Greetings!
For the next 5 weeks we will be turning toward God in deep and lasting ways. We are invited to walk with Christ through the last 24 hours of his life. The next couple of Sundays we will be looking at "The Last Supper." As we hear the words of that moment in the earliest hours of the last day of Jesus' life, we too will be gathering around God's table of hospitality and grace to remember and receive the body and blood of Christ. It is our time to celebrate what God has done on behalf of all of us through Jesus Christ. Holy Communion isn't fast food and it isn't magical nourishment that somehow fixes our lives for us. It is, however, a reminder of what God has been doing in our lives from the beginning, what God is doing in our lives now and what God will do in our lives in the weeks and years to come. God has given us life in Christ through the Holy Spirit and in a community of faith where we invite, worship, study, pray, give and reach out together.
Sunday is God's day in our lives. I invite you to join me as we celebrate this gift to each of us by giving back to God a couple of hours in worship and fellowship.
Rethinking church,
Nathan D. Stanton
Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church
Means of Grace for your Lenten Journey
Sundays: Corporate worship Each Sunday we celebrate God's love by gathering with your brothers and sisters in Christ for worship at Pleasant Valley UMC. As Christians, it is our duty to worship regularly together to give thanks to God in "passionate worship," as a means to living in the midst of God's grace.
Mondays: Prayer John Wesley once called private prayer the "grand means of drawing near to God". We invite you to focus on these disciplines during Lent.
Tuesdays: Fasting The normal fast usually lasts from sunset to sunset. You abstain from food and liquid for a period of one day. You can also fast from sunrise to sunset on your chosen day. You may choose to not partake of food during this time but consume only liquids. The partial fast places emphasis on the restriction of the diet (eating only vegetables and drinking water) rather than abstaining from eating or drinking. Fasting does not have to include refraining from food and drink. Fasting is giving something up in order to focus on God. You can fast from a particular activity such as watching television or playing video games, or fast from a vice such as talking on the phone while driving or gossiping.
Wednesdays: Constant Communion Join me for Holy Communion in the Chapel each Wednesday evening at 5:30. The service of Holy Communion begins right at 5:30. For those unable to make it right at 5:30p.m., this is not a full worship service but it is a come and go time to celebrate Holy Communion throughout Lent. You are welcome to spend as much time as you would like in prayer and meditation each week following communion.
Thursdays: Search the scriptures Take time to read a few verses of the bible or even "pray" those scriptures as you spend time with God. Throughout Lent we will provide a scripture each day that you may read in order to spend time with God.
Fridays: Spiritual Discipline and Reflection
Spend time reflecting on your Lenten journey this week.
Did you worship God this week? Were you part of a community of faith?Did you pray this week?
Did you fast this week?
Did you participate in communion with Christ? With others?
Did you read your Bible this week?
Did you spend time with Christ through the study of scripture, devotional reading and prayer?
Saturdays: Works of Mercy
John Wesley taught people to be Christians in both word and deed, in order to express the love of God.
We invite you to spend some time each Saturday in service to others. Help a neighbor. Visit a nursing home. Let someone in front of you in traffic. Help someone with their bags at the store. Donate items to charity. Offer to babysit. Practice the Golden Rule. Read to a child. Give of yourself.
Feeding the 3,000 The PVUMC community will be in mission together by seeking to feed 3,000 families. Take time to purchase and donate either cans of tuna or boxes of macaroni and cheese. We are trying to raise 3,000 of each. Drop them off at the front of the sanctuary. Mission and service will be organizing them each week to help us know where we are on our count.
These cans and boxes look a little lonely! They could use some company.
 
Let's "Feed the 3,000" families and do a great work for God! |
