Join us for Sunday Worship at 10 am on Sunday, March 10.  Sunday runs during the service.  Coffee is served after the service.

Anne McMeekin will be leading the service on Sunday.

Notes for the 4^th  Sunday of Lent

This Sunday we will be looking at John 3:16, perhaps one of the best know verses in the Bible. The following is taken from Gathering. A United Church resource.

John 3:16 is likely the most famous of all scripture passages. Yet it is juxtaposed in the lectionary this week with the story of Moses lifting up a snake on a cross in the wilderness. In this story from Numbers, we encounter the cranky Hebrew people. The longer they wander, the more complaints they have, and the crankier they get. They don’t like the food, they’re thirsty, they’re tired, they want to go back to Egypt, they’re sick of camping. Finally, they reach the boiling point and complain to Moses that they’ve had enough. God retaliates by sending venomous snakes into the encampment. While this seems a little harsh on God’s part, what parent hasn’t been pushed to the limit? Yet the arc of the scripture story is one of a relentless and undeterred God who does whatever is necessary to maintain a relationship with humanity. Even in this situation and after an extreme reaction, God receives the people’s prayers and provides a cure for snake bites. Fear of the unknown, fear of the other, fear of failure, fear of death— these cause spiritual and emotional paralysis. During this Lenten journey, let us reflect on how we are afflicted by fear’s venom and remember that it is only by moving headlong into death’s shadow that we can know Christ’s resurrected love.

Anne McMeekin