The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Centuries of misreading have made the story of Adam and Eve and the “apple” a minefield of sexism and oppression. But dig through the muck and find a story that still speaks to us today: about trust, obedience, the hunger for wisdom, and the persistence of sin. Welcome to the first Sunday in Lent.

Early Worship begins this Sunday, 8:30 – 9:20am. Please come and join us on this new adventure. The service will be almost identical to the 11am service, with the same liturgy and sermon. We will share communion every Sunday at early worship. There is no childcare during early worship, but families are welcome to attend!

Sunday Worship begins at 11am. Rev. Lewicki will preach both services.

Christian education for all ages begins at 9:30am. Three adult education classes are offered this week: a) Exploring the Way, a Lenten small group; b) Stories of our Faith, a Bible study on core stories from Scripture, especially relevant for parents who want to share faith with their children and c) Love, Loss, and Living, a class taught by a chaplain and a musician about how grief can be a pathway to a deeper life. Children’s and youth classes begin at the same time. The nursery is open for our littlest ones all morning long.

See you on Sunday! First-time visitors are always welcome.

The season of Lent begins this Wednesday with Ash Wednesday. Please join us for worship at 7pm in the Sanctuary at NDPC. The service is reflective, with singing, prayer, quiet, and the imposition of ashes (voluntary).

What is Ash Wednesday?

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:19).

Ash Wednesday begins Lent, the 40 days that lead from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday is an old celebration. Since the 10th century, ashes have been used to visibly remind worshipers of our mortality. Today, Ash Wednesday is celebrated in many Christian denominations. When we apply ashes to a forehead, we do so with a line from Genesis, “you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We all will die one day. God is in control of this basic reality, not us.

Yet, Lent is about discovering that death is not the end at all. We have faith in God who has the power to raise us into new life. A new life with Christ involves a daily surrendering of the old life – a dying and rising. This daily surrender is the spiritual journey of Lent. It is the same whether you have been seeking to follow Jesus for many years, or whether this is your very first day.

Receiving ashes is not about “scoring points with God,” or showing people what good Christians we are. We do it to remind ourselves that for those who love God, our primary job is to love our neighbors. Ashes remind us that if we belong to God, we also belong to one another – we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper.

Ash Wednesday, and all of Lent, is a time to focus attention on the mystery at the heart of the Christian life: that through death, the death of Jesus Christ, we enter into new life. The light of the resurrection waits for us at the end of this journey.

“Do this in remembrance of me.” That’s Paul, giving instructions about what to say when the congregation shared in the communion meal. Paul was remembering someone else, who might have been remembering someone else, who was remembering Jesus. So much of our faith is about remembering. But how can we be sure that we’re remembering “rightly?” Don’t we easily forget? Aren’t our memories as likely to be false as true? We’ll talk on Sunday about the special role of memory in the Christian faith. And we will share Holy Communion, with special assistance from NDPC’s children.

Sunday Worship begins at 11am. Rev. Lewicki will preach.

Christian education for all ages begins at 9:30am. Three NEW adult education classes begin this week: a) Exploring the Way, a Lenten small group; b) Stories of our Faith, a Bible study on core stories from Scripture, especially relevant for parents who want to share faith with their children and c) Love, Loss, and Living, a class taught by a chaplain and a musician about how grief can be a pathway to a deeper life. Children’s classes begin at the same time. The nursery is open for our littlest ones all morning long.

See you on Sunday! First-time visitors are always welcome.