Here it is March already! And with it we will begin the Lenten season. March 5 is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Each of the following Wednesdays until Holy Week we will share in our Soup Suppers, read and reflect on scripture, and enjoy fellowship all in our Fellowship Hall. Last year we experienced good attendance at these gatherings, and it is my hope that we will do even better this year! Lent is a wonderful time to work on improving our relationship with the Lord. We can use this 40-day season to really dig deep into ourselves and identify things that might be obstacles in our relationship with the Lord. We can read more scripture, we can spend more time in prayer, we can give more of ourselves and our resources to those in need, we can abstain from things that take time away from spending time with our Lord and really focus on Jesus.
The purpose of Lent is really to prepare ourselves for the Risen Christ. If you knew that Jesus was coming back in the next few days, what would your priorities be? What are the things that you would want to better or get in order before His arrival? These are the things we can use this wonderful season working on. And who knows, they might just become habit forming! Maybe we will discover new ways to always be ready for the Lord’s return! Just maybe we will be better equipped to face judgement day! And how wonderful would it be if we were able to help others do the same?
I wish you all a very blessed March. I pray that you all will use these first few days of Lent to find ways to bring yourselves closer to God and experience the love He has for you always. May His grace bring you peace, now and always,
Pastor Gerry
PS: I want to thank all our returning service leaders in our Church Council. I also want to extend my gratitude to all those who have served previously and have decided to rest for a while. I also encourage all our members to support those who are working so hard to keep our church viable and try to increase our numbers. If you have interest or ideas, please feel free to approach Council members or myself.