Dear Middleway Urban Monastery friends,
Easter is when ... well, that could be a lot of things to different people. This year perhaps families are getting together after long separations. Maybe there will be gardens planted for those who believe the fear of frosty temps are behind us. Or maybe Easter means getting a new set of clothes and attending a favorite church service even if that's just your yearly church visit.
Everyone knows Easter is when Christians in the western world remember that Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified. What a great celebration there will be.
But there's a lot more to the story and though we know the ending, it's one we look forward to hearing every year. That's what we call Holy Week - the seven days that start with Palm Sunday today and commemorate each of the steps along the way as Jesus had his last supper with friends, was arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced, hung on a cross, and slowly died before a small group of devoted friends.
It's a story that's been repeated for about 2000 years and we know what's going to happen. But we lean forward and listen and watch and participate anyway. When we take the time to listen to the full story as it unfolds this week, may we begin to grasp what Jesus did - and still is doing - for each of us.
Read about what's going on at Middleway below. Make a note to check out our Facebook group page or website.
Book club to ponder The Magnificent Defeat for March
Member Kathy Ritter is leading a discussion of the March book, "The Magnificent Defeat" by Frederick Buechner. This week, we complete the book with chapters from the third section, The Mystery and Miracle of Grace, entitled To Be a Saint, The Breaking of Silence, Become like Children, and The Miracles at Hand. We gather on Tuesday, March 30, at 7 p.m. Central time. The group is open to all. Here's how to join:
Meeting ID: 862 8991 8385 Passcode: 164675
or call in 1 346 248 7799
Then, get the April book "Soul Making: The Desert Way of Spirituality" by Alan Jones and plan to gather with us each Tuesday.
The May book is "Streams of Living Water" by Richard Foster
How to Visit Middleway Urban Monastery
Ready to dig a little deeper spiritually? We're here for you.
You're a "member" if you are receiving this newsletter. Come and see what the monastery has for you online. When you enter our URL, facebook.com/groups/TheMiddlewayUrbanMonastery, it is like opening the door of a physical building, and you will find all that is offered there.
Likewise, you can come to our website and explore the offerings, including links to our Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts, if you like those formats and want to follow.
If you know others who would like to "join," ask them to subscribe to our weekly newsletter by going to https://www.middlewayurbanmonastery.org/contact and entering their email address at the Subscribe button on the lower right.
Comments