Lent 2024
Lent is one of the sacred times in the life of the Christian Church. It is a time to reflect on our faith and how we live it out in today’s world. It is also a time to remember some of the more difficult experiences in Christ’s life that culminated in his death. Christians have long used this time as an opportunity to delve into life issues that might be a bit deeper and more meaningful than usual.
Please join us for any or all of these offerings, the details for each is below:
Holy Week
Palm & Cantata Sunday
March 24, 2024 at 8:30 and 10:15
Cantata and Communion
We will all be treated with magnificent music at both services [8:30 & 10:15am] on Palm Sunday when Bethany Blake leads the Sanctuary Choir in singing this year’s Musical Cantata: Come Walk With Me by Pepper Choplin. The Cantata leads us through the events that occurred during Holy Week when Jesus met his destruction and death at the hands of the Roman Empire and to the relief of the Jewish religious leaders. The Cantata will serve as the sermon that week. As an added bonus, we will have a baptism and the child’s grandfather will be sharing his spiritual journey. You will not want to miss this service!
Lenten Scavenger Hunt
A fun activity for all ages following our 10:15am service and sponsored by the CE committee.
There will be Lenten symbols hiding inside the building. Collect your scavenger sheet in Fellowship Hall, find the symbols, then return to the Hall to receive your prize bag.
Maundy Thursday
Thursday March 28th, 2024 at 6:30 pm
Supper Service in the Fellowship Hall
The word Maundy comes from the Latin word, mandatum – to mandate or command. In the midst of the last supper, Jesus gives three commands in the meal he shared and the lessons he taught on that Holy Thursday night so long ago; lessons that still teach us the essence of the faith. The three things he mandated are:
- To wash each other’s feet / learn to serve others
- To share food together and remember his last meal
- To love your neighbor as yourself.
Service, community, and a deep and abiding love. On Maundy Thursday we will lean into these truths as we talk about the faith around a simple meal of soup and bread and as we participate in various religious activities: foot washing, healing station, prayer, etc. The service is done downstairs in the Fellowship Hall and is informal and since it is so hands on, younger folks might just appreciate it more. Traditionally, we start this service at 6pm, but we are also distributing food at our Food Pantry and they are normally open until 6pm. So the Food Pantry will cease operations early at 5:30 and the service will begin at 6:30pm.
Good Friday
Friday March 29th, 2024
Worship Service in the Sanctuary – 7:00 pm
Good Friday at 3pm is when Jesus was crucified. The way Jesus is treated leading up to the crucifixion contains some of the most brutal scenes in the bible: personal brutality, gloating and mockery, authorities running amok by reinforcing their power at the cost of an innocent’s death and of course everyone cheering for him to be put to death. And in the midst of all of that Jesus reminds people to forgive and even love your enemies; he heals a centurion’s ear that was cut off in passion, he listens as his words are twisted and falsely used against him; and he never gives up his faith and trust in a loving God. On Good Friday, we remember humanity’s reaction to God’s loving son in the hopes that we can behave better journeying into the future. Good Friday is Good because Jesus on the cross forgives humanity of their sin and shows us a different way to live. It is good because Jesus models what the better way is as he deals with the religious and political authorities as well as the mass of people surrounding him. It is good because there are a few instances during these interchanges that show forth courage, faith, strength of character and love.
The service starts at 7pm in the sanctuary and everyone is invited.
Easter Sunday – March 31st
6:30 am Sunrise Service – Holy Family Gazebo
Come and watch the sunrise and celebrate the gift of new life that our God through Jesus offers to everyone. Father Charlie and Rev. Mark will again lead this service for anyone who would like to start their day with the Good News of Jesus Christ. The service lasts no more than 30 minutes, after which everyone is invited back to the FCCEJ Fellowship Hall for our traditional Easter Breakfast, which formally starts at 7am.
8:30* and 10:15 am Services – in the Sanctuary and Online*
We will celebrate Christ’s resurrection and the hope of eternal life at our regularly scheduled Sunday worship services on March 31. Both the Sanctuary Choir and Finally @ First have great music planned. Everyone is welcome to attend our most significant liturgical celebration of the year. Both services will be All Family Worship; nursery care will be available for infants through 3 years.
The 8:30 service will also be streamed on our YouTube channel, and the 10:15 service is in-person only. Everyone is welcome and masks are optional.
7 – 10 am Breakfast @ FCCEJ – Fellowship Hall
Enjoy joyous fellowship and great food! Pancakes (gluten-free available), bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit, juice, milk, coffee and tea will be served.
9:30am Easter Egg Hunt (inside)
Stop by Fellowship Hall for instructions.
Lenten Prayers
During the 6 weeks of Lent, the staff at FCCEJ has pledged to pray for all active members and constituents in our faith community. Each week, starting on February 18 and going until Easter, we will publish a list of names in the Sunday worship bulletin. These are the people that will be prayed for that week. If you have a specific prayer request, please send it to welcome@fccej.org or call the church office. If not, we will pray as the Spirit moves us. All prayer requests will remain confidential unless we hear otherwise. Please feel free to pray for the folks on the list as part of your Lenten journey. By Easter morning, everyone at FCCEJ will have been lifted up in prayer.