Dear friends,

Lent comes very early this year, and so we’re already in the midst of making plans. I have met a couple of times with Pastor Brent Book of Zion Lutheran, and we’re on our way to putting together our joint services. We begin on Ash Wednesday, February 6, at Zion this year. Our theme will be Christ on Trial. Each service will feature a courtroom witness testifying to their relationship with Jesus and what it meant to them. So – there will be a short drama each evening, with the rest of the service being built around that theme. I am hoping it will be a meaningful way for us to deepen our faith and understanding of our own relationships with Jesus, as well as deepening our connections to our sisters and brothers in Christ here in Boalsburg. Perhaps we may even put ourselves into the situations presented each week, seeing ways that our own judgments may be called into question, or the ways that we may be called as a witness to testify on behalf of Jesus in our own lives today. We alternate weeks, so February 13 will be here at St. John’s, beginning each gathering with a simple soup and sandwich supper at 6:00 p.m. I hope you will plan to set aside Wednesday evenings in February and March and join us for these special services.

In addition to Lenten activities, St. John’s Church and Ministry Committee is planning a process that will lead to the writing of the Church Profile. A Town Meeting to begin this process is being planned immediately following worship on Sunday, February 17. There will be a simple lunch, followed by a presentation and discussion. It is important that as many members as possible participate in these gatherings. Hopefully this beginning discussion will be followed by a series of cottage meetings where the issues confronting St. John’s may be discussed more openly and in greater detail.

As we get better acquainted with one another over the next few months, I pray that we may all keep in mind that everything we do, all that we say and the way that we act with one another is a reflection of who we are as God’s people at St. John’s. The decisions being made will hopefully reflect what is in the best interests of St. John’s right now, while we work and plan for things that will affect the future of this church. I pray for patience, understanding, kindness, gentleness, and most of all for the love of God for each one of us to be present in all our work together. We all come with our own ideas and perceptions of things, with many gifts and spirits that God has given. All of them are needed in the church, but we also need hearts and voices that are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, so that no one is unheard or pushed aside. I hope that we can all learn from one another and grow together as we discern the ministry that God has given to St. John’s UCC in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.

This is a busy time in the life of the church and so I ask again for patience and understanding as we work together through this process of transition and change. May we all be in this together, putting aside those things that separate and divide us, and work together for the common good of all God’s children.

Blessings, Ann