Letter to Congregation 03-03-2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are officially halfway through the second week of Lent and hopefully have found our spiritual practice fruitful so far. When we commit to a spiritual practice, we are committing towards increasing our spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is achieved by becoming more like Christ. Over lent we have already heard that this means putting on the mind of Christ and searching for the thirst inside us that can only be quenched by Christ, and there are other ways we will learn to become more like Christ. Total spiritual maturity is not possible in this life, but through spiritual practices we grow closer to being more like Christ. Christian maturity requires a reordering of our priorities, changing over from self-glorification to glorifying God in all we do. A key to spiritual maturity is persevering and consistency in doing things that draw us closer to God. As we continue in our spiritual practices may they help us on our journey towards spiritual maturity, by making us more Christ-like.
Worship and Bible Studies with fellow disciples is a spiritual practice that also helps us on our journey towards spiritual maturity. This Sunday we have two opportunities to participate in. The first opportunity is March 3rd at 6:30pm for the Lenten Bible Study zoom meeting where we will discuss the gleanings from the self-guided bible studies that have been emailed or sent weekly with the pastor letters. The second opportunity is our regular Sunday worship which this Sunday marks the beginning of the 3rd week in Lent. We continue in our hybrid form of worship that invites all people to join in worship wherever they may find themselves worshiping from. As part of this week’s service, we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper as such I would invite everyone to continue doing as we have been by bringing along your communion elements to your worship space. This can be any food or drink you have on hand. May we take all the opportunities this week to glorify God through our spiritual practices in whatever form they may be.
In His Peace,
Pastor Nicki
Click on the link below near the time the service begins at 10:00am to watch the live stream https://www.facebook.com/espresbyterian/
YouTube live stream and recording can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ESPresbyterian
Additionally, bulletins and an online hymnal have been put on the website and can be found at https://www.espresbyterian.com/worship/sunday-bulletin/
Ways to give- mail or drop of check/cash through no contact mail slot in office window. Drop off envelope in offering plates before or after worship services. Donate on our website by going to the home page at https://www.espresbyterian.com/ and clicking on the Donate button in the upper right corner. Designate where you would like the money to go by using the note section.
* Lenten Bible Study Join Zoom Meeting*– https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84500062138 Meeting ID: 845 0006 2138 To join by phone call 19294362866 then when prompted enter 84500062138# US (New York) keep in mind this is a long-distance call. March 3, 10, 24, 31 at 6:30pm
*this zoom meeting info was changed since last week’s pastor letter*
