FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Late last March, I was running a family errand when I saw them. Oh, they may have been all around me before in other places, but I noticed these. There were flowers pushing their way through the mulch in the landscaping. I paused for a few moments as I thought of renewed life. And something deep inside me responded.
Ever since the first spring that there ever was, humans stood at this season with awe in their eyes and wonder in their hearts, seeing the magnificence