In the Christian tradition, some time is set aside as sacred time; time when we live differently, time that is hallowed, time that is offered to God for unique activity. We set aside the Lord’s Day each week as a day of special remembrance and worship. There are annual observances such as Christmas and Easter. There are special seasons like Advent and Lent. 

Lent is a season of the Christian Year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God. The season of Lent is forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. 

Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians. Today, Christians focus on relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.

Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter.” This is why you will see the designation “Sunday in Lent” rather than “Sunday of Lent” in the naming of these Sundays. On each Lord’s Day in Lent, while Lenten fasts continue, the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection. For this devotional, we have provided you a devotional for the forty days of Lent, the Sundays in Lent, as well as one from Easter. 

The Wesley 100 Men will be selling tickets for the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper which will take place on Tuesday, February 21st from 5:15 - 6:45 p.m. in the Dining Hall. Tickets are $7 each and will be available in the Bridge Café before and after the 9:45 a.m. service in the Bridge Café and before and after the 11:00 a.m. service in the Narthex. You may also pick up your ticket from the church office during the week. Kids under 12 eat free.

Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church marks the beginning of Lent with the observance of Ash Wednesday. . Please join us at one of our two (2) special Ash Wednesday worship services which will include the imposition of ashes.

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

12:00 p.m. in the Chapel

6:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

Easter EGG-stravaganza Family Event

Sunday, April 2, 2023 

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Register at wesleymemorial.org/egg

Please bring candy to donate and place in the labeled bins around church for the Easter Egg-stravaganza!

Just like there are special seasons, there are special weeks such as Holy Week. The week from Palm Sunday to Easter is a week set aside for us to remember and relive the most important week in human history, the week that changed lives and created the Christian community. We remember the last week of Jesus. From his entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through his Last Supper with the disciples, into his death and burial, and his glorious resurrection from the tomb, we remember and relive. The Christian community observes the Sacred Triduum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday. In the darkness of the night between Holy Saturday and Easter, Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. The tomb was empty at sunrise.

Holy Week presents and interprets Jesus Christ to the world. Holy Week worship touches all the senses. We see the descent of darkness and the return of the Light. We feel the agony of Christ. The smell of candles lingers in the air. We pray with Jesus in the garden. The silence of death touches us. We watch the darkness be overcome by light. We hear the sad and glorious words again describing the events that changed the world.

Pastor Jeff would like to invite you to join him in setting aside our special week and allow God to make it a holy experience. Block out these days and make them unusual. Let the way you observe this week be a witness to the world. Allow the Holy Spirit to do a new work. Let the sights and sounds of our worship services translate the life of Christ into our lives. Let the days that changed the world change your life.

Palm Sunday

Sunday, April 2, 2023 

8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship in the Chapel

9:45 a.m. Contemporary Worship in the Fellowship Hall

11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

6:00 p.m. Vespers in the Chapel

6:45 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Valley of Blessings Sedar Meal in the Dining Hall

Thursday, April 6, 2023

7:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service in the Sanctuary

Friday, April 7, 2023

7:30 p.m. Good Friday Service in the Sanctuary

Saturday, April 8, 2023

7:30 p.m. Holy Saturday Service in the Sanctuary

Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 9, 2023

7:00 a.m. Sunrise Service at the Columbarium 

7:30 a.m. TV Service on WGHP FOX8

8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship in the Chapel

9:45 a.m. Contemporary Worship in the Fellowship Hall

11:00 a.m. Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary

Every Easter, we adorn our spiritual home with Easter lilies in loving memory of those who have passed away, and in thanksgiving for special people in our lives.

To participate in this tradition, If you would like to order in memory or in honor of a loved one, please contact Sue Schoch at 336-812-4806 by March 31.

The cost is $26 per lily.

Memorials will be printed in the Easter service bulletin.

Help our crosses BLOOM with new life on Easter Sunday. Crosses covered with chicken-wire and palm branches will be placed OUTSIDE in front of the Sanctuary and near the Bridge Cafe entrance. Members and friends of Wesley Memorial Church are invited to bring flowers (purchased or from your garden) to adorn the crosses starting Saturday, April 8, 2023. 

On Easter Sunday, these crosses will serve as the background for family photographs taken by a professional photographer.

As a gift to you, on Easter Sunday there will be a photo station set up to provide you with a free digital image and a free 4x6 photo print. The photo will be taken of you by the flower crosses, located outside in front of the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall after both the 9:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. services.

This devotional is provided to you by our Adult Spiritual Formation Team. Thank you to all the members of our Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church family who contributed to making this Lenten Devotional. A special thank you to Cathy Weaver for her support and guidance in helping to make this devotional possible.