Fairview Community Church

Hello Fairview !

My best friend Jessica and her wife Stephanie left on a journey to Montana Tuesday morning.  They drove straight for over 24 hrs because they were on a mission. An important mission.  A once in a lifetime mission.  They were chasing the clock because a girl in Montana was having their baby!  Well, it just so happens they rolled into Glendive with snow on the ground and a two hour baby boy waiting to meet his moms.  As “Aunt Sarah,” you can believe I was overjoyed!  I wanted nothing more than to hop on an airplane to Montana and greet my new nephew with a great big kiss!  What a journey my friends have been traveling!  The truth is, this is just the beginning!

We’re only 6 days from beginning a journey of our own –one we’re invited to embark upon year after year:  The Lenten Journey. While we probably wouldn’t consider this journey as life changing as the one my friends have begun, this journey can transform us if we let it.   Just like their journey, its important to get ready for the road ahead.  We’re going to prepare ourselves for Lent this Sunday by celebrating!  Truth be told –what better way to get oneself ready for a trip than to celebrate!

As you probably know, people all over the world celebrate what the French call Mardi Gras – translation Fat Tuesday.  This is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  Now as the tradition goes, you’ve got to use up all the fat in the house because during the season of Lent one “sacrifices” all the good stuff!  So, that’s why there’s so many parties just before Lent begins!   New Orleans parties it up here in the US – but they’re not the only ones.  There are Carnival celebrations all over South America and Europe too.   We probably won’t be NEARLY as crazy as some of those parties, but we do want to live it up a little and spread the cheer as we prepare ourselves to wind down during the Lenten Season.

So we’ll have a bit of New Orleans Mardi Gras feel to us this Sunday!  I’m THRILLED to introduce my friend and colleague from The Center For Progressive Christianity the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of California , Rev. Jim Burklo. Jim is a pastor, chaplain, poet, author, and preacher!   He’s going to jazz up our church service with a sermon entitled: “WORD Jazz” This Sunday will be a real treat!   I will be leading the service, though Jim will be preaching!

Then of course on Wednesday we will come together to observe Ash Wednesday.  This is the first day of  Lent, a day where we burn the ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday fronds.  I hope you will attend this special service at 7pm next Wednesday evening.

We have another  WONDERFUL treat – a SPECIAL Friday night worship service to help us enter into the Lenten Season.  Keeping with our New Orleans theme –we’re hosting Oikos, a UCC Jazz band on tour, in a service entitled “Jazz for the Journey.”    What an honor it is to host this band while they are on tour in Southern California !  This will be an inspirational and entertaining service certainly one you won’t want to miss.  So mark your calendars for NEXT FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27^th at 7:30pm.  This is a great event to invite your friends to attend.   The Oikos ensemble is made up of 6 members who will inspire us with their creativity and spirituality!

So many exciting things coming up!  And don’t forget tomorrow night is Fantastic Friday – Kids meet here at 6:30pm.  Adults head over to Acapulco Restaurant on Harbor and Adams at about 6:45pm.  See you there!