Holy Week Worship Schedule
April 13: Palm Sunday (includes children's processional)
April 16: There will be no meal or services in deference to Maundy Thursday.
April 17: Maundy Thursday Service at 6:00 p.m. Choir will rehearse at 7:00 p.m.
April 18: Join the Good Friday Service at John’s Episcopal Church at noon.
April 20: Resurrection Sunday. 7:00 a.m. at the park, hosted by Sylva United Methodist Church.
10:30 a.m. Holy Easter service begins following morning Bible study.
United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
This week we celebrated a little bit of women’s history month by learning about Queen Esther and Mary Magdalene. Generation Kids came and taught on “Love Never Fails” with a story based on the Good Samaritan. We ended the week with another field trip to City Lights Bookstore. We got to tour the store, pet the store cat, and they had a section where the kids got to pick some free books!
Our Wednesday evening fellowship meal and bible studies are going great! Let’s keep the momentum going, inviting others to join us and enjoying the deepening of our fellowship.
Please spread the word. And remember, preschoolers and college students’ meals are free, grades 1 to 12 are $7, and adults are $11. Join us!
REMINDER: Reservations must be made before noon on Mondays.
Below is the schedule for our Wednesday evening activities:
The meal begins at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Group time begins approximately 6:10 p.m. and goes to 6:45 p.m. This group time is for college students and adults.
Our youth will meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m. in the youth room.
Our children also meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m, and they will be in the children’s department for a devotional, activity and play time.
Choir rehearsal follows at 7:00 p.m.
We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday evening!
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” – John 1:5 (NLT)
“What is saving your life right now?”
This question from Barbara Brown Taylor has recurred throughout my being in the past couple of years and always makes me think. This question wasn’t a big, scary question that should cause people to be worried about me if I didn’t answer it the way they wanted.
Rather, it is a question about what is shining in my life in the midst of all the gloomy darkness. I always felt like the answers people were looking for were small little things—like checking off a to-do list, watching their kids learn how to walk or taking a walk on a warm, sunny day.
Believe me, I’ve had moments of little things that saved my life right then and there. For awhile, a chore-tracking app was saving my life because it motivated me to mop my kitchen floor and wash towels. There have also been moments when going for a walk an hour before the sun sets on a warm spring day has saved my life that day. But I have to be honest. There are more often days where it takes a little more than that to save my life.
The reassurance that my friends will pick me up when I fall apart is saving my life on my worst days. Making the time in my week to worship God in a space where I don’t have leadership responsibilities is saving my life on my worst days. Mentors who tell me hard truths and sit with me as I process them save my life on my worst days.
I’d like to think that it only takes little things to save my life every day. But in all honesty, that’s not true. Life is hard. Ministry is hard, and I have some pretty bad days where a walk at a golden hour isn’t going to be enough to save me. Some days I need to see God in bigger ways, whether that is through the comfort of a friend, an honest leader, or the presence of the Holy Spirit being made known to me.
I am thankful for the small moments of joy or motivation that save me; but some days, it takes more to save a life.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Pray for those who need “a little more” today, who are yearning to see God in bigger, bolder ways. Ask for the Holy Spirit to intercede for them “with groanings that cannot be expressed in words” (Romans 8:26).
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.
In seeking the Lord’s help, a man came to Jesus once, fell to his knees weeping, and said, “I believe; help my unbelief.” – Mark 9:24 (ESV)
The following was written by Mina on Feb 7, 2024 at a CBF field personnel debriefing retreat.
My life...ministry…faith journey to hope in revelation.
Lord, because I know that you know, and because I know that you care…
You have traveled along the bombed streets all over Ukraine.
You have seen the dead bodies on the streets of Bucha, Izum, Mariupol, Kharkiv…
My grief has clouded my ability to see your hand, your power, your goodwill and your loving kindness.
My story has the good, the bad and the ugly of the war in Ukraine. Sometimes, Lord, I see more bad and ugly than good and beautiful.
Blessed are those who are forced to stare straight into the paradox of the ugliness of the war in Ukraine and the numerous miracles that You, God, have performed throughout these two years I have spent in Ukraine. I have held both the pain of losses and the joy of reencounters in my heart; my heart aches and my heart and soul are tired. We are collectively tired of this war in Ukraine; of the war in Israel, in Palestine, in Africa, in the other parts of your world!
Moving forward always requires us to leave something behind. What if I don’t want to leave anything behind?
I do not want to leave Kyiv behind!
I don’t want to leave my new church behind!
I do not want to leave my dog behind!
I do not want to leave my home Bible study group behind!
I do not want to leave my friends behind.
I do not want to leave my KCA teachers, students, Lesia my secretary and the library behind.
I do not want to lose the Village of Hope.
I do not want to leave my new minimalist living room behind.
I do not want to leave my new office/craft space behind.
I do not want to leave the place I have called home for more than two decades.
Betrayal has cut my heart in two—one-half to survive the war and one-half to grieve the war. Yet in the process, I believe in Your loving mercies that are new every day!
Lament is the pathway from heartbreak to hope. Not yet peace, in my case; still, I hope! In the book of Revelation, there is an ending to lament; there is healing, restoration and redemption.
Let revelation become a reality in my life and the lives of Ukrainians soon!
God, you know. God, you care!
Pray, Practice, Ponder
For those times when You, O Lord, carried me through the hard times; for those times that I know You are working for my good; for those times that I have not seen my losses and pain being redeemed; I pray: “Lord, help my unbelief!” Thank you for saving and being my hope! Amen!
United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Our Wednesday evening fellowship meal and bible studies are going great! Let’s keep the momentum going, inviting others to join us and enjoying the deepening of our fellowship.
Please spread the word. And remember, preschoolers and college students’ meals are free, grades 1 to 12 are $7, and adults are $11. Join us!
REMINDER: Reservations must be made before noon on Mondays.
Below is the schedule for our Wednesday evening activities:
The meal begins at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Group time begins approximately 6:10 p.m. and goes to 6:45 p.m. This group time is for college students and adults.
Our youth will meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m. in the youth room.
Our children also meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m, and they will be in the children’s department for a devotional, activity and play time.
Choir rehearsal follows at 7:00 p.m.
We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday evening!
United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!