Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday: Deepen your spiritual life this Lent with practical, simple ways of living your faith.
This Lent, we invite you to join our congregation in using the season to focus our lives on specific practices to deepen our faith, following the five commitments we make as a part of our membership vows in the United Methodist Church: to support the work of the church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. (We think these commitments are useful, whether or not you are a member of the church.)
The first generation of Christians called themselves “people of the way.” Even more than what they said they believed, they were known by what they did and how they sought to follow Jesus. Similarly, early Methodists got their nickname because of their methods--the particular practices and disciplines they used to live out their faith.
We ask you to consider following a Rule of Life this Lent. We encourage you to make specific commitments of ways you will put your faith into practice, as we seek to love God with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. We hope you will choose practices that make sense for you around these common themes.
Here are descriptions around our shared five commitments. Read them, and ask for God’s guidance. Then write five promises of your own, about how you want to live out these commitments.
---------------------
Lent 2016: Spiritual Practices
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
[Matthew 22:37-39]
This Lent, we invite you to join our congregation in using the season to focus our lives on specific practices to deepen our faith, following the five commitments we make as a part of our membership vows in the United Methodist Church: to support the work of the church with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. (We think these commitments are useful, whether or not you are a member of the church.)
The first generation of Christians called themselves “people of the way.” Even more than what they said they believed, they were known by what they did and how they sought to follow Jesus. Similarly, early Methodists got their nickname because of their methods--the particular practices and disciplines they used to live out their faith.
We ask you to consider following a Rule of Life this Lent. We encourage you to make specific commitments of ways you will put your faith into practice, as we seek to love God with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. We hope you will choose practices that make sense for you around these common themes.
Here are descriptions around our shared five commitments. Read them, and ask for God’s guidance. Then write five promises of your own, about how you want to live out these commitments.
-------
We also invite you to share in a weekly process of mutual accountability about the promises you make with a Check In Group. Check In Groups are designed to support your life of faith. By checking in with each other about our five promises, we gain a community to encourage and support us in our faith. Putting our promises into practice--and making habits of them--opens our hearts and minds to Christ’s love for the world. The process of daily practice and weekly accountability forms us more and more into the women and men God created us to be.
A Check In Meeting Guide is available here.
For families with children: We think these promises make sense for people of all ages! We encourage you to think about simply ways you can help your kids live out these church commitments. Especially with little ones, five promises might be too much to take on at once--so do just one each week. This will let you match the sermon themes along the way, too.
Here are the five commitments:
Prayers -
We love God and support the work of the church with our prayers. Prayer opens a channel of communication between us and God, and strengthens our connection within the community. Sometimes we pray alone, and other times we pray together with others. We pray in silence and in words. We pray for the sake of hearing God’s direction in our lives, as intercession for the needs of others and our world, and as a way of offering gratitude to God.
Sample commitments:
- I will spend 30 minutes in silent prayer, at least once each week.
- I will attend yoga twice each week, focusing my meditation on God’s direction for my life.
- I will pray for 10 people in the church each morning.
Presence
We are the church together, not alone. We make a point of showing up, because each of us matters and because we learn and grow in faith when we are together. Our religion isn’t something we can practice in isolation, because we are the body of Christ--each one of us has something to offer for the sake of the whole.
Sample commitments:
- I will attend church every Sunday during Lent.
- I will visit one of our homebound church members each week.
- I will refrain from using my cellphone when I am hanging out with other people.
- I will volunteer to help with children’s Sunday School during Lent.
Gifts
All that we have is a gift from God, not for our own benefit, but so that we might be stewards of those gifts for God’s work in the world. Generosity helps us remember this, and helps us grow to be people through whom God’s grace is visible in the world. Giving reminds us that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Sample commitments:
- I will buy lunch for someone else whenever I am able.
- I will take the money I usually spend on coffee or snacks and give it to a mission project.
- I will increase my giving to the church, making that gift first, before I spend on other things.
Service
Jesus calls us to be a people who serve one another. He humbly washed the feet of the disciples, and told them to do the same. Serving others gives us a way to do something; by serving, we become the body of Christ in service to the world. We serve others by offering mercy to people in need, by extending care to all our neighbors, and by offering love to those who cannot return it.
Sample commitments:
- As long as it’s physically possible, I will stop to help people in need when I see them.
