We believe in God the creator of heaven and earth, granter of grace and life.
We believe that nothing in all the world, can separate us from the love of God
who always forgives a repentant heart.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God in human vesture who came to love us into new life.
We believe that Jesus took the burden of our sins upon himself
and carried that burden to the cross where he relinquished his own life for our sakes.
This act was his ultimate gift to us.
We believe that his death was not the end, but that he was raised from the dead,
And he will come again one day.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who speaks truth to all people, in every language.
Our hearts are warmed when we embrace that Spirit, and revealing the ever-present
Spirit of God within us.
As the church, and as members of the body of Christ in the world,
we believe we are called to make a difference in this world.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
O most loving and merciful God, it seems only yesterday that we were celebrating the birth of the newborn babe, the Christ child. And yet today, we enter the Lenten season, embarking on a six week journey. We are heading to Jerusalem with the now-grown-up Jesus and his disciples. We know what awaits him there, but let us not focus on the end. There is much to learn all along the journey. Help us, O Lord, to be attentive to Jesus’ words as he teaches how best to love and care for each other. May we hone a confident and steadfast faith in the days to come, for like the fishermen, and so many others, we have chosen to follow Jesus, and to work for your kingdom in his name. We pray in the name of the Christ, that everything we do and say glorifies your name. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
I was surprised to learn that the saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is ascribed to Joseph P. Kennedy, John F’s dad. I guess even super-billionaire businessmen alleged to have made their money bootlegging, encounter adversity as much as the next person. The earliest connotations of the word tough refer to something being strong and firm in texture like leather. It meant tenacious, sticky, holding fast. Later on in the 12th century it came to mean strong powerful, not tender or fragile. And in the 13th century it’s connotation expanded to difficult to chew and hard to endure. The evolution of the word tough finds Kennedy’s adage describing both adversity and the strength to endure it. In their own way, all of the folks on the bulletin cover were steadfast in the face of adversity. They exemplify persistence. Funny how words, like tough, tenacious, steadfast, strong and persistent don’t appear in church mission statements. Maybe they should, for when we hold fast to our faith, we are all of these things.
Rev. Doug Purcell preached the first Service.
Rev. Amanda Burr preached the Second Service.
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