ESUMC News­let­ter

Dear friends in Christ, 

As we continue together along our Lenten journey of faith, I bring you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

The last few weeks have been a meaningful time of worship, learning, and service. Our Sunday worship services have encouraged us to face the truth of our sinfulness and mortality not with fear but with hope, and turn to God for the gifts of forgiveness and new life. On 8 March, more than 50 ecumenical friends gathered in our church for our annual Lenten Study Day, to focus on the power of prayer to draw us closer to God. And this week our Wärmestube ministry came to a close for the winter season, with great appreciation being expressed to our terrific team of volunteers. More highlights of our ministry can be found in the articles below.

Also listed in this newsletter is an overview of upcoming worship services to commemorate Holy Week and Easter. As many of you know, Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are two of our most attended services, and we look forward to welcoming you all on these festival days. In advance, we thank you for your patience, flexibility, and understanding on these busy days, as seating in our temporary worship space on the first floor may be limited. Our worship team will do its best to accommodate all our worshippers, and we apologize and seek your cooperation in the event of any inconvenience.

The good news is that the restoration of our sanctuary is now progressing apace. As you can see in the photo below, beams are being installed below the roof, which will support the new ceiling and light fixtures. We expect to return to the sanctuary for regular worship services by the end of May, and we thank you again for your patience and prayerful support during this time.

May God's blessings and peace be with you all, and I look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks as we commemorate the death and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

Yours in Christ, Pastor John