This Wednesday: Modern Worship Collective @ 7 pm (Dinner @ 6!)

Dear Kris,

This Sunday, we gather as a community to commemorate the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a 40-day period of reflection, repentance, and preparation leading up to Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and is observed through fasting, prayer, acts of moral repair and self-improvement. Lent commemorates Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the wilderness and serves as a time for us Christians to deepen our faith and focus on a lifestyle of spiritual growth. 

Lent is a season, where Christians around the world collectively strive to become better versions of the selves God calls us to be. The season concludes with Holy Week, which includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and culminates in the celebration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Whether you're new to faith, been here "forever," questioning, or seeking a spiritual home that celebrates the humanity of all kinds of people and God's good creation, this is a congregation that welcomes you as you are. So come as you are! Bring your hopes, doubts, and dreams as we go on this Lenten journey together. In a world filled with so much despair, we need to encourage one another to live into our better selves. 

With gratitude and encouragement that Lent has come, 

Pastor Annanda

Please join us immediately following the Sunday service for our Coffee Hour (in-person in Trinity Court or online via Zoom).

bit.ly/SVPCCoffeeHour

Theme for Sunday

“The practice of courage is needed most in situations where it is most threatened, and it is often those who have the most to lose who are the ones from whom the most courage is needed.”

Pádraig Ó Tuama, In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World

Questions for Reflection

• What distractions or habits in my life might be distancing me from God, and how can I create space for deeper spiritual connection during Lent?

• In what ways can I practice compassion and love toward others, myself, and the world around me as a reflection of my faith?

• How can I honor God’s creation by caring for the earth, and what practical steps can I take to live more sustainably and reverently toward the environment this Lent?

Luke 10:25-37

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”