Remember, Prayer Week, Baptisms, Sabbatical Announcement
Dear Church,
We’ve begun our journey through Lent, the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, when we draw near to God through remembering Jesus’ journey to the cross and resurrection. As part of our journey we have collected devotional reflections from various saints from Stillmeadow. Here is today’s Lenten Reflection from Holly Yinger.
Psalm 95:4-7
“KING OF MY HEART”~ by John Mark + Sarah Mc Millan
In all honesty, I have at times felt a little confused by a God who commands our worship; by a God who says, “You must worship me and only me. Tell me again of my greatness.” Not because God is undeserving, but because it just doesn’t align with who I’ve come to understand God to be. I can’t imagine God’s self-worth is in need of our affirmation. But what I can imagine is a God who commands our worship because it is for our own good.
It’s as if each moment we spend worshiping God is a moment that we are guaranteed to remember. It’s an antidote of sorts to our forgetfulness. It has been said that we are always worshiping something. If there are moments when we are not worshiping God, what are we worshiping instead? What steals our hearts and our attention in those moments?
In a sense, it feels as though each time we choose to worship God, we are embracing an opportunity to remake the choice made at the Fall. Where we once chose to put our trust in ourselves, we now declare instead to affirm God’s worthiness. We choose to remember that God holds the depths and the heights of earth in hand. The Psalms remind us that a God of that grandeur is not only worthy of our worship, but also capable of holding us in our delight and our despair, in our celebration and our desperation.
May we remember our need for God no matter our circumstance and may we choose each day, each moment to put our trust in God rather than ourselves. May we affirm God as king of our hearts and recognize the importance of declaring that often. May we meditate on the goodness of God so deeply and so consistently that it becomes impossible for us to forget.
Remember God’s goodness and listen to “King of My Heart”: here.
KEEP FOLLOWING THE LENTEN DEVOTIONALS
Pick up a physical copy at either campus. Click the button below, or subscribe for emails here: www.stillnaz.com/lent2023/subscribe.
Hear Sunday’s Services
Stillmeadow Lane Campus — Pastor Josh Kleinfeld
York City Campus — Pastor Jade Frederick
All Discipleship Leader Training
This Sunday, March 12th from 6-8PM in the children’s Worship Center. If you are a discipleship leader, please plan to attend this important training. Childcare is provided.
Holy Week Prayer Week
Let’s join our hearts in prayer together every night of Holy Week.
Monday and Tuesday we’ll be at the Stillmeadow Lane Campus.
Wednesday-Good Friday we’ll be at the York City Campus.
Make a plan now to join us for these times of prayer and worship from 7-8PM.
Baptisms on Easter
Have you given your life to Jesus? The next step is to be baptized!
Baptism is the ancient symbol of the church to recognize that a person has been cleansed of their sins, has died to their old way of life and has been raised to Jesus’ way of life. For the baptized it is an opportunity to say “I am all in” to the way of Jesus.
We want to celebrate your new life in Christ with baptism on Easter Sunday. If you have questions, you can ask pastorjosh@stillnaz.com. And you can sign up at www.stillnaz.com/baptism.
Emotionally Healthy Relationships - teaches 8 practical skills to empower people to love and relate to one another in a way that builds unity in your church. It’s very practical including things like sentence stems you can use to start a difficult conversation with someone. The result is a church where conflicts aren’t just IGNORED but are actually RESOLVED.
Check out this video introduction.
EHR begins Sunday, March 19th at 9AM in the Sprenkle House Second Floor. To register email pastorbrad@stillnaz.com or sign up at the button below.
Grow with others this year
Check out our listing of other groups and let us know if you’re interested in one. If you’d like help, you can contact Karon Kagan (kkagan@stillnaz.com) or Pastor Tabitha Martin (pastortabitha@stillnaz.com).
Prayer Shawl Ministry-meets the 2nd Saturday of each month at 10AM at Sprenkle House 2nd fl to pray over requests from our community and make prayer blankets for those in need. The next meeting for this group is March 11th.
Serve with us this year
Each person serving at Stillmeadow is part of a tradition of serving that has existed for 85+ years at our church and 2000+ years in the church universal. You have been gifted and we’d be honored to serve with you. Here are two of the many ways you can join in:
Easter Help
Join us for the Easter Surprise (April 1) or help with Easter music (April 9). If you’re interested in helping welcome families at the Easter Surprise contact pmoses@stillnaz.com. If you’re interested in celebrating Jesus through song in our band or in our choir please contact pastorjohn@stillnaz.com.
Toothbrushes for Crisis Care Kits
Crisis care kits are a way to care for people in emergency situations like earthquakes or famines. And our district is putting together 300 kits at our 2023 Mission Advance. Stillmeadow is bringing 900 toothbrushes (3 per kit) for the district and have collected 500+ already! Bring your toothbrushes to the Compassion Room on Sundays by April 2.
Strengthsfinders 101
March 18th 8:30AM-3PM. Research and Biblical insight combine to help you identify and live from your natural talents. $20 includes lunch and material. Register at stillnaz.com/discipleship or email pastorkent@stillnaz.com.
Sabbatical Explorations (We want to hear from you!)
On Sunday, March 5, our board secretary, Scott Mingus announced that the church board and Pastor Josh are working together to plan a sabbatical in 2024 and 2025. The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program offers a scholarship to cover Sabbatical costs for both pastor and the church. So Pastor Josh is working with the board to apply for this sabbatical scholarship.
We desire that this would be mutually beneficial for him and for Stillmeadow. So, to prepare for reflection prior to and during a Sabbatical, we invite you to share your thoughts. You can find out more and stay up to date at www.stillnaz.com/sabbatical.
Condolences to…
Samantha Jarzynka & Family-Samantha’s grandmother, Olida “Dean” Burgess passed away Sunday, March 5.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
For His Kingdom,
Pastor Josh and the Stillmeadow Team
PS…Will you pray with me. God is up to something in the lives of our people at Stillmeadow and in York. Prayer is one of the ways we “keep in step” with the Holy Spirit. Will you pray? And is there any way I can pray for you? Let me know at pastorjosh@stillnaz.com or at www.stillnaz.com/pray. And I would love it if you join us for our Prayer Week, April 3-7.