Another Round of Winter

We are experiencing another round of winter with spring only two and a half weeks away! I will be happy to see winter go. I had mixed feelings about spring as a boy. Yes, the cold, snow and ice depart, but it also meant that the preparation of the soil for planting would soon be in full swing. For all of my high school that meant that I could not go out for the baseball team. Such is life!

Lent has no hindrance to it, weather or otherwise. It marches on as part of our Church year. We are approaching the third Sunday of Lent. We have a number of Wednesday evening offerings at 7 P.M. this year. Tonight we will read the Gospel of Mark, sixteen chapters that will take about an hour to read. Do not discount the experience. I think you will be amazed at the power of this Gospel when read in one setting. We will have guest readers from other churches with us. I invite you to come and participate. If you do not want to read, you do not have to.

Other Wednesday evening activities are the viewing of the DVD of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's play, Jesus Christ Superstar on May 11th, and an evening of conversation with the Rev. Lou Ness from Shelter Care ministries as she shares her passion to help the less fortunate of the Rockford area on May 18th. As of now, we have nothing scheduled for March 25th.

Also, please beware of the upcoming One Great Hour of Sharing. What is One Great Hour of Sharing? One Great Hour of Sharing, as part of Our Churches Wider Mission, is the special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that carries God’s message of love and hope to people in 138 countries.  The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water and food, education and health care, small business micro-credit, emergency relief, and advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons.  OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster preparedness and response.

To learn more about OGHS go to this link.