March 24: Palm Sunday (Communion)
Join us for a kid-centered worship service, including a puppet show! Wandering Heart: “Songs of Loudest Praise” JOHN 12:12-16 As Holy week begins, Peter is no longer front and center, and so we imagine he is with the rest of the disciples when Jesus enters Jerusalem on a colt. The disciples are confused as they witness crowds shouting hosannas. When they look back on this experience, they will remember the songs. The singing is surely etched in their memories. As we imagine ourselves in the crowd on this day, may we remember that they are supposed to be praising Caesar, but instead they are shouting for the one entering the city on a donkey. Their singing is subversive, courageous, and contagious. Their praise shows the ripple effect of public displays of praise. March 28: Maundy Thursday service in the Sanctuary, 7PM Wandering Heart: “Streams of Mercy;” “Prone to leave the God I love” JOHN 13:1-20, 18:15-27 During his last supper with the disciples, Jesus got up to wash their feet. Since this was a servant’s job, Peter said, “You shouldn’t be washing my feet!” But Jesus told him, “Unless I wash your feet, you won’t really be one of my disciples. Just because I am your Lord doesn’t mean I can’t also serve you. I wash your feet as an example. Just as I have taken care of you, you should also take care of others.” When the leaders arrested Jesus after dinner, Peter followed. Outside the place where they took Jesus, a girl asked Peter, “Aren’t you one of his followers?” But Peter lied and told her he wasn’t. Another person asked if Peter knew Jesus and again, he denied it. Someone else said, “Didn’t I see you when he was arrested?” A third time, Peter lied and said he didn’t know Jesus just as the rooster crowed. Later that day, Jesus was sentenced to die on the cross. March 29: Good Friday, 11AM Good Friday service in the Sanctuary. “It can’t be carried alone” Join us for a grief ritual, where we will sit with our own and each other’s sadness, fear, and anger. After this contemplative time of holding each other’s grief, we will decorate the sanctuary for Easter. This liturgy comes from The Universal Christ Liturgies (Fr. Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation). March 31: Sunrise Service: 9AM Sunrise Service in the Lounge! “We shall all be changed” For new Christians (those newly baptized), the early church had a tradition of serving a cup of milk sweetened with honey to break the Lenten fast, a tradition taken from the Exodus story to signify the promised land. Join us for a contemplative start to the Easter Season as we partake in this ancient tradition to remember our baptisms. This liturgy comes from The Universal Christ Liturgies (Fr. Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation). March 31, 11 AM (Communion): Resurrection Sunday! Wandering Heart: “And I hope” LUKE 24:1-12 Women went to the tomb where Jesus had been laid after he died. When they arrived, they looked around but couldn’t find Jesus’ body anywhere! Instead, two angels told them that Jesus was alive, and the women ran to tell the other disciples. Even though it sounded impossible, Peter ran to the tomb and saw for himself that Jesus was not there. So he went back home, wondering what it could mean. Starting on March 8, 2024, Wilkinsburg Community Ministry's Mobile Food Pantry will be outside the church on Fridays, 2-4 pm. This week, they had Pollock fillets, chicken drumsticks, ground turkey, eggs, milk, non-dairy cheese, strawberries, a variety of fresh produce, and canned goods. All free!
Drop by next week for some food or just to say hello! And if you're interested in volunteering to help distribute the food, contact the church office or reach out directly to WCM. #wesharefood #loveourneighbors 9AM-12Noon starting on February 8 at 61B on S. Braddock Avenue in Regent Square. We can talk about whatever you’d like! This is just a chance to catch up, share ideas about the church, to ask questions about the Bible, or to talk about the latest movie you saw! Call, text, email, or use his Calendly to set up a time: www.calendly.com/pastorjasondauer
We will meet in the Gathering Place at 7pm on February 14 for our Ash Wednesday service, which includes the imposition of ashes and communion.
