Tonight Park Congregational Church hosted our last Lenten service this year. Pastor Barbara Poritzky welcomed us and then instead of preaching in the usual way, she shared two stories with us that made a point. They were like the parables that Jesus told. The point was that we should treat the people we meet with love and respect because you never know when you will bump into Jesus.
These Lenten services have been a wonderful addition to our church program. They've been met with mixed reviews. Some people love them. One person asked me why we couldn't continue doing them all year long. Then yesterday another person questioned why we give up our own service to participate in them. He felt we were shortchanging our people.
Here is the answer to both questions. I love our regular Wednesday night services. They fill a real need for those who come. Yet the opportunity to worship together with other Christians sends a message to the world as well as to the members of our congregation. It tells the world that even though we look divided and weak, we can come together in Christ's name and celeb rate our common faith. It also tells us that we have brothers and sisters who love the Lord living right next door. Most of us look forward to seeing each other every week during Lent.
As to the second question, I don't think we could sustain the enthusiasm all year long. People would want to get on to other things. So speaking of other things, we will return to our regular Wednesday night services next week. It's Holy Week so we will be reflecting on the walk Jesus took during that first Holy Week. I hope you'll join us.
Cal
PS. tonight the soloist sang Via Dolorosa tonight and it was beautiful. Here is Sandi Patty's version of it for you to enjoy.
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