Near You

Read below about this theme for Lent and about opportunities for community, worship and renewal in March and April.

Lent is a forty day season of renewal that leads us Holy Week and Easter. At First Lutheran this year, our Lenten theme will be nearness. At such a time as this, people can feel alone, overwhelmed and lost. But help is near. God is near and we are present for each other. We see it in the image above: sculptured saints, biblical figures and creatures are huddled together close to Christ, welcoming visitors through the doorway. Each week of Lent our newsletter will show different closeups of these expressive figures from Chartres Cathedral in France.

During Lent we often take up some practice of renewal, such as prayer, giving and fasting. This Lent, let’s find ways to be near one another, for companionship and support. Each week during Lent there will be at least one special community event, offered at different times and venues so each of us might find a way to participate. Further details coming soon for the following:

Wednesday, March 5 – Ash Wednesday Worship, 7pm.
Tuesday, March 11 – Multifaith Soup Supper (6-7pm) and Contemplative Service (7-7:30pm)
Friday, March 21 – Pizza Dinner and Game Night (time TBA).
Thursday, March 27 – Annunciation Soup Supper (6-7pm) and Holden Evening Prayer (7-7:30pm).
Saturday, March 29 – Lent Birding Outing (time TBA).
Tuesday, April 1 – “April Fool’s Day” Fellas Happy Hour & Ladies Night Out (time TBA).
Thursday, April 10 – Soup Supper (6-7pm) and Holden Evening Prayer (7-7:30pm)
April 17-19: Holy Week “Three Days” Dinner and Worship

We also gather Sundays, close to Christ. The theme “Near You” comes from the first Sunday of Lent (March 9) when we’ll hear Paul say, “the word is near you, in your mouth and your heart … everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Each Sunday thereafter in Lent, the scriptures present us with an image for the nearness of God and salvation:

March 16: Jesus wants to gather us as hen would keep her chicks close,
March 23: We eat spiritual food at God’s own table,
March 30: A passionately loving father embraces his returning “prodigal son,”
April 6: Mary anoints Jesus’ body with costly perfume, as he goes to his death.
April 13-April 20 (Holy Week and Easter): Christ stays near even as he is rejected.

Also, the FLC choir will be rehearsing Thursday nights, 7pm, February 27 to April 17 in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Enjoy the fellowship and the music! The book for Lent will be Fully Alive: Tending the Soul in Turbulent times. The 9am Conversation will center around resurrection hope.

We have each other, and we belong to Christ. Help is near. The Lord is near.