The weekly evening discussion group is moving to Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm, to accommodate schedules. This should continue for the next several weeks, but we will post updates if the group switches back to Thursdays.
Healing Service
The Healing Service and Holy Eucharist will be Friday, April 8 at 10:30 am, followed by the Lunch Bunch at Sizzler, at about 11:30 am.
Service for Roger Reid
A celebration of Roger’s life will be held at 1 pm on Friday April 1, 2016, at the United Presbyterian Church in Albany, 330 5th Ave. SW, Albany, OR 97321
See more here: http://www.fisherfuneralhome.com/obituary/Roger-Harmon-Reid/Albany-OR/1599293
We invite you to Hear and Share the Story of God’s Love for All of Us
Healing Service
The Healing Service for March will be Friday, March 11 at 10:30 am
Albany First United Methodist Church | Lenten Organ Recitals
Wednesdays from 12:15 – 12:45 pm through March 23 – free admission
At Albany First United Methodist, located at 1115 28th Ave. SW, Albany, OR 97321
Source: Albany First United Methodist Church | Lenten Organ Recitals
Handel’s Messiah
Willamette Master Chorus Presents Handel’s Messiah, February 20th – 21st
Sat @ 7pm, Sun @ 3pm
Willamette University / Hudson Hall
Salem, Oregon
For more information or to buy tickets: https://www.willamettemasterchorus.org/
Ash Wednesday Services
Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist Wednesday, February 10th at 12:10 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Lent
Dear Friends,
Almost without notice, Lent is upon us!
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, the 10th of February. There are two days of note prior to that, however, which “set up” what we’re about as Christians. On the last Sunday after the celebration of the realization that God is not a God of a finite number of people but of everyone and everything, past present and yet to come – we call this Epiphany – every year on the last Sunday before we begin Lent, the Gospel reading describes Jesus’ miraculous meeting with Moses and Elijah on the mountain top. The window of time and space is pulled open just a little so that we can discover how we are all part of the mystery of God’s Love in creation.
The second “event” is also an annual one. On the day before Lent begins, we celebrate with a feast of special foods and light-hearted conversations and pleasures. Mardi Gras – “Fat Tuesday” – Shrove Tuesday – different names for the same day, shouldn’t be seen as days on which we over-indulge and then enter into some state of deprivation. What we do in our lives as we stand on the doorstep of Lent is to acknowledge that all is good, all is worthy of celebration.
As we begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, though, we remind ourselves of the transitory nature of our human life. We think about the delicate nature of ourselves and all around us, and how slender a physical thread holds us together. We begin by acknowledging how we fall short of who and what we could be, blessed as we are with God’s Love and the resources which lie within us.
“Dust we are and to dust we shall return”, are some of the words that stick in one’s mind from the Wednesday liturgy. They sound somber. That’s part of their intent. But they remind us also that we belong. We’re part of the miraculous Creation Chain of events and particles which resulted from God’s irrepressible Love spilling out. Dust, then, is not something to be scorned but to be embraced.
And that’s what Lent is about: reminding, teaching, encouraging us to embrace all that we are and all that we can be with God’s help. Such discipline as we may choose to adopt, then, is intended not to fetter us but to help us see what is essential, what is good, what is miraculous about our being, and to help us discover more of the picture of who we are growing to be in the reign of God.
There will be a different tone to the Liturgies, both of Sundays in Lent and in the extra ones – Ash Wednesday and in Holy Week, along with the less formal ones at our weekday groups. And the Monday morning and Thursday evening groups will help us to focus on our spiritual growth into God’s Holy people.
Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people!
Fr. Bob
Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the Congregation will be held on Sunday 31st January, 2016 immediately following the 9:30 a.m. liturgy. All are invited!