Friends in Faith,
Today is Ash Wednesday—we acknowledge our brokenness and sinfulness as human beings as our Lenten journey begins. Indeed, ashes upon our foreheads symbolize the fact that "we are dust, and to dust we shall return." Because it is still not safe to gather together, you can click here for my Ash Wednesday reflection.
As Lent begins, I pray that you might consider trying out a spiritual practice. You might try fasting for 12 hours, or committing to pray for 20 minutes each day. You might also consider reading scripture each day, or giving up chocolate or even Facebook. The season of Lent is 40 days because Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, in prayer and in fasting, even being tempted by the devil. Ultimately, he emerged with a stronger relationship with God, a clearer identity, and encouragement for the journey that lay ahead of him. We, disciples of Christ, also use these practices as a way of helping ourselves to focus on our own spiritual growth. You can click here to access the PCUSA's 2021 Lenten devotionals for each day of Lent. As you tend to your souls, may God bless you with deeper insights, healing, and vision for the future.
As always, we hope you'll join us for our Facebook Live service this Sunday at 10:20 a.m. Don't forget to invite your friends! Our Zoom worship service then begins shortly thereafter—usually around 11:10 a.m. The links for these worship services (as well as for our Tuesday Zoom Bible studies [at 11 a.m.] and our Wednesday Zoom Check-ins [also at 11 a.m.] can all be found here. Normally, our Zoom service is more informal—we like to discuss a faith question or two, and then spend time in prayer. This Sunday's scripture is the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). We'll be discussing the emotions we have been feeling as of late, particularly anger and grief.
All are welcome to join us for our Tuesday Zoom Bible study at 11 a.m. as well as our Wednesday Zoom Check-in at 11 a.m. You can find the Zoom links for these meetings here.
Our friends at the South Sacramento Interfaith Partnership Food Closet are hosting an online fundraiser, "Full Plates, Full Hearts", on March 11 starting at 6:30 p.m. There will be an online auction for a host of fun items, and all money raised supports the SSIP food closet. You can read more about the event here, and please note that I have the honor of serving as one of the emcees for the event!
For those interested in our Zoom conversations concerning Ibrahim X. Kendi's "How to Be an Antiracist" , our final three sessions will be on March 3, March 17, and March 31 (all Wednesdays at 7pm). Click here to learn more about the discussion series. We have found this time to be very meaningful and we'd like to encourage everyone to attend. If you would like to join us, and please contact Donna Tabaie for more details.
As we celebrate Black History Month together, many members of our book study group are excited about a PBS documentary airing soon about the Black Church. It's sure to be an excellent show —click here for more info and showtimes.
If you have news for our church family that you would like to share, please reach out to myself or Maria and let us know. Also, whenever you share a joy or a concern, please be sure to tell us if the information is confidential or not; we never want to inadvertently share anything that wasn't supposed to be shared.
Our prayers are with a few members, friends, and loved ones who are struggling with health concerns, loss, and grief.
Loving God, hear our prayers for healing, care, and hope for all in the midst of anguish and troubles.
God's peace to you all,
Jesse