- I’ll wash dishes I find in the sink at work when I find them, even if they aren’t mine.
- I will volunteer to help with Shared Bread during Lent.
Witness
We bear witness to the love of God when we let our word and actions declare that our lives have been changed by the grace of God. Sometimes our lives themselves stand as a witness; at other times, we speak with words that describe the difference God’s love has made for us. We give testimony whenever we describe our own experiences of God’s grace.
Sample commitments:
- I will wear a cross or other sign of my Christian faith.
- I will speak up whenever I hear someone make a comment or joke at the expense of others.
- I will ask others about their faith, and find ways to talk about my own experience of God.
- I will send a note of encouragement to someone else every day.
We invite you to use this form to write your Lenten Rule of Life. Make one promise for each of the five commitments, writing it here. Then seek to follow your Rule of Life between Ash Wednesday (February 10) and Easter (March 27). Form or join a Check In Group and help each other keep your Rules. Download a worksheet here.
Prayers
- I will live out my faithwith my prayers as I …
Presence
- I will live out my faith with my presence as I …
Gifts
- I will live out my faith with my gifts as I …
Service
- I will live out my faith with my service as I …
Witness
- I will live out my faith with my witness as I ...
Want to read more about what it means to follow a Rule of Life, and these five commitments of the UMC? Our Lenten practice was inspired by the work of The Missional Wisdom Foundation, whose intentional living communities are shaped around a similar Rule. Read more on their website.
---------------------Print out your own Rule of Life worksheet.
Download the whole guide here.
---------------------
+
Lenten Spiritual Disciplines 2016 – First United Methodist Church of Redondo Beach
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
-[Matthew 22:37-39]
This Lent, we invite you to join our congregation in using the season to focus our lives on specific
practices to deepen our faith, following the five commitments we make as a part of our membership
vows in the United Methodist Church: to support the work of the church with our prayers, our presence,
our gifts, our service and our witness. (We think these commitments are useful, whether or not you are
a member of the church.)
The first generation of Christians called themselves “people of the way.” Even more than what they said
they believed, they were known by what they did and how they sought to follow Jesus. Similarly, early
Methodists got their nickname because of their methods--the particular practices and disciplines they
used to live out their faith.
We ask you to consider following a Rule of Life this Lent. We encourage you to make specific
commitments of ways you will put your faith into practice, as we seek to love God with our prayers,
our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness. We hope you will choose practices that make sense
for you around these common themes.
___
We also invite you to share in a weekly process of mutual accountability about the promises you make
with a Check-In Group. Check-In Groups are designed to support your life of faith. By checking in with
each other about our five promises, we gain a community to encourage and support us in our faith.
Putting our promises into practice--and making habits of them--opens our hearts and minds to Christ’s
love for the world. The process of daily practice and weekly accountability forms us more and more into
the women and men God created us to be.
A Check-In Meeting Guide is included at the back of this booklet.
For families with children: We think these promises make sense for people of all ages! We encourage
you to think about simple ways you can help your kids live out these church commitments. Especially
with little ones, five promises might be too much to take on at once--so do just one each week. This will
let you match the sermon themes along the way, too!
Here are the five commitments:
Prayers - We love God and support the work of the church with our prayers. Prayer opens a channel of
communication between us and God, and strengthens our connection within the community.
Sometimes we pray alone, and other times we pray together with others. We pray in silence and in
words. We pray for the sake of hearing God’s direction in our lives, as intercession for the needs of
others and our world, and as a way of offering gratitude to God.
Sample commitments: I will spend 30 minutes in silent prayer, at least once each week.
I will attend yoga twice each week, focusing my meditation on God’s direction for my life.
I will pray for 10 people in the church each morning.
Presence - We are the church together, not alone. We make a point of showing up, because each of us
matters and because we learn and grow in faith when we are together. Our religion isn’t something we
can practice in isolation, because we are the body of Christ--each one of us has something to offer for
the sake of the whole.
Sample commitments: I will attend church every Sunday during Lent.
I will visit one of our homebound church members each week.
I will refrain from using my cellphone when I am hanging out with other people.
I will volunteer to help with children’s Sunday School during Lent.
Gifts - All that we have is a gift from God, not for our own benefit, but so that we might be stewards of
those gifts for God’s work in the world. Generosity helps us remember this, and helps us grow to be
people through whom God’s grace is visible in the world. Giving reminds us that we are a part of
something bigger than ourselves.
