We Are The Church

These are unusual and uncertain times. We are all learning new levels of patience and adaptability during this crisis, both personally and as followers of Christ. What is also true in these strange times is that God is faithful. With attentiveness to the moving of the Spirit, we will be creative in remaining a people who worship, who grow in faith, and who serve our God and neighbors.

Our faith in Jesus Christ demands that we love our neighbors by not gathering in-person right now. Therefore, Session voted to comply with official recommendations for churches and suspend in-person worship in our building for all of April. We will continue to adjust as circumstances unfold. Considering guidance from our denominational leaders, the Session also authorized the celebration of communion this coming Palm Sunday, April 5th. Likewise, we will have a time of worship online at 6:30PM on Maundy Thursday, though we will not celebrate communion at that time.

While we wish we could gather with a joyful music and flowers in our sanctuary for Easter, we will mark the day as best we can in our homes. We will worship online and acknowledge the power of Resurrection Hope. Our flower orders are on hold. When we can meet again in person,we will celebrate!!! And we will proclaim, as the song sung often by our church tells us, every morning is Easter morning!

GUIDE FOR ONLINE WORSHIP AND AT-HOME COMMUNION

HOW TO JOIN WORSHIP ONLINE
There are two join-from-home options for the Sunday morning worship services:
• Facebook Livestreaming at 10:30 AM
1. Go to the FPCE Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EastonFPC/
2. Look for Live Video. If you don't see a Live Video, click “Videos” on the left-hand menu.
3. Note, if you want to view the service at a later point, other than Live, it will be saved under VIDEOS.

• Website, Video of that Sunday Morning Service posted by Noon:
1. Visit the page on our church website: https://eastonfpc.org/online-worship

AT-HOME COMMUNION
1. Before you join online worship, find a space to comfortably focus on worship. This may include your own table. Using what you have at home, assemble common elements of bread (pita, rye, cracker, sourdough, etc.) and liquid in a cup (wine, juice, water).
2. Join online worship (see above)
3. The Communion liturgy will be that which is used by our congregation when we normally celebrate communion. Follow along here.

Coming Clean in Lent

Lent is a forty-day period before Easter which is inspired by Christ’s forty days in the wilderness. This was a time during which Jesus prepared for his ministry of teaching, healing, and giving his life on the cross. During this season, Christ’s followers seek to reorient our lives in the pattern of Jesus. We prepare ourselves to be open to the mystery and joy of Easter.

The focus of this season is on the repentance of sins. Sometimes we humans make mistakes- we lock our keys in our car. Mistakes are not sins. Sins are actions which push a wedge between us and God. Sins hurt others and they weigh on our souls. Lent becomes a time of empowerment, when we Christians look at ourselves with humility and come in prayer to confess to God. We need not be ashamed, because we are not our sins. God made us and loves us. We tell God we are sorry and seek to change our ways because we know that God will forgive us. We know confession is good for our soul.

In Psalm 51, the writer of this poem/prayer asks God to “create in me a clean heart”. The washing away of sins is a metaphor which is used throughout scripture. Anyone who has taken a needed shower knows the relief of being washed clean. This is the gift of Lent- it’s a time to come clean with ourselves and with God.

This Lent, I am asking our community here at First Presbyterian Church of Easton to consider the metaphor of coming clean in concrete ways. We know we have not been good stewards of the Earth. We pollute God’s creation. We waste natural resources. God gave humans enough resources for us all to have life: not just to survive but to live abundantly and fully. But we who claim to honor our Creator, do not use our gifts of intelligence and of compassion to find reasonable ways that no one be hungry or thirsty. We need to come clean before God, and look at how the Christian community can show the world our respect for God’s creation.

Today we know that we must reduce our use of plastic which unlike natural resources does not biodegrade. Not enough of plastic can be recycled, so we can do things like opt for plastic which has already been recycled and we can opt for plastic which we can reuse, rather than use once. In our church coffee hour, we will be exploring how to reduce our waste by having a “mug” counter where washable coffee cups are available. The idea is that individuals will either bring in their own reusable coffee container and bring it home or use (and wash) the mugs we provide. We do NOT want deacons and deacon helpers to get stuck washing mugs.

Won’t you join me in coming clean this Lent?

• Forget giving up chocolate in Lent: give up buying anything plastic until Easter.
• Save water and fossil fuels by committing to giving up meat one day a week: Friday or Meatless Mondays.
• Install a programmable thermostat or lower your thermostat at least 2 degrees to save energy. For each degree lowered, you save 5% on your home heating costs.
• Pet waste hurts your watershed when it’s washed into storm drains, streams, and other water. It’s one kind of pollution that can be easily cleaned up.
• Plan to stock Easter baskets with Fair Trade* chocolate and other goodies. Use Fair Trade* coffee and tea, like our Deacons are doing this Lent in coffee hour.

Your pastor,
Stefanie

* Fair Trade goods like coffee, chocolate and sugar are made according to a set of standards that encourages environmental sustainability, as well as ensuring that the people involved in production were treated and compensated fairly. Learn more at fairtradecertified.org

Hope of the World

At Christmas one of my favorite songs is “Born in the Night, Mary’s Child”. It is a lyrical song

which reminds us that the Christ Child was not just a child, as he is the embodiment of God’s

grace. But Jesus was also simply a child, a child whose mother loved him so.

Born in the night, Mary’s child, a long way from your home:

coming in need, Mary’s child, in a borrowed room.

Clear shining light, Mary’s child, your face lights up our way:

light of the world, Mary’s child, dawn on our darkened day.

Truth of our life, Mary’s child, you tell us God is good:

prove it is true, Mary’s child. Go to your cross of wood.

Hope of the world, Mary’s child, you’re coming soon to reign:

king of the earth, Mary’s child, walk in our streets again.

As we approach the celebration of Easter, we are reminded of the difficult path which Jesus

walked as a human being. He was a person who sat with sinners and outcasts. He was a truth

teller. For what he taught about God and how he questioned human hierarchies of love- he was

scorned. Ultimately the human powers that be, took his life. And his mother had to watch him

suffer and die. There is nothing good about this. But there is some comfort in knowing that

God in Jesus knew human struggle and even the sting of death itself.

The good news we cling to in the midst of our human struggles is that this was not the end of the

story, not for Mary’s child and not for all of humankind. In the path of this unique man, we

come to know the depth of God’s love. Love itself overcame the grip of sin and death. We can

trust that the strength of this Holy Love is offered to us. So we look to the journey of Jesus in

this season of Lent, we look with sadness and repentance but also with hope.

The Ballad of Mary’s Son

It was in the Spring/ The Passover had come.

There was feasting in the streets and joy.

But an awful thing/ Happened in the Spring –

Men who knew not what they did/ Killed Mary’s Boy.

He was Mary’s Son,/ And the Son of God was He –

Sent to bring the whole world joy.

There were some who could not hear,

And some were filled with fear –

So they built a cross/ For Mary’s Boy.
1954, LANGSTON HUGHES

Your pastor,

Stefanie