Posts from March 2011 (Page 2)

Many of us gather each week in Kitchen Tables to watch over one another in love. Kitchen Tables are the primary place in our new community for sharing our prayers. We pray for those places in our own lives and in the world that are in need of God’s healing, reconciliation, and hope. We also offer prayers of thanksgiving for the places that are experiencing redemption and new life. You’re invited to share your prayers in the comments section below.…

Pastor Edward F. Markquart writes, [The] power of evil is trying to ruin your life, mess up your life, screw up your life, foul up your life, make you miserable, and make me miserable. You can call this power of evil by any name that you want. You can call him devil, Satan, Be-Beelzebub, or Lucifer. You may not like the biblical language like devil, Satan and Lucifer, so you may use contemporary language like the power of evil, The…

We begin our new worship series, Cross Purposes, this Sunday. This week’s reading will be Matthew 4.1-11.  Read the full text here. The reading begins, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1-2). What has temptation looked like in your own life? What do you find most tempting today? How will you resist?

Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes writes, Jesus was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. — Luke 4.1-2 In Lent we enter The Forty Days. We are not walking a new path; we walk Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. And in doing so we enter into the forty-day path of all the holy ones who came before him. So it’s a much richer journey than one of temptation alone. Along with…

Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes writes, Ash Wednesday Remember you are stardust, and to stardust you shall return. You are the ash of a great fire within a star. The star shines within you. You are the dust of the earth, given breath. The breath of God breathes within you. In fear you have shrouded that light, and led yourself by the darkness. In fear you have fled from the dust, only to cling to dust that has no breath. You don’t…

We’ll gather to begin the Lenten journey toward the cross on Ash Wednesday. Reflective Music | Contemplative Environment | Readings & Prayer for Ash Wednesday | Imposition of Ashes In the Sanctuary at Central UMC beginning at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 9

Our new worship series, Cross Purposes, will begin this coming Sunday. What has the cross meant to followers of Jesus over the centuries? What might the meaning of the cross be for us today? Join us in worship for this Lenten series.

Making a special cake for Mardi Gras is popular in New Orleans…and rumor has it that there just might be a King Cake after worship this Sunday! The History of King Cakes Epiphany, celebrated in European countries, marks the coming of the wise men who brought gifts to the Christ Child. Epiphany is celebrated twelve nights after Christmas. People from all over the world celebrate Epiphany by exchanging gifts and feasting. A very popular custom that is still celebrated is…

Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes writes, Shrove Tuesday.  Fat Tuesday.  Mardi Gras.  Pancakes.   Today is one day to whoop it up and enjoy all the stuff you’re going to be repenting of for the next forty. Now is the time to get it out of your system. But what, exactly?  Does Mardi Gras suggest that it may be best to begin the Lenten season of repentance with a hangover and a sense of guilt for how you carried on yesterday?  Besides the…

Here are few more thoughts on the significance of Mardi Gras: In France, the period of revelry before Lent is known to be especially raucous. The term Mardi Gras is a French expression meaning “Fat Tuesday” — referring to the indulgent nature of the pre-Lenten celebration. The name may have been more than just allegorical, however. Ancient pagans often marked their fertility ritual by parading a fattened ox through the town before sacrificing it. It was also the French who…

During December of 2010 we tried to Make Sense of Christmas by understanding the history behind many of our traditions.  There is much history to learn about Mardis Gras as well: Historians tell us that the ancient Romans probably kicked off the Mardi Gras celebrations. Their mid-February festival known as Lupercalia honored the god Lupercus, alternately known as the god of fertility and the god of agriculture and pastoral shepherds. In either case, his party definitely had Mardi Gras-like qualities,…