Sample commitments: I will buy lunch for someone else whenever I am able.
I will take the money I usually spend on coffee or snacks and give it to a mission project.
I will increase my giving to the church, making that gift first, before I spend on other things.
Service - Jesus calls us to be a people who serve one another. He humbly washed the feet of the
disciples, and told them to do the same. Serving others gives us a way to do something; by serving, we
become the body of Christ in service to the world. We serve others by offering mercy to people in need,
by extending care to all our neighbors, and by offering love to those who cannot return it.
Sample commitments: As long as it’s physically possible, I will stop to help people in need when I see them.
I’ll wash dishes I find in the sink at work when I find them, even if they aren’t mine.
I will volunteer to help with Shared Bread during Lent.
Witness - We bear witness to the love of God when we let our word and actions declare that our lives
have been changed by the grace of God. Sometimes our lives themselves stand as a witness; at other
times, we speak with words that describe the difference God’s love has made for us. We give testimony
whenever we describe our own experiences of God’s grace.
Sample commitments: I will wear a cross or other sign of my Christian faith.
I will speak up whenever I hear someone make a comment or joke at the expense of others.
I will ask others about their faith, and find ways to talk about my own experience of God.
I will send a note of encouragement to someone else every day.
We invite you to use this form to write your Lenten Rule of Life. Make one promise for each of the five
commitments, writing it here. Then seek to follow your Rule of Life between Ash Wednesday (February
10) and Easter (March 27). Form or join a Check In Group and help one other live out your Rule.
Prayers
I will live out my faith with my prayers as I …
Presence
I will live out my faith with my presence as I …
Gifts
I will live out my faith with my gifts as I …
Service
I will live out my faith with my service as I …
Witness
I will live out my faith with my witness as I ...
Want to read more about what it means to follow a Rule of Life, and these five commitments of the
UMC? Our Lenten practice was inspired by the work of The Missional Wisdom Foundation, whose
intentional living communities are shaped around a similar Rule. Read more at missionalwisdom.com.
Check-In Group Meeting Guide
We encourage you to use this simple outline for Check-In Groups. Take turns being the leader; chose
the next meeting’s leader each week. The meeting should not last more than an hour. You can meet in
person, by phone or online; over a meal, in a living room or wherever you are able!
Begin with this prayer:
O gracious and holy God,
give us diligence to seek you,
wisdom to perceive you,
and patience to wait for you.
Grant us, O God,
a mind to meditate on you,
eyes to behold you,
ears to listen for your Word,
a heart to love you,
and a life to proclaim you,
through the power of the spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Read this preamble aloud, together:
We have received the gift of God’s grace, and know the unconditional love of
Christ. As people who seek to follow Jesus, we come together to check in with one
another along the way. We promise to support one another as we seek to love God
with all our lives, as we support the work of the church with our prayers, our
presence, our gifts, our service and our witness.
Read each of the commitments. After each one, beginning with the leader, make a brief report
of whether you have followed your promise or not, plus any other words that would be helpful to
the group. Go around the circle so each person reports about their promise on each of the five
commitments.
I will live out my faith with my prayers…
I will live out my faith with my presence…
I will live out my faith with my gifts…
I will live out my faith with my service…
I will live out my faith with my witness...
End with this prayer:
May the blessing of God give us strength for the journey.
May the Spirit of wisdom give us vision for the road.
May the love of Christ make us caring companions,
as together we go forth from this place. Amen.
(by Jane V. Doull) © 2000 United Church Publishing House
---------------------
Sermon Series: Spiritual Practices for Life
Each Sunday in Lent, starting February 14, worship will highlight one of the five commitments that are the basis of our Lenten practice, and the core of our church membership vows.
You can add to your Lenten practice each week, as we cover each of the commitments.
Or take your practices a level deeper by setting your own Rule for Life for the whole season, and by finding others to share with you in a Check-In Group along the way.
Orientation to the Practices
Pastor Molly invites you to join her for an orientation to these Lenten practices, this Sunday, February 14. She will offer the orientation at two different times, in Epworth Lounge:
9:30 am-10:15 am or 11:45 am-12:30 pm
Ash Wednesday Worship:
7:30 pm at Torrance First UMC
Join with other United Methodists in the South Bay for a combined Ash Wednesday worship service. A combined choir will sing a beautiful anthem, and Rev. Stacy Dickson of Torrance First UMC will preach. Worship includes imposition of ashes, and a special offering for missions.
