Services for Holy Week
Please join us in worship during these most holy days of the church year.

Palm Sunday Service - Sunday, March 16th - 10 AM
Today's liturgy begins with a palm procession, commemorating Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Quickly the tone of the service changes as we meditate upon Jesus' passion and death. Because this story is so central to our faith, we hear Matthew's account of the passion today and John's version on Good Friday. Though Jesus is obedient even unto death on the cross, he is exalted by God. We gather to remember his offering for the life of the world, and to be fed by his life-giving mercy. This holy week will culminate in the celebration of the Three Days of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection.

Maundy Thursday Service - March 20th, 7 PM ~ Soup Supper at 6:15 PM
On this night we remember Jesus' last supper with his disciples, before he would be betrayed and crucified. At the heart of the Maundy Thursday liturgy is Jesus' commandment to love one another - his "last words" to the disciples before his death. As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, we are called to follow his example as we humbly care for one another, especially the poor and the unloved. At the Lord's table we remember Jesus' sacrifice of his life, even as we are called to offer ourselves in love for the life of the world. First Communion for our 5th graders will also be celebrated during this service. A soup supper will precede the service, at 6:15.

Good Friday Service - March 21st, 7 PM
In the Good Friday service we remember the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The ancient title for this day—the triumph of the cross—reminds us that the church gathers not to mourn this day but to celebrate Christ's life-giving passion and to find strength and hope in the tree of life. A visit to the cross on Friday prepares us for the resurrection joy we celebrate on Easter Sunday.

Resurrection of Our Lord - Easter Day - March 23rd, 7 AM and 10 AM
On this day the Lord has acted! On the first day of the week God began creation, transforming darkness into light. On this, the "eighth day" of the week, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. We celebrate this new creation in the waters of baptism and in the feast of victory. With great joy we celebrate this day of days, even as we begin the great fifty days of Easter. Filled with hope, we go forth to share the news that Christ is risen! Between the services, join us for an Easter Breakfast featuring egg strata, fruit, and baked goods. Our children will enjoy an Easter Egg Hunt at 9 AM.

My knitting book warned me very clearly that this would happen. “YOU MUST ALWAYS MAKE A GAUGE SWATCH!” the authors exclaimed. A knitter should know that before you begin work on any pattern, you must make a swatch to find out if your stitches are the same size as those of the author who wrote the pattern. If your stitches are larger or smaller than the pattern author’s, then you will switch needle sizes in order to get the same stitch as the author’s, and thus, achieve the pattern’s desired result. Consequently, the knitter must heed the rule: “Always knit a gauge swatch…always!”

Did I listen? No. I wanted to knit a new hat for Carl, and I wanted him to have a new hat now. I couldn’t be bothered to make a swatch. My needles were poised and my newly-purchased yarn was calling to me. It was my day off, and it was cold out. Why would I do anything to prolong the pleasure of this experience? I dove right into the project without taking that important first step.

Well…you can guess what happened to the hat. This picture of Carl with his new headpiece doesn’t really do it justice. In the picture, the hat is just barely propped on top of his head…but the hat really covers his eyes and nose when pulled down snugly. The hat was supposed to fit a 3-6 month old, but the hat actually fits ME quite nicely. I guess I’ll have to knit him another one next Monday…and I’ll use smaller-sized needles, of course. But not before taking that all-important first step: making a gauge swatch!

Sometimes we want to dive into projects without taking the necessary first steps. Imagine trying to run a half-marathon without any training. Or building a house without laying a proper foundation. Jesus said: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock…but everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Mt 7)

When our lives are patterned by the Word of God, they come out as they should be, even when we face trials and troubles. Throughout it all, God’s word gives us faith, strength, and hope; and we remember that we never face anything alone. May we always welcome God’s word into our lives by honoring the Sabbath, and setting aside time for daily devotion. Sometimes we neglect God’s word, and let other priorities have their way with our time. Somehow it seems easier to let God down then to let down others around us. But spending time in the Word of God should be our first priority, so that our faith does not unravel in this busy, crazy world. Taking in the word of God is a necessary first step to a life that is worth living. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will put God’s teachings in our heart so that we may live as God would have us live in this world.

For daily devotion helps, pick up a "Christ in our Home" devotional booklet in the back of the church. Or visit our website: www.stpeterdelphos.org, to check out a daily devotion online. As for weekly worship...well, you know where to find us.

February's Newsletter Reflection

One of the most moving scenes in all the gospels is of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane in the hours before he is to be betrayed, unfairly tried, beaten, mocked, and crucified. Jesus asks his disciples to stay and pray with him, for the sorrow weighed upon him so heavily. He prayed to the Father: “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want…I’m ready. Do it your way.” Yet throughout this time of prayer and sorrow, the disciples kept falling asleep. Jesus became frustrated with the disciples, and tried to wake them several times. “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? There is part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part of you that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

I wonder what would have happened had the disciples stayed awake with Jesus that night. The time of prayer in the garden helped strengthen and prepare Jesus for the terrible events that would follow. Perhaps time spent praying with Jesus in the garden would have readied the disciples as well. Would they have been strengthened to stay with him in his suffering and death? We’ll never know. However, the events of the crucifixion were too awful for them to bear, and they hit the road. Even Peter, who swore his undying loyalty, deserted his Lord.

The season of Lent offers modern disciples a chance to spend time praying in the garden with Jesus. We, after all, have the advantage of overhearing the prayers of Jesus while the first disciples struggled to keep their eyes open. The prayers of Jesus in the garden remind us that the suffering of Jesus was real and terrifying, but yet his suffering and death had a purpose, and was part of the Father’s mission to reconcile humankind to God’s self. In the cross, the crucified One took on our guilt, sin, separation, and death only to give us his righteousness, forgiveness, honor, acceptance, and life.

What does it mean to “spend time in the garden” with Jesus? We pray, we worship, we listen and look to the events of the cross. We acknowledge our role in the events that took place. We (humankind) would not accept the forgiveness and new life that Jesus offered us in his lifetime, so we had him killed. When we turn our attention to the cross and turn not from our guilt and not from the shame and pain he underwent for us, a funny thing happens. We see the love of God displayed most clearly in the cross. He gave everything, stopped at nothing – all to make us his. Though we were sinners, Christ died for us.

This page below lists opportunities for you “spend time in the garden” – that is, to study and worship during Lent.