Here’s what’s happening in worship March 24th-30th.
Worship Services
Taizé – Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
An hour-long service including sung prayers; simple, beautiful music; a time of silence; spoken and silent prayers; and an opportunity for individual prayer and anointing. This week’s after-Taizé class will be Celebrations!
Good Samaritan – Sunday 8:00 a.m.
The Good Samaritan Worship will now meet at the new EECM Community House (6014 Penn Circle North). This week will be a Bible study.
Journey Worship – Sunday 8:45 a.m.
An interactive, energetic service for those seeking a fresh encounter with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This month’s theme is Inner Journeys. Eric Vinsel, ELPC’s Seminary intern, will speak.
Sanctuary Worship – Sunday 11:00 a.m.
This Sunday marks the fourth Sunday of Lent. Throughout the season, the 11:00 a.m. service will highlight the music and faith message of African-American spirituals. This week, the Rev. Dr. Randy Bush will preach.
Christian Education Classes
Contemporaries
How Do We Know Who God Is?
Led by Rev. Dr. John Burgess, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
As Christians, we regularly use the word “God,” but what do we mean? The question of who God is has become urgent in a time in which people seem to have forgotten God, yet are perhaps seeking God more than ever. This series, which will run through April 13, will examine who God is and how people come to know God.
Journey with Scripture
Lent’s scripture readings include stories about dislocation, where people travel to (or through) foreign and forbidding places. There is fear, confusion, and deep alienation, but there also is abiding presence, grace, and union. Transformations and homecomings are experienced and promised. Such stories are gifts to us as we travel through Lent. Join us as we ponder such diverse scriptures, seeking–and perhaps even experiencing–transformation.
Join us as we reflect on these readings: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalms 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41.
Parenting Circle
We use our time together to share our joys and struggles through a facilitated discussion, guided by the week’s lectionary readings. No advance preparation or reading is necessary and copies of the texts being discussed will be available. We welcome babies and toddlers who may not yet be able to leave their parents.
Seekers
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus
In 2013, Reza Aslan’s Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth became a number-one bestseller. In his work, Aslan paints a portrait of Jesus and His message by casting a view through the historical context in which Jesus lived, and the Gospels were written. His analysis invites us to ask: who was jesus? How did he view Himself? How did the early Christian church shape our current understanding of Jesus? This Sunday is the final examination of this text.
This week, Pastor Heather will explore Aslan’s arguments from a theological perspective. How do Aslan’s ideas inform or challenge our understanding of who Jesus is in light of the key claims of Christianity? How do his claims inform the “Truth” at the heart of the Gospels? How, if at all, do his arguments impact our collective and individual understandings of who Jesus is – as a man and as a Savior?
Soul Food
This month, we will finish and review A Testament of Devotion, by Thomas Kelly, and begin a new spiritual text, soon to be chosen. New participants are always welcome!