Each Sunday in Lent, starting February 14, worship will highlight one of the five commitments that are the basis of our Lenten practice, and the core of our church membership vows.
You can add to your Lenten practice each week, as we cover each of the commitments.
Or take your practices a level deeper by setting your own Rule for Life for the whole season, and by finding others to share with you in a Check-In Group along the way.
Orientation to the Practices
Pastor Molly invites you to join her for an orientation to these Lenten practices, this Sunday, February 14. She will offer the orientation at two different times, in Epworth Lounge:
9:30 am-10:15 am or 11:45 am-12:30 pm
Ash Wednesday Worship:
7:30 pm at Torrance First UMC
Join with other United Methodists in the South Bay for a combined Ash Wednesday worship service. A combined choir will sing a beautiful anthem, and Rev. Stacy Dickson of Torrance First UMC will preach. Worship includes imposition of ashes, and a special offering for missions.
---------------------
"In Memoriam: Robert Thune" First United Methodist Church of Redondo Beach, California, United States for Friday, 29 January 2016
We give thanks to God for the life of Robert Thune.
In Memoriam: Robert Thune
February 27, 1930 - January 21, 2016
"O Lord, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Look down upon our sorrowing hearts today, we humbly pray, and be gracious. Help all who mourn to cast every care upon you, and find comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
With deep sympathy and prayers, we share news of the passing of Robert Thune of our congregation.
Bob passed from this life on Thursday, January 21, at Torrance Memorial Hospital. He was born on February 27, 1930 in Mitchell, and then was raised in Murdo, South Dakota. After college, he joined the Naval Civil Engineering Corps and was stationed at El Toro Marine Base, where he met his wife Carlene. After graduate school in Wisconsin, they settled in Torrance, where he worked as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft and they raised a family together. He is preceeded in death by his wife of 54 years, Carlene. He is survived by his three children, Kari (Joel) Daniel, Cheryl (Chris) Wilson, and Brian Thune, as well as his lifelong friend and girlfriend, Joyce Brunskill.
Since joining the church in 1962, Bob has been a faithful member of this congregation, taking on many roles over the years, including teaching Sunday School, serving on the Endowment Committee, and singing in the choir. His humble, steadfast faith and thoughtful, loving presence will be missed.
There will be a memorial service in our sanctuary on Saturday, February 20 at 2pm, with a reception to follow.
May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.(from the United Methodist Book of Worship)
"In Memoriam: Robert Thune" First United Methodist Church of Redondo Beach, California, United States for Friday, 29 January 2016
We give thanks to God for the life of Robert Thune.
In Memoriam: Robert Thune
February 27, 1930 - January 21, 2016
"O Lord, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Look down upon our sorrowing hearts today, we humbly pray, and be gracious. Help all who mourn to cast every care upon you, and find comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
With deep sympathy and prayers, we share news of the passing of Robert Thune of our congregation.
Bob passed from this life on Thursday, January 21, at Torrance Memorial Hospital. He was born on February 27, 1930 in Mitchell, and then was raised in Murdo, South Dakota. After college, he joined the Naval Civil Engineering Corps and was stationed at El Toro Marine Base, where he met his wife Carlene. After graduate school in Wisconsin, they settled in Torrance, where he worked as an engineer at Hughes Aircraft and they raised a family together. He is preceeded in death by his wife of 54 years, Carlene. He is survived by his three children, Kari (Joel) Daniel, Cheryl (Chris) Wilson, and Brian Thune, as well as his lifelong friend and girlfriend, Joyce Brunskill.
Since joining the church in 1962, Bob has been a faithful member of this congregation, taking on many roles over the years, including teaching Sunday School, serving on the Endowment Committee, and singing in the choir. His humble, steadfast faith and thoughtful, loving presence will be missed.
There will be a memorial service in our sanctuary on Saturday, February 20 at 2pm, with a reception to follow.
May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.(from the United Methodist Book of Worship)
----------------------
Connect with us
First United Methodist Church
First United Methodist Church
243 South Broadway
Redondo Beach, California 90277, United States
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment