February 17, 2021
Hello, members and friends of Epworth UMC!
Well, the first round of chemotherapy is in the bag. Woo hoo! God only knows what the next few days will bring, but in the meantime I am so thankful for all of the leaders who have jumped to help keep the church and her many ministries running. I am so thankful for the ways you reach out and help each other in so many ways, even as it has become a lot more difficult to do so during this pandemic.
Today, as I write is Ash Wednesday. Last night would have been Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, where traditionally folks would use up all the fat and sugar in the house by making a big ol pancake feast. At the Blundell household, we had pizza. Close enough, we figured, haha. I swear, whenever we can, I REALLY intend to have a big ol celebration of every single birthday and every single holiday all at once in the church. We could even invite the whole neighborhood! Go around and give Christmas cookies and Mardi Gras beads and Easter flowers and birthday cards to every person in the neighborhood. One of these days.
Maybe we could even make it a fundraiser! Like years go, when people could buy Valentines from us, and we would deliver them all over town. Hmmmmmm an idea is forming...just to spread a little joy, ya know? We couldn’t do the meal yet, but we could do the delivery...hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Anyhoo, back to today. Tonight our Ash Wednesday service will be broadcast on Facebook and Youtube. No in-person service this year, too many of us are health compromised for the close contact Ash Wednesday requires. By now, you should have received a little gift bag of Ash Wed and Lent objects to help guide your prayer and worship. I will be joining you in watching tonight at 7:00pm. See you then!
Sunday, worship will be led by Ron Evans and Jim Foster, with Steve Russell sharing a word for the young at heart. The video and radio feeds are all ready to go for you who will be worshiping from home, and the church is all ready for you who will come to worship in person. I hope to feel well enough to join you in watching from home, and for coffee hour afterward, on Zoom...as always, the link to join by computer will be in your email.
Remember, even as Lent is a time of deep self-reflection and repentance, it is also a time to rediscover the joy of our relationship with God. By praying more often, or worshiping in new ways, or reading or studying in a different way, or committing to some work of help to someone...and by working with God to remove whatever hurts or obstacles in our life that may be blocking the fullness of abundant life Jesus promises, we find that the whole world becomes filled with wonder that has always been there, but that we had been missing. I hope this season is like that for you.
See you tonight for Ash Wednesday, and have a wonderful week!
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