Feb. 26, 2012 - First Sunday in Lent

Blessings,

 

Well, Lent has begun. It started on Wednesday, but at Spirit West we will mark the start of Lent on Sunday. A special part of the Service will be the Liturgy of Ashes. This part of the Service would traditionally have been observed on Wednesday - Ash Wednesday. However, to allow more people to experience this ancient practice it will be part of our Sunday worship. This will also be a "Candle Sunday." Opportunity will be given during the Service to those who wish to light a candle as a sign of a particular prayer offered.

 

Lent is a period of preparation leading towards Easter. The focus of Lent is to "Repent and Believe the Good News." These are the words that conclude this Sunday's Gospel reading. We will look at both Repenting and Believing, because both of these concepts have been terribly mis-handled over the years.

 

The readings are 1 Peter 3: 18-22 and Mark 1: 9-15

 

I've titled my Sermon: "Repent and Believe!"

 

I am offering a Study on the Gospel of Mark on Tuesday evenings in Lent at 7:00 pm at the Church. I am doing this because I think Bible Study in Lent is a great discipline, and I think the Gospel of Mark is a great book to look at. It is considered to be the oldest of the Gospels. It is the shortest. And there are a number of other features which make this Gospel interesting. We will look at questions such as "What is a Gospel?","Who was Mark?", "What was Mark's world like?" and many more. If you are interested let me know, or just show up as you can.

Check out the Important Dates below. If there are events or activities listed that interest you, but you need more information, please call the church (780-481-1406) or email.

See you Sunday,

 

Larry Wright

 

And don't forget to keep up to date at our website http://spiritwest.org or our blog at http://spiritwest.blogspot.com

Important Dates
Tuesdays of Lent, 7:00 pm- The Gospel of Mark

 

Sunday Service, 4 March - Holy Communion

Saturday, 10 March, 7:00 pm - Family Games Night

• Come to our fun night. Come one, come all, all ages, all stages.
• Play Jerusalem Jeopardy, Prophet Pictionary and Christmas Charades. Participate in our Wii     Bowling  tournament, or bend your ear with “Name that Hymn”!
•  Play a game of skill, enter our karaoke or comedy contests, or act out a family or a group skit for us.
•  All are welcome!  Please come and bring your friends too!
• Contact Bonnie at 780 481-1406 for more info.

 Sunday Service, 11 March - Baptism

  

Sunday Service, 18 March - Celtic Sunday - The Music and prayers on this Sunday are inspired by the Celtic Christian tradition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 19, 2012 - Transfiguration Sunday with Baptism

Greetings,
This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday.  It is also the last Sunday before Lent starts.  (Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22.)  Transfiguration is the word used to describe an experience that three of the disciples had with Jesus on a mountain top.  We will be reading Mark'saccount.  It was such an overwhelming experience for the disciples that Peter (Saint Peter, the Rock) did not know what to say.  Even Mark has a bit of trouble describing the experience.  But sometimes that's the way it is with experiences of the Divine, we don't know what to say.  We'll look at Peter's experience and see what happened.  We will also be celebrating the Baptism of Austyn Marie.

The readings are 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6 and Mark 9: 2-10
I've titled my Sermon: "He did not know what to say!"

I will be offering a Study on the Gospel of Mark on Tuesday evenings in Lent.  The first session will be Tuesday, Feb 21 at 7:00 pm atthe Church.  I am offering this because I think Bible Study in Lent is a great discipline, and I think the Gospel of Mark is a great book to look at.  It is considered to be the oldest of the Gospels.  It is the shortest.  And there are a number of other features which make this Gospel interesting.  We will look at questions such as "What is a Gospel?","Who was Mark?", "What was Mark'sworld like?" and many more.  If you are interested let me know, or just show up as you can.

Check out the Important Dates below.  If there are events or activities listed that interest you, but you need more information, please call the church (780-481-1406) or email.

See you Sunday,

Larry Wright

And don't forget to keep up to date at our website http://spiritwest.org or our blog at http://spiritwest.blogspot.com

Important Dates
 Tuesday, 21 February, 7:00 pm- The Gospel of Mark This will be the first session of the Lenten Bible Study and will be at the Church 

Sunday, 26 February, after Church - Annual Congregational Meeting and Potluck   (This is also the First Sunday in Lent)

Saturday, 10 March, 7:00 pm - Family Games Night
Come to our fun night. Come one, come all, all ages, all stages.
Play Jerusalem Jeopardy, Prophet Pictionary and Christmas Charades. Participate in our Wii bowling tournament, or bend your ear with “Name that Hymn”! 
Play a game of skill, enter our karaoke or comedy contests, or act out a family or a group skit for us. All are welcome!
Please come and bring your friends too!
Contact the office at 780-481-1406 for more information.

Feb. 5 - Communion

Greetings,


"Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." This stirring and poetic line comes from this Sunday's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures. It is found in the book of Isaiah. This Sunday's Gospel is concerned with healing, resting, praying and proclaiming. I am going to look at what these two passages say about renewal, what it means in a faith context and what it might look like within the church at both the individual and community level.

We will be celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It may seem that we gathered at the Table rather recently, but that was because in January we celebrated Communion on the third Sunday of the month, what with New Year's Day and Cinnamon Bun Sunday. February puts us back on track for Communion of the first Sunday of the month

The two readings for Sunday are Isaiah 40: 21-31 and Mark 1: 29-39

I've titled my Sermon: "The Shall Mount Up With Wings"

Check out the Important Dates below. If there are events or activities listed that interest you, but you need more information, please call the church (780-481-1406) or email.

See you Sunday,
Larry Wright

Important DatesSunday, 5 February – Holy Communion. There will be a Lunch for Hospitality teams/Greeters after the service
Sunday, 12 February - Congregational Budget Meeting - after Church This is something new. Two weeks before the Annual Congregational Meeting, every one will have an opportunity to meet and discuss the budget of our Church, just the budget.

Sunday, 26 February - Annual Congregational Meeting and Potluck