Crosswinds A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Sunday Worship 9:00 & 10:30am

Crosswinds Monthly Newsletter March 2015

Crosswinds Presbyterian Church seeks to be a joyful Christ-centered community on a journey to grow

spiritually through prayer, study, worship, and service to glorify God.

Luke 4:1-13

Isaiah 55:1-9

Luke 13:31-34

Luke 15:11-32

Philippians 3:13-14

Luke 19: 28-40

A Lenten Pilgrimage

Sundays February 22-March 29

Movie Night At Crosswinds

March 20, 7:00 p.m.

Come chat with someone

who traveled the “Camino

de Santiago”

On Wednesday, March 25,

Cheryl Bishop will visit with

us about her experience of going to Spain and her

trip on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Join

us at 7:00 pm for a casual conversation about this

unique experience.

Good Friday Guided Prayer Walk

April 3, 4:00—7:00 p.m.

The Lenten Pilgrimage continues with this

prayerful and worshipful walk. It is a time

to prepare our hearts and minds on the

sacrifice of the Cross.

Walk to 9 different stations on a self-

directed spiritual path. Reflective prayer

cards will self-guide you through the

stations and prepare you for sitting before

the cross. The entire prayer walk takes

approximately 30 minutes, but linger in

stations as long as you wish for prayer and

reflection. Leave the walk with a blessing

for your journey into the world.

The Deacons will be hosting their annual

brunch on Sunday, March 15th between

services, beginning at 9:45am. Come for a

great meal and get to know your deacon

better. The deacons will be providing the

meal.

New Office Update

Our architect is in the process of submitting

the paperwork for our building permit.

Although the city is often unpredictable, this

should be a relatively smooth and quick

procedure. It helps having a skilled architect

who is experienced in working with the city.

Once the paperwork is finalized, the actual

construction should be fairly quick.

In the meantime, we have begun the process

of clearing the storage area. Some areas of

the church might be used for temporary

storage, so please excuse the mess during

construction.

We hope to be in the offices by June!

Easter Lilies

Help beautify our

sanctuary with

lilies for Easter.

You can designate

your lily in the

memory of a loved

one and take it

home with you

after the service.

Orders will be taken until March 29, for

$10 each.

Maundy Thursday

April 2, 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday of Holy

Week, we will gather for a

meal, share in the Lord’s

Supper, and remember Jesus’ last hours

before his arrest.

The One Great Hour of

Sharing Offering will be

collected at the Palm

Sunday Services, March

29th.

Church Yard

Sale

April 17 & 18

It is almost spring. Time to clean out the closets,

attic and garage. And the best way to really get

clean and organized is to get rid of the stuff you

don’t need. The church is here to help. We will

gladly take your donations for our next Yard Sale!

Lend-A-Hand will have their monthly

meeting on Tuesday, March 10. The

groups meets at 10 am at the church.

Lend-A-Hand is a group of mission-minded

people who work throughout the year.

All are welcome!

See Michael McCoy for more information

2015

Camp

Dates

Juniors 1 6/01/15 - 6/05/15

Jr. High 1 6/08/15 - 6/13/15

Senior High 1 6/15/15 - 6/20/15

Junior High 2 6/22/15 - 6/27/15

Juniors 2 6/28/15 - 7/02/15

You & Me 7/20/15 - 7/22/15

Check their webpage for more information.

www.montlure.org.

Crosswinds’

March Birthdays

Cheryl Burton

Evan Eckhoff

Madhu Gavini

Joyce West

LeAnn Haley

Michael McCoy

Perry Wilson

Tamara Yanke

Ministry Teams Meet

March 18, 7:00 pm

Get involved in the ministries of Crosswinds,

and come to a Mission Team Meeting.

The Mission Team is responsible for

service to the community such as

Family Promise, Operation Care,

Angel Tree etc.

Spiritual Growth takes care of Worship

and Christian Education.

Congregational Care is responsible for

the care and stewardship of the

Facilities and Resources of the

Congregation.

Message from Michael

Do not be conformed to this

world, but be transformed by

the renewing of your minds, so

that you may discern what is

the will of God--what is good

and acceptable and perfect.

(Romans 12:2)

One of the traps of the internet is

that you can find yourself wasting

time on silly searches. I fell into

that trap one evening, getting

hung up on the movie, “The Wizard

of OZ.” More specifically, I was

viewing pages discussing the

Wizard of OZ as a spiritual

allegory. You (as well as L.

Frank Baum) would be surprised

at the numerous and sometimes

bizarre interpretations. However,

some were interesting. One such

interpretation was of the yellow brick road:

‘The yellow brick road is the path of

enlightenment. It is long and often winds

through treacherous places exposing us

to complicated obstacles issued from the

shadow self or adversary which seeks to

complicate or end our journey.”

Enlightenment is a loaded word. Yet if you

think of Dorothy’s trip as a pilgrimage, the

above is an adequate description of a spiritual

journey. A spiritual journey will present

complicated obstacles and require self-

reflection and examination. If we are

fortunate, like

Dorothy, we have

companions to

support us on our

way.

I hope you will

join Crosswinds

for the viewing of

the movie, “The Way.” It is

one man’s pilgrimage through

Spain on the Camino de

Santiago, also known as the

Way to St James. His

journey faces both physical

and spiritual obstacles, and

he is forced into some deep

self-examination. He faces

times of solitude, but also

times when companions

provide camaraderie and

support. By the time they

reach the cathedral, a

transformation has taken

place in the main character.

That is the primary point of

a spiritual pilgrimage: to

transform our inner selves to

be more receptive to the very Spirit and will of

God - - whether it is a 500-mile hike in Spain

or a six-week Lenten experience. As we

approach Easter, our desire should be to

make, at the very least, the little changes

necessary to move us away from the ways of

world and toward the ways of God.

I have encouraged you to think of this season

of Lent as a spiritual pilgrimage. I hope you

are taking time to reflect on your life, your

personal relationships, and your relationship

with God.

One of the components of a pilgrimage is

being away from your normal

surroundings. Think about taking some time

to get away for at least a few hours. Leave

the phone and ipad behind, and get

outdoors. Take a walk, a drive, or just sit in a

park. Empty your mind of the business and

noise of everyday life, and enjoy a little

solitude and the beauty of God’s nature.

Pray, and be with God.

Michael

(I didn’t read this book,

but I like the title and

the artwork!)