Dear friends in Christ,
Grace and Peace to you on this last Sunday after the Epiphany! Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord -- the day that Jesus was fully revealed as the beloved Son of God as a confirmation and affirmation of his ministry.
+As we begin our Lenten season in the coming week, I want to remind you that we will offer an Ash Wednesday worship service at both churches – Newry will host the service at Noon and Geeseytown at 7pm. The services will be the same, so please feel free to attend whichever one works best for your schedule.
+Because of the pandemic, we won’t be hosting a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner this year. However, we will begin a weekly Lenten worship series with a light lunch beginning at Noon Wednesday, March 9. The first service will be held at Newry in the Social Hall; we will alternate between the two churches for hosting each week. We hope you’ll join us as we explore what it means to abide at the foot of the cross of Christ. Please note: Thursday morning Bible study will resume following Easter.
+We are happy to announce that our Sunday morning worship service at Geeseytown will now be livestreamed! You may watch it live on our parish Facebook page (www.facebook.com/GNLutheran) beginning at 10:15am or following worship, when it will be posted to the page. We streamed today's service as a test to make sure it worked (it did!) and you may watch it at the link above.
+Since our state and county have seen dramatic decreases in COVID-19 indicators, and based on CDC guidelines, masks are optional in our congregations if you are fully vaccinated. Worshippers are welcome to continue wearing masks, of course. As always, a reminder to please stay home if you are sick or have been exposed to folks who are sick. Our parish has stayed remarkably healthy during the past two years – thank you for taking good care of yourself and our community!
+In sure and certain hope of the resurrection, I share with you the news of the death of Boyd Shaw this past Wednesday. Private services for Boyd were held yesterday at Sorge Funeral Home. Boyd was a lifetime member of Newry Lutheran Church; please keep Boyd’s family and friends, especially his wife, Ruby, and their three daughters in your prayers.
May our Lord continue to watch over you and give you peace as we begin this season of Lent.
Pastor MJ