’t received any requests for them!
 
 Also going on - we will be meeting on 9/8 after the service, before the Church Leadership meeting, to discuss our visits to other congregations.

I am reminded that with each breath, with every prayer, with every new moment - there comes an opportunity for renewal and a fresh start.  Our loving God continually provides invitations for new life and forgiveness.  It seems we are most likely to recognize this at the start of a calendar year or at the beginning of a school year - whether or not we are preparing for school in any way.  Know that you are always welcome at Alplaus and in the universal community of living faith for a fresh start and new forgiveness today and every day.  Thanks be to God!

Blessings,
Pastor Kristi

0 Comments

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • About
  • Pastoral Message
  • Video Message
  • Calendar
  • Muse
  • Activities