Missionary Renegade: Ash Wednesday Service Tonight! from Reverend Brent Ross, Senior Pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in San Diego, California, United States

Friday, February 20, 2015

Ash Wednesday Service Tonight! from Reverend Brent Ross, Senior Pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in San Diego, California, United States

Ash Wednesday Service Tonight! from Reverend Brent Ross, Senior Pastor of Normal Heights United Methodist Church in San Diego, California, United States
Quote of the Day - Henry Drummond - "The people who influence you are the people who believe in you."
Join us for our Ash Wednesday Service tonight from 6:30-8pm!
Childcare will be provided!

We will hold our Ash Wednesday service here at the church tonight from 6:30pm-8pm. This service will begin with a time of corporate singing and music before we are asked to take time to reflect at prayer stations around the sanctuary. This is a quiet, confessional service lit by candles with plenty of time for quiet meditation. If you’ve never been to one of our evening services, this would be a great one to experience! Also, we will again be partnering with Genesis Church, a sister church of ours based in North Park. Childcare will be provided!

Lent is an ancient Christian season that is marked by the forty days before Easter and is seen as a time of introspection, reflection, and humility. The idea of 40 days in the Bible has always marked a season or time of change. Whether it is Jesus 40 days in the wilderness or Moses on Mt. Sinai, when people open themselves to 40 days of spiritual practice or reflection… they change. And so, this Lent we have many ways that we will be inviting you to use these 40 days so that we all might reach Easter Sunday fully prepared to celebrate. How will you change during these 40 days?

Also during the season of Lent, we will be offering a 5-week class on Thursday nights to help you learn about the ways of Christian change during these 40 days. This year, we will be focusing on 5 practices, events or things that the church has historically done in order to be formed as disciples… some of which may surprise you! We’ll be using a using a fantastic DVD curriculum called “Animate” which combines great information with excellent discussion questions and conversation starters. I've personally watched the discussion starters and lecturers and they are great!
We will also have childcare available for kids 4 and under, AND a kids component where they, too, will learn about what we are covering! We are really excited about this program and what it offers to the whole worship community! The class will be on Thursdayevenings from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.
Read below for our topics and evenings:
Worship - Feb 26th
For many Christians, worship is synonymous with just going to church. But this week, we will be challenged to think about worship as a much richer practice, one we can engage in through the entire week.
Sacraments - March 5th
When we take communion each Sunday or celebrate a baptism, what does that really mean? Or more importantly, what does it DO? This week we will learn and talk about what these acts (called sacraments) are all about.
Food - March 12th
The Bible is chock-full of stories of food. Whether it is communion, the Last Supper, mana in the wilderness or the feeding of the 5000, the Bible clearly believes that food is and can be sacred. But what does that mean? Does it mean just eating healthy? Or is there a truly radical way to think about eating and food? This week we will learn and talk about the most fundamental of human and Christian acts… eating and drinking.
Service - March 19th
What is the spiritual value of working for the benefit of others? What happens with us when we offer ourselves and our time to helping others without asking for anything in return? This week we will discuss what service really looks like in our context.
Community - March 26th
Community. We use this word a lot in our church. But what does it mean? How do we think of this word and practice of gathering with others? How can we all remake and be remade by what we offer to Christian community?