So, it’s a Friday in Lent…

We have quite a bit of excitement going on here at West County Lutheran Church:

We are two weeks away from the start of Holy Week. The most sacred time of the year for Christians. Today is a Friday. Every Friday, we get to reflect on the significance of Good Friday. Do you do that? Every Friday we can choose to meditate on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us. During Lent, Fridays take on even greater significance. We are moving closer and closer to Good Friday. The day Jesus made a way for all who receive him to have life eternal. Even death itself is undone.

This particular Friday (March 17) is St. Patrick’s Day. Like many Holy Days (holidays) St. Patrick’s Day has been trivialized by secularists to mean only:

• Wearing Green so no one pinches you!
• Drinking excessively.
• Eating Corned Beef dishes. I do love my corned beef though :~)

St. Patrick’s Day is a remembrance of a real person who lived a profoundly harsh yet, faithful Christian life (to read more about St. Patrick, give this a read. Learning about the lives of the saints is a very Lutheran thing to do. We learn from them. We just don’t pray to them, check this out for more on that subject.

• We get to collect towels, wash clothes, and other housewares as a Lenten Works of Love initiative for Home Sweet Home. Check the newsletter for details.
• Another BIG THING is that a new Alpha Course is underway. Our third so far. It is my vision that we continuously host Alpha as a regular and vital part of our congregation’s ministry. We desperately need a regular way to invite others to consider/reconsider Christ and his Church. Gone are the days of simply inviting someone to church who’s already experienced, knows they should be there, and just needs a gentle nudge to get back at it.  Yes, there are a few still out there, but we live in an ever-growing mission field. Our culture is almost fully secular. That fact is healthy for us to reckon with (no matter how upsetting it may be to some). We have a society now (because of systematic neglect by the Church, of the primary purpose of the Church) that needs to be won back to the faith in a safe environment. Alpha is one of the best ways to do that. Hands down.

• And of, course, there is that building thing:

Yes, we have taken two (of several) steps to hopefully rent and make permanent use of a new facility. TWO CAUTIONS: 

1. Do not let our excitement over bricks and mortar overshadow what really matters to the life of a real church (see the above list if you need reminding).
2. Finally getting into and making use of the space will take some time. There are several more legal and practical steps to clear first. You will hear more about this on Sunday. Again, your leadership team is working diligently to identify and lead us through these steps that we cannot conveniently skip “just ‘cause we’re a church.” Please continue making the choice to assume the best in those you have appointed to be your council and let them lead you. The Devil, they say, is in the details, so keep praying and keep an open dialog as we take this important step while not losing focus. 

Finally, as St. Paul famously said:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15 ESV

See you in Church!

Pastor Mark