As we begin the season, let us turn inward and tune our hearts. Before an orchestra plays together, they must all tune their instruments—the cacophony of this process may be very loud and create lots of dissonance, but it’s a necessary step in the process of creating harmonies and melodies. And so, this Lent, how can you tune the instrument of your heart so that it aligns with God? 2024 Lenten Theme: Wandering Heart from A Sanctified Art
Like many of us, Peter has a wandering heart. His journey is not polished, or linear, or perfect, but he is always tethered to the love of God. When you look closely at Peter’s story, you find Jesus at each step along the way—offering him abundance, catching him when he begins to sink, challenging him when he stands in the way, washing his feet, predicting his betrayal, and offering him agape love. This Lent, we’re joining Peter in figuring out faith. We’re not idolizing or vilifying him; instead, we’re hoping to wander alongside him, open to what we might learn about Jesus (and ourselves) by stepping in his shoes. More about Wandering Heart... This Lent, we are focusing on the life and faith of one of Jesus’ most famous disciples. In Peter, we see a person who is both steadfast and unsteady, a dear friend and a betrayer, a follower and a wanderer. In Peter, we often see ourselves. By following Peter’s journey, we watch the story of Jesus unfold through the eyes of a very normal human trying to figure it all out—just like us. As we were studying Peter’s faith journey, the lyrics of “Come Thou Fount” came to mind. It’s as if Peter himself wrote this song. Like many of us, Peter has a wandering heart. His journey is not polished, or linear, or perfect, but he is always tethered to the love of God. In this series, we want to affirm that faith is a constant journey of steadfast pursuit, one that ebbs and flows. We want to affirm the ways Peter keeps going: he drops his nets, he walks on water, he runs to the empty tomb, he swims to the shore to meet the risen Christ. He keeps searching and yearning and loving, even after missteps or mistakes. Ultimately, in Peter’s story, we are reminded that God loves imperfect people—in fact, time and again, that’s precisely who God claims and calls. This Lent, we will look for ourselves in the stepping stones of Peter’s story. We will reflect on the stages of our own faith journeys as well as who and what has shaped us along the way. As we wander, let us tune our hearts to sing God’s grace. May we rest in streams of mercy, never ceasing. 2024 Lenten Theme: Wandering Heart from A Sanctified Art Like many of us, Peter has a wandering heart. His journey is not polished, or linear, or perfect, but he is always tethered to the love of God. When you look closely at Peter’s story, you find Jesus at each step along the way—offering him abundance, catching him when he begins to sink, challenging him when he stands in the way, washing his feet, predicting his betrayal, and offering him agape love. This Lent, we’re joining Peter in figuring out faith. We’re not idolizing or vilifying him; instead, we’re hoping to wander alongside him, open to what we might learn about Jesus (and ourselves) by stepping in his shoes. All active members of the First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood are asked to attend the annual Congregational Meeting immediately following worship on Sunday, January 21. The purpose of this meeting is to receive and review the Annual Report and its reports from various committees and to review the final budget approved by Session. Additionally, the remaining slate of nominees not yet secured at the December meeting will be elected to their offices and positions on Session, Deacons, the 2024 nominating committee, and auditor. Please join us as we take care of the business involved in continuing our ministry at FPCE. As required by our FPCE bylaws, this announcement and official notice of the meeting will be made from the pulpit 2 weeks prior to the meeting and printed in the worship bulletin
Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year, which means we will have our regular morning service at 11:00AM as well as the traditional Christmas Eve service.
11:00AM - Children & Family Worship We will celebrate the 4th Sunday of Advent in a service geared toward our younger families. A team will be presenting a puppet show, a storybook will be read, and some traditional and familiar carols will take place during this service. 8:00PM - Candlelight & Communion Christ the Savior is born! We'll share in the old familiar story as told by Luke, gather around the Lord's Table for communion, and join together in sharing the Light of the World with one another during our traditional singing of "Silent Night." The following Sunday, December 31, we'll celebrate Epiphany a week early during our New Year's Eve worship at 11:00AM in a service of Lessons & Carols. The Sanctuary Choir has been hard at work the past few weeks putting together a special musical presentation for the Advent/Christmas Season. They will be performing our own adaptation of selections from the musical "How Do You Welcome a King?" by Mike Harland and J. Daniel Smith. These include choral and solo movements with scripture and poetic readings interspersed, helping to tell the familiar story of Christ's coming into the world. It takes place during our 11:00 worship service on Sunday, December 17. Make a plan to attend so you don't miss this special musical event!
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March 2024
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