This Sunday, we celebrate the Souper Bowl! Before that other big game, children in BeTween will share information about hunger, then after the 10:00 service look for the kids with the big soup pots and drop in your spare change to help fight hunger in our community. In honor of Alice Conner, our donations this year will benefit the Tempe Community Action Agency Food Bank.If you're not able to make it to church on Sunday, or don't have any change, please consider donating online HERE. Thank you!

Ash Wednesday is February 14. Drive-thru ashes will be offered in the Tempe parking lot from 7:00-9:00am and 11am-12:30pm in the Tempe parking lot. A delicious, homemade soup dinner will be served at 5:00 in the Fellowship Hall, followed by an Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary at 6:00. 

We will host a candlelit labyrinth walk on Ash Wednesday between 5:00-7:15pm. We will also have a sitting labyrinth experience with handheld labyrinths available in the Palo Verde Room during that time. Trained facilitators will be present for guidance/support in both areas from 5-6pm and following the 6pm service. Come spend the whole hour or just walk for a few minutes to ground yourself and prepare for Lent.

We have a stand-alone lenten devotional, Mary Oliver and the Poetry of Lent, available online and in print starting this Sunday, February 11. Every journey needs a guide - and what better guide to the 40 days of Lent than the beloved poet, Mary Oliver? Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, Oliver is widely celebrated as an accessible, insightful observer of the natural world, the life of faith, and the interplay between the two. Imagine a six-week journey with Oliver at your side, illuminating ancient passages of scripture; provoking bite-sized meditations on key Lenten themes; and pointing toward everyday practices for individuals and families. Print copies are available in the narthex or church office or you may download the devotional HERE.

Journeying with Jesus: Renewing Ourselves in the Gospel of Luke

Tuesdays, 10-11:30 am, Friendship Village, Feb. 20 – Mar. 26

Facilitated by: Rev. Karen Spencer-Barnes

You are invited to attend this six-week Lenten Bible Study at Friendship Village. This year, we seek to be renewed by journeying along the Lukan path, tarrying with some of the stories, and delving into how God is speaking to us through the Israelites in this holy narrative.

Multiplying Love: A Vision of United Methodist Life Together

Wednesdays, 10-11 am, Dayspring Tempe, Feb. 21 – Mar. 20

Facilitated by: Rev. Lynda Ellis

Our world needs love during these days of polarization & division. United Methodist churches yearn to embrace love more completely because God first loved us. “Multiplying Love” underscores what matters most and stands in contrast to divisive misreadings of core Methodist teachings.

The Poetry of Lent: Poems of Mary Oliver

Thursdays, 10-11 am, Zoom, Feb. 15 – Mar. 21

Facilitated by Rev. Shirley Wells

This will be a deeper exploration of our Lenten devotional inspired by the poetry of Mary Oliver. Each week, biblical texts and Oliver’s poems illumine each other, pointing toward simple, powerful practices we can try by ourselves or with our friends or family members. 

The Study Guide will be sent to you as soon as you register with Andrea in the Church Office.

Dayspring partners with Borderlands to bring unsold fresh produce from regional farms directly to our neighborhoods. Volunteers are needed next Saturday, February 17, from 6-11am. If you’re interested, please email Pastor Michael.

During a taizé service, we sing uncomplicated, repetitive songs, uncluttered by too many words, allowing the mystery of God to become known through the beauty of simplicity. Email Pastor Shirley for more information. The next service is Sunday, February 18 at 4pm in the Sanctuary.

Parable of the Talents is coming up again on February 25. Throughout the month, kids will be hard at work making things during Sunday school. Children can also sign up outside the narthex on February 11 if they would like to create something at home or use their other talents to share with the congregation. You can also email Andrea to sign up or if you have any questions. This event is open to all children, so join us as we put this parable into action to do some good in our world. All money earned goes to Project Hope, our clean water project in Africa.

Stop by our SAGE table this Sunday by the coffee stand to sign up or learn about “Sacred Earth: Common Ground,” a gathering with other faith communities to share stories that connect us with the earth and each other. It takes place at Dayspring Tempe on Sunday, February 25, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. After a brief welcome and introductions, guests are divided into small groups, where each person is invited to tell a three-minute, personal story about an experience of standing on Holy Ground. Dayspring will be joined by Crosier Village, a Roman Catholic Priory Church, and the SEMA Foundation, a Muslim community service organization. You’re invited to RSVP here.

One of our Dayspring families just found out their lease will not be renewed and are losing their home before the end of this month. If you have or know of an apartment or house this family may be able to rent, please reply to this email or contact the church office at (480) 838-1446.