Dear Glen Mar Friends,

As I write this, we are in a series called God.Gifts.You., which is about God’s call on every life generally and God’s call on your life in particular — a call to use the gifts God gives us to build up the body of Christ, and to share the life-giving message Christ brings and to make the Kingdom of God real for ourselves and others.

We move from gifts we’ve been given to the season of Lent and a series called “I Give Up…” As you might know, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which this year is Wednesday, March 2. It is a season of fasting and prayer, a season of repentance and denial of self, to help us remember the suffering of Christ and to prepare us for the Day of Resurrection (Easter, April 17). It is a season where we “give up” something as a way to place our relationship with Christ more front and center in our lives. This year, we’ll be doing a series written by my friend Rev. Kara Scroggins called, I Give Up, where each week we will look at what Scripture says about giving up something. Come learn how to give up fear, chasing approval, exhausting ourselves and what’s killing us. And as we give these “death dealing” things up, we will be invited to gather up items to bless our neighbors, as part of sharing God’s blessings, and paying those forward to others. We’ll also have reflections/meditations on Monday-Friday of Lent to help guide your own devotional practice.

Lent has a reputation of being a sad time or a time to be dreaded, but honestly, I look forward to it. It is my favorite time of the church year, because during Lent I can hear most clearly the voice of God, for myself and for my family and for our church. I think you will find that to be true also. Set aside regular time for prayer and scriptural study. Worship with us, in person or online faithfully. If you have extra to give, or If you “give up” something tangible for Lent, prayerfully consider donating the cost of that item to the church as additional giving in honor of our Lord and Savior who paid it all for us.

Check out our website for all our current events and details on all the great mission and ministry we are doing this spring. I’m so proud to be your pastor and to be on this journey with you. If there is anything I can do to serve you better, please let me know.

See you in Church,
Pastor Mandy