MARCH 2014 Page 1 "Every Member a ‘Minister’” The First Methogram Making Disciples for Jesus Christ through Love & Service! MARCH 2014 Dear Friends, It is hard to believe, but another season of Lent is already upon us! What is Lent? Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which means “spring.” The season is a preparation for Easter. His- torically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for bap- tism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Chris- tians. This season begins with Ash Wednesday, which reminds us both of our own mortality and our need to confess our sin before God within the community of faith. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship, and the Imposition of Ashes can be a powerful verbal and experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation. This practice is the his- toric focus of Ash Wednesday observance and gave the day its name. Lent begins this year on Wednesday, March 5 th at 7PM, and I hope all can join us as we begin our Lenten jour- ney together. The theme for this Lent is titled: “The Royal Way: a Lenten journey through Jesus’ sermon on the mount.” The core of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus famous sermon on the mountain. John Wes- ley, founder of Methodism, once preached a series of 13 sermons on this one sermon. In his introduction to the series, he called it the “royal way which leads to the kingdom.” I hope we can all learn more about Jesus through this powerful message he preached so long ago and rediscover how it still preaches to us today. In addition, I also wanted to let you know that March marks the beginning of a new quarter with the Adult Bible Studies Spring 2014. As many know, I am the writer for the student book for the ABS quarterly this year, that runs from March 2 nd through May 25 th . It was an extremely challenging quarter to write, focused as it is on tradition and how the Hebrew Scriptures relate to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Though my time between Sunday services is often hectic, I am more than willing to drop into some of our Sunday School classes if any- one wants to take a few moments and throw tomatoes at the writer. : ) Finally, I hope you have participated in one of our Listening Sessions as we continue our 10 Week season of discernment moving from “Good things to God things.” An additional one is now scheduled for March 2 nd , from 5:00-6:30PM for those who were unable to attend earlier. Serving with you in Jesus’ Name, Pastor Kevin Website:www.fumcgraham-nc.org FUMC-Graham—303 N. Main Street, Graham, NC 27253 336-226-4343 Pastor-G. Kevin Baker
Transcript
MARCH 2014 Page 1 "Every Member a ‘Minister’”
The First Methogram Making Disciples for Jesus Christ through Love & Service!
MARCH 2014
Dear Friends, It is hard to believe, but another season of
Lent is already upon us! What is Lent? Lent is a season of forty days,
not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on
Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten,
which means “spring.” The season is a preparation for Easter. His-
torically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for bap-
tism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Chris-
tians.
This season begins with Ash Wednesday, which reminds us both of
our own mortality and our need to confess our sin before God within
the community of faith. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and
repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship, and the Imposition of Ashes can be a powerful
verbal and experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation. This practice is the his-
toric focus of Ash Wednesday observance and gave the day its name.
Lent begins this year on Wednesday, March 5th at 7PM, and I hope all can join us as we begin our Lenten jour-
ney together. The theme for this Lent is titled: “The Royal Way: a Lenten journey through Jesus’ sermon on the
mount.” The core of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus famous sermon on the mountain. John Wes-
ley, founder of Methodism, once preached a series of 13 sermons on this one sermon. In his introduction to the
series, he called it the “royal way which leads to the kingdom.” I hope we can all learn more about Jesus
through this powerful message he preached so long ago and rediscover how it still preaches to us today.
In addition, I also wanted to let you know that March marks the beginning of a new
quarter with the Adult Bible Studies Spring 2014.
As many know, I am the writer for the student book for the ABS quarterly this year,
that runs from March 2nd through May 25th. It was an extremely challenging quarter
to write, focused as it is on tradition and how the Hebrew Scriptures relate to the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus. Though my time between Sunday services is often
hectic, I am more than willing to drop into some of our Sunday School classes if any-
one wants to take a few moments and throw tomatoes at the writer. : )
Finally, I hope you have participated in one of our Listening Sessions as we continue
our 10 Week season of discernment moving from “Good things to God things.” An
additional one is now scheduled for March 2nd, from 5:00-6:30PM for those who
Church Day Camp FUMCG will be sponsoring a summer day camp experience at Chestnut Ridge Camp & Retreat Cen-ter on June 16-20 for children & youth in completed kindergarten through 8th grade. The Missions Team will once again be helping to offset the cost for kids to attend. Check out our church website for more info or grab a flier from the table outside of Brian's office.
We have several children who are in need of monetary assistance in attend-ing summer camp at Chestnut Ridge.
