The month of March brings us Easter Sunday, one of the two great celebrations of our faith! Easter is the day that Jesus Christ rose from death, victorious over the final enemy of us all. No wonder Easter is one of the highlights of the year for Christians! I can hear some people saying that Easter is surely a wonder-filled day, with joyful voices singing God’s praise and the sanctuary decorated with beautiful flowers. But, they would quickly add, their favorite Christian holy day must be Christmas! The carols sung and the candles bring hope. The Christmas trees in our homes are decorated and gifts are opened. What a wonderful day!  From our perspective, both Easter and Christmas are inspiring holidays which are anticipated by us all and we don’t need to debate which one is more special. Let’s look at Christmas and Easter a bit differently for a moment. Let’s explore these two great days from God’s point of view. Let’s ask “What did God give us on those two greatest days in human history?” Christmas is the moment that God became present in our midst. That’s what the word “Immanuel” means: “God with us.” Easter’s headline is this: “God has raised Jesus from the dead!” God’s power was on full display, and God proved that he can do life-changing things! Christmas is about God’s presence and Easter is about God’s power.  Presence and Power. God knows what we need as people and as Christians. We need God’s presence to have hope and peace. And we need God’s power to be effective in our service and to live significant lives. Presence and Power. Christmas and Easter. That’s why my benediction, each Sunday at the end of our worship, as we are about to go back into the world, always is this blessing: “May God’s presence and power be with you, now and forever!

LENTEN SERVICES

• Wednesday, March 9 – at Helderberg Lutheran – Jay Francis preaching
• Wednesday, March 16 – at Rock Road Chapel – Wendy Cook preaching
• Thursday, March 24 – at Berne Reformed Church – Tim Van Heest preaching
• Friday, March 25 – at Thompson’s Lake Reformed – Bob Hoffman preaching

All worship services begin at 7 p.m.

Don’t forget Vacation Bible School  will be held August 11 – 15, 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. each day.  The closing program is 12 noon on August 15. A picnic will be held following the program.  All are invited to attend.

The front steps renovation begins at the Knox Reformed Church.  After many months of discussion by the congregation, after church members were invited to participate in a task force to plan the project, the first visible actions have been taken.

The necessary beginning was to dismantle enough of the front steps to investigate the integrity of the foundation upon which new steps would be installed.  Until it is known how much repair is needed, the cost of the project cannot be estimated.  If structural repairs are needed, the project will cost more than the preliminary budget estimate. If so, there will need to be a congregational discussion on how we want to raise the required funds to finish the project before winter arrives.

The next phase is to clear the area of some shrubs and the old steps. As much as possible, church members will be counted on in order to keep labor costs to a minimum.  With only a few months of good weather left, this is a high priority for the church. These steps and railings will likely be expected to last for many decades.

Meanwhile, the front door to the sanctuary is closed to all for any reason. Access to the ramp is also closed until the new steps are in place. In order to preserve our options for the ramp, it will only be dismantled as needed to construct the new steps and entrance into the church sanctuary.

Our Sunday School youth after they finished planting flowers in the sign box.