First Sunday of Lent
Dear Asbury & Wesley Oak Family,
Lent started on Ash Wednesday, so tomorrow will be the very first Sunday of Lent. On the front of our March Newsletter, I wrote an article about the importance of spiritual practices during Lent. I listed seven practices that I hope you will consider incorporating, if you haven't already. They are:
- Worship every Sunday
- Pray each day
- Fast — Give up something you enjoy so that each time you desire whatever it is, it becomes as opportunity to express your greater desire for God.
- Experience our Taizé Services on Wednesdays
- Give generously to God
- Practice daily acts of kindness
- Share your faith with others by your deeds and by your words
Unless you live far away or unless you have a compromised immune system, I hope you will join us in person for worship every Sunday during Lent. As blessed as we are to have our live stream ministry, there is nothing quite like worshipping together in person. There is like the sound of the music and the congregational singing bouncing off the walls and ceiling of our brilliantly acoustically designed sanctuary. And there is nothing like the "lift" we receive from the smiles, conversations, and handshakes we get from those worshipping around us.
I also encourage you to invite others to church as we start a new season. This is the perfect time to introduce someone to a faith community as we journey together to Easter.
Holy Communion this Sunday
With this being the first Sunday of the month, we'll be celebrating the Lord's Supper tomorrow. I hope those who will be worshipping online will participate in our Holy Communion. All you need to do in order to participate is have a cup of water or juice and some bread or crackers with you. If you are able to print up the bulletin that is sent by email, you can even participate with the liturgy.
New Worship Series
I always get excited about a new liturgical season because it means the start of a new worship series. This Lent, we will be meeting under the "Tree of Faith" as we experience stories from the Bible that involve a tree or other aspects of nature. I look forward to seeing what messages these stories bring to us that can impact our lives. This Sunday we'll be hearing the story of creation that is told in the first chapter of Genesis. The choir will be offering us the beautiful anthem, "Creation Sings"!Â
Wednesday Taizé Services
One of the best things we started at Asbury is having Taizé Services throughout the season of Lent. "Taizé is a time to rest in God, to let the words listened to and sung penetrate one's being," said a monk describing the worship experience that was developed in the village of Taizé, France in the 1940s. The services consist of scripture, prayer, silence, and musical chants. The mystical sounding chants of Taizé are a "music of participation." The chants are brief texts that one sings over and over, using repetition as a mechanism for the words to enter one's very being. It becomes an unending song that continues in one's mind, long after one has stopped singing. During Lent, join us in the sanctuary at 6 pm every Wednesday for 30 minutes that will greatly benefit your life.
Confirmation Classes
Tomorrow at 3:30 pm, Beth Tyson and I will offer our first Confirmation Class for youth in the 6th grade or above. I'm excited about this opportunity to be with some of our young people, to get to know them better, and to talk with them about our faith. If you know of a young person who would like to participate, we would love to have them join us. We will meet in the Conference Room at the church.
Genesis 1 Video
The text for this Sunday is the 1st chapter of Genesis...which is the first of the creation stories in Genesis. (Next Sunday we'll be looking at the second Creation Story in Genesis.) Here is a video of Genesis 1 (tomorrow's Creation Story). I thought you might like hearing it while looking at beautiful and inspiring visuals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PP12-9IBfg
Hope to see you tomorrow!
Love & peace,
Billy