Lent 2016: Immersed

This year we take up the theme of Holy Baptism. We will be talking about how we live out our baptism daily.  The question Luther asked was, “What does baptism mean for daily life?”

We will continue our focus on Luther’s Small Catechism.

Sunday Worship
On Sunday mornings in worship we will be talking to members of our congregation about how they live out their baptism in life’s ordinary circumstances. The themes for our discussion will come straight from the assigned Lenten Scriptures. We will discover how people respond with faith when challenges happen in our lives.

Sunday Forum
Each Sunday we will take the Gospel we hear in worship and look at how it  intersects with our daily life. We will ask the quintessential Lutheran question of it, What does this mean for me?  Be ready to engage the scripture on a very personal level.

Wednesday Night Soup Supper and Worship
After we share a meal, we will be looking at each of the 5 aspects of our Baptismal Affirmation:

•  to live among God’s faithful people,
• to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper,
• to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
• to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
• and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
  
  

We will discuss one affirmation each week, how it jibes with our current experience, and how we might live it out more fully. Then we will pray over the affirmation, using a prayer practice called the Examen.

Daily Devotion
As in past Advents and Lents, you will have daily devotional cards to mark the 40 days of Lent and the days of Holy Week.

A Congregational Service Project
To emphasize the watery part of our baptismal theme, we will be collecting loose change for Lutheran World Relief, to fund a $500 water system that provides clean water for drinking and bathing.

Our Objectives for our Lenten Season for every worshiper:

1. Help you to claim your identity as a baptized child of God;
2. Help you to connect your baptism to your daily life; and
3. Engage in devotion and reflection that helps you to grow spiritually.

Pastor Lori A. Cornell

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