New Philadelphia News Across the Pastor’s Desk Ash Wednesday falls on March 5. This announcement may be a little premature, but before you know it, Lent will be upon us; we are in the process of finalizing our Lenten Programming. I love this time of year, and especially our meetings. When we start out, we will be dealing with the dregs of winter, but, hopefully, as we finish, we will be experiencing the wonderful warmth of the sun. We will meet four times: Sunday, March 16, 23 and 30, and April 6. Courses will meet from 4PM until 5PM., and a light supper will be served from 5PM until 6PM. There will be something for the whole family. The New Philly Kids will be invited to “Gather in the Garden” for a study on prayer as we think about Jesus’ time of prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Each of their 5 sessions, beginning March 9, will look at different ways we can pray and what we should be mindful of as we pray. Our preschools will gather for a program called “Jesus Loves Me!”, looking at the parable of the sower, the calming of the storm, the feeding of the five thousand and the parable of the lost son, through snack, craft, and story-time. Children age 2 and younger will have Nursery care provided. Middle and Senior High will gather for their fellowship meetings on March 16 and 23, take a break on March 30 (during their schools’ spring break) and go for a hike on April 6 joining in dinner afterward. Youth and Children’s Choirs will rehearse with Sister Sandra Gray, exact times to be announced soon. Sister Ellen Fox will be doing four sessions on some facet of Marriage and Family Life. Brother John Rights will offer a course on “The Truth of Ruth.” This four-week study will examine the four chapters of the Book of Ruth and explore its themes of love, loyalty, relationships, and redemption. Brother Aaron Linville will be doing a workshop on spiritual autobiography. During this course, each participant will write their own spiritual autobiography.
This exercise is a good way to discover the ways God has been at work in your life that you might not have noticed. You will also come to a fuller understanding of where you are in your spiritual life, and your relationship with God will undoubtedly deepen through this process. Because we will write part of our spiritual autobiographies and share parts of them with a partner each week, you might to ask a close friend or family member to be your companion through this lenten journey. I will be doing grief workshop for “introverts.” This class will not require members to share, though they certainly may share where appropriate; but we will concentrate on the Christian doctrine of hope, and grieving in the context of hope. Sessions will include: 1) Personal Hope---Resurrection & Eternal Life; 2) The Stages of Grief---based upon the book, “Good Grief ” by Granger Westberg; 3) Helping the People We Love in Times of Loss; and 4) Hope for All of Us: The Revelation of St. John the Divine in One Hour. We may also offer morning sessions on a weekday if anyone expresses interest. What day works for you? Are there any takers? Finally, Sister Clyde Manning has been busily putting together a follow up to our 2013 Lenten Devotional. Many of you have already submitted your articles. This year we will be using larger type (we are a year older), and we will be printing more copies. We heard remarkable stories about last year’s book, and we expect this year’s publication to reach even more people.
Blessings, Pastor Green