Lent and Easter
A gathering of features and other resources centered on the Lenten season. Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, is a period of 40 days, not including Sundays, that precede Easter.
Easter: Focused on the Facts, but Missing the Story?
UMW Reflection by Harriet J. OlsonThe presence of the women in the Easter story continues to be a marvel and a wonder to me. Of course, Jesus the Christ has center stage in the narrative; nothing should compete with his role in the story, much less succeed in supplanting him. Read more
Wounded for Whom?
Good Friday
by Sally Wisner Ott, Global Ministries MissionaryJesus made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross - for us. What, then, is the sacrifice that we are to make? Read more...
Encounter Between Two Kingdoms
Good Friday
UMW Reflection by Glory E. Dharmaraj
It was Good Friday. In the wee hours of the day, Jesus stood on trial before Pilate, the Roman governor. The latter asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus responded saying, “Yes, it is as you say,” (Matthew 27:11, New International Version); or “You say so,” (New Revised Standard Version). Read more ...
Feasting Upon Bread and God's Grace
Maundy Thursday 2008
by Jamie Michaels
It started out as a joke at my young adult missionary class training. Last summer, as we were eating leftover bread from communion, someone commented about how tasty God's grace is; it is warm and chewy, perfectly accompanied by a few drops of grape juice. Read more ...
"Faith...Just a Little Faith"
Fifth Week of Lent
By Rev. Meri Whitaker
... As I read the Scriptures for today this phrase kept coming back to me..."I see dead people." You might know, I would get the Scriptures that deliver a seemingly morbid message. Ezekiel was taken to a field that was full of dead, dried bones. The bones themselves said that they were "dried and hope was lost." (vs. 11) Ezekiel did as God commanded. He prophesied and the bones came together, he prophesied again and the muscle and the flesh came upon them but there was NO breath in them. Read more ...
Tell Them They Can Live Again
Fifth Week of Lent
UMW Reflection by Yvette Wilson
Young people today are looking death squarely in the face. At no other time in history have young people been so vulnerable to criminal activity, incarceration, sexual abuse, homicide, suicide, unemployment, poverty, lack of health care and homelessness. Read more ...
Seeing with New Eyes
Fourth Week of Lent
by Kathy Kraiza
For over 20 years, my job required my family to move every three or four years. Each move would take us somewhere new and exciting. As outsiders, we would see our surroundings with new eyes.
In the beginning, we were anxious to take advantage of our newness, visiting all of local tourist attractions, the beaches, the museums, and the zoos. After a period of time, we settled into the everyday routine of life and would tire of site seeing. I often think of how many wonderful sites we missed simply because we became complacent. Read more ...
Where He Leads, I Will Follow
Fourth Week of Lent
Posted February 29, 2008
UMW Reflection by Mary Baldridge
Sometimes the obvious is really not so obvious, and what we want to hear or see may not be what is best for the future. In 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Samuel didn’t want to anoint a new king, and he certainly did not plan to choose the youngest and smallest of the sons of Jesse. Read more...
'God Can'
Third Week of Lent
Posted February 21, 2008
by Judith Atwood, deaconess and diaconal minister
As we move in this third week of Lent, we discover in the lectionary readings a theme around thirst. In a story from Exodus, thirsty Israelites wandering in the wilderness demand water from Moses. In John's gospel, Jesus asks the woman at the well (a Samaritan woman at that) for water; then he offers her the living water of eternal life and promises that anyone who drinks of it will never be thirsty again. In Romans, we are reminded that we have the love of God which has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Read more ...
Where Will Our Help Come From? Lent 2008
By David Hosey
I live in a place that knows how to ask the question: "Where will our help come from?" The voice that sings the 121st song is not foreign to Palestine or to Palestinians. Living here, working and speaking each day with Palestinian Christians, I hear in almost ever word the question: "Where will our help come from?" Read more ...
