RENEW us, lord

In a week we will begin our annual Lenten pilgrimage. The theme, the thought, the cry that will set the tone for our journey is taken from Psalm 51. 

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalms 51:10-12)

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I cannot imagine a more genuine plea to make to God during these troubling days than “restore to me (us) the joy of your salvation.”  We’re weary, fractious, unsettled, fearful people. Restoration of some kind is what so many of us long for desperately. 

In our worship this Lenten season, we will cry Renew Us, Lord!  Worship on Sundays will invite us to gather, hear God’s word of grace, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and be sent back into the world restored by the Spirit of God. 

Our Wednesday evening, worship for all will address five of the most serious challenges each of us face every day:

• Division – We are a conflicted, divided people with little that can unite or reconcile our differences.
• Violence – Revenge and retribution drive us to lash out. If we are not physically violent, our words and actions cause harm.
• Climate Change – Our habitation is suffering from overuse and abuse, and we feel helpless in the face of the challenge. 
• Individualism – We live as islands unto ourselves, assessing all things and people by how they affect me.
• Secularism – We value that which is material, consumable, and affirms our own sense of self, leaving no room for the sacred or holy.

We invite you to join us for worship during Lent and explore how God’s grace and mercy might renew our lives with what we have lost in the shuffle of the everyday.  

• ​​Wednesday, March 9 – Renew Unity, Lord (Division) Colossians 3:12-17
• Wednesday, March 16 – Renew Peace, Lord (Violence) Matthew 5:21-24
• Wednesday, March 23 – Renew Creation, Lord (Climate-change) Romans 8:19-23
• Wednesday, March 30 – Renew Community, Lord (Individualism) Romans 12:3-5
• Wednesday, April 6 – Renew Your Spirit, Lord (Secularity) Colossians 1:15-20

Pax Christi, 
Tim Olson – Lead Pastor