Holy Week
April 1 is Palm Sunday.
On this day we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, how the crowds waved palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” The following Sunday is Easter, the greatest celebration of the Christian year. Between these two triumphs is a week of teaching, pain, and death; just eight days, but days which take us from excitement through the depths of sorrow and on to the highest joy. From the early days of the Church this week has been recognized as a special time of worship and devotion, commonly called Holy Week.
As we journey with Jesus through the last days of Lent, we invite you to special activities of worship here at Allen Memorial. Our worship service on Palm Sunday will use scripture readings, anthems, communion, and hymns to capture the importance of this last week in the life of Jesus for our current life of faith. The scriptures remind us that before his capture and trial, Jesus spent much of his last night in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. On Wednesday night at 6 pm (April 4th) we will gather in the chapel for our service of evening prayer (Vespers). On Maundy Thursday (April 5th) we will remember Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples in a service of worship at 6 pm in the chapel. On Good Friday we will have a prayer labyrinth set up in Lovern Hall from 9am – 6 pm for anyone who would like to have a special time of prayer on the day when we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. Throughout the week, Covington First UMC will have Stations of the Cross set up where you can remember the journey of Jesus to the Cross. Dates and times are March 26-April 6 Monday-Thursday from 10am-8pm, Friday,10am-12noon. On Saturday, April 7th at 2 pm we will host our annual Easter Egg Hunt for the children of our community.
All of this leads up to our celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. The gospels say that it was “early in the morning” when the first disciples discovered the empty tomb of Jesus. We will gather at 7 am in the chapel for an Easter Sunrise service on April 8th. The United Methodist Men have agreed to provide a continental breakfast following the service. Then we will gather for worship again in the sanctuary at 11 am.
Hopefully these times of worship and prayer will help you observe this week as a different time. Take part in as many of these opportunities as you can to keep this time holy in your life.
Peace,
Rev. Max Vincent
March 2012 Pastor
Gathering as the Family of Christ……
Growing as Disciples of Christ…….
Going forth to serve as the Body of Christ.
This is our mission at Allen Memorial UMC. During the month of March we will have a great opportunity to gather as a family. On the last Sunday night of the month, March 25th, we will gather in Lovern Hall for a church-wide birthday party. Everyone is invited. We will sit at tables according to the month of our birth and share in a celebration of the birth of all of our members. What a great way to get to know some of your fellow church members. I hope you will plan now to be a part of this celebration.
We will also have some unique opportunities to grow as disciples in March. On Wednesday nights as we continue to journey through the season of Lent we will have time to gather in prayer in the chapel. Each Wednesday night we will follow the simple liturgy for Vespers, a service of scripture readings and prayers. The service will last 20-30 minutes. If you can’t make every Wednesday night, try to make any that you can.
Starting on the March 4th at 5PM, I will offer a study of the Gospel of Mark. The study will run for the four Sundays of March (we will be done in time for the birthday celebration on March 26th). There is no cost for this study, the main thing I ask is that you are willing to read Mark all the way through.
As you read through other sections of this newsletter, you will see many other opportunities to Gather, Grow and Go. You probably will not be able to join in all of them. I am not able to do all of them. But I hope you will consider how you can join in as often as you can to contribute to the health and vitality of our congregation.
Peace,
Max
Outside the Box
A common Christmas image is a tree surrounded by lots of boxes wrapped with colorful paper and pretty ribbon. Often the hours that it takes to prepare these beautiful gifts are quickly undone as anxious recipients tear through the ribbon, paper and boxes to see what’s inside the box. Then there are the gifts which will not fit in the boxes: bicycles, wagons, etc.; items which do not easily lend themselves to pretty packages and concealment with wrapping paper. Families have different traditions surrounding how these items are given: some may simply be placed next to the tree unwrapped with a bow on them, others may be hidden and the recipient sent on a scavenger hunt to see how quickly they can find the gift.
As we enter Advent and prepare our lives and homes to celebrate the gift of Christ at Christmas, I want to encourage you to think outside the box more this year. Like those items that could not be contained in wrapped packages around the Christmas tree, there are precious gifts God offers us that we may lose sight of in the Christmas story. These gifts cannot be contained in boxes but can reshape our lives. They are gifts which do not grow old, wear out, or break down. However, they are gifts which we may sometimes neglect in a corner, overlook as we go from box to box, or mistakenly think we have to put away when the Christmas decorations are packed up.
The gifts I have in mind are gifts of change, joy and awe.
John the Baptist in his preaching reminds us that God offers us the opportunity to walk in a new way. We can change the way our life is headed, or in John’s words, we can “repent”. Repentance is all about accepting the invitation to change which God offers us. On Sunday December 4th, we will celebrate this gift of change gives us.
On December 11th, our children will share a Christmas pageant in worship, “Census Time in Bethlehem.” What better time celebrate the joy God offers us than when children are helping to lead us in worship? The prophet Isaiah celebrates the time when God will come as a time of unbridled joy and good news. This joy was not meant only for the shepherds and angels in Bethlehem, but for all of us.
Finally on December 18th, as we hear again the news of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary to tell her that she will give birth to the Messiah, we will remember the awesome news that God wants to dwell with us. Like Mary this news opens up for us a chance to marvel at what God intends to work in and through us. It is a gift of awe.
Change, joy, awe: gifts we never outgrow and which do not break down. They are gifts God offers us today. I hope and pray that all that we do this Advent and Christmas season will help us think outside the box as we live into new ways of embodying God’s presence among us.
Peace, Max
Sermons
2012VBS
2012 Vaction Bible School
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