| Greetings from The Downtown Church! This is a bi-weekly email with information about events, updates, and other fun things from the leadership of the church. |
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An exciting thing happened in my backyard this week. It's something my family has looked forward to the past couple years. A pair of yellow-crowned night herons returned to the trees in our backyard for the third year in a row.
The first year we were shocked. I thought they were ducks walking up into our walnut tree. We finally identified them and watched with amazement as they built a nest, laid eggs, and reared a few hatchlings. After a few months, they flew off and we thought we would never see them again, thankful for the fun it was while they were here.
Nearly a year later, almost to the day, they returned and the process played out again. And just this week, the pair showed up, but now we've seen four birds! We are so excited to watch the same cycle happen, but really, it's different. Our kids are bigger, the family of birds has grown, and Jess and I are older (and wiser?). Dorothy is old enough now to peak through the telescope. Jack is even more excited to help search the skies for the herons. So even though things seem the same, they never really are. We are always new people, changed from year to year, experiencing similar things in new ways.
This Holy Week and Easter, I hope you get a chance to reflect on the events of this week with new eyes and new ears. Because you are not the same person you were last year. Neither am I. Yet, I'm still amazed at the love of God lived out in Jesus' life. A story we will continue telling year after year. Because this story is one of the things that continually changes us into new people.
See you Sunday,
—Brian |
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There are many ways to experience Holy Week at The Downtown Church. We invite you to join us as we walk together these last days of Lent in preparation for Easter. We celebrate Palm Sunday with Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with a children-led Palm Parade. On Wednesday at Vespers, we will dive deeper into the sermon and remember the Last Supper in the Upper Room. On Friday, we will have a Tenebrae service at 7pm as we remember Jesus' death on the cross. And after the silence and stillness of Saturday, we will gather to celebrate and remember resurrection! Join us this week!
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| Our special Easter Offering will go to support McGregor Elementary and all the good work we help with throughout the year. Ingrid Denney and our Missions Team support the school through Good Dads and Good Moms, teacher appreciation gifts, classroom prizes, volunteers at school events, Reading Buddies, Math Buddies, and so much more! You can see a short video about the work here and you can give online here (just select 2025 Easter Giving), or in the envelopes on Sundays. Thank you for your generosity! |
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Make plans to start your Easter celebration with a breakfast at church! At 9am, we will gather in the basement to enjoy breakfast and good company before worship at 10:30am. If you haven't had a chance to RSVP yet, fill out this quick online form to let us know. We want to make sure we get everyone fed. After breakfast, there will a fun Easter Egg Hunt following breakfast around 9:45am. We can't wait to celebrate with you all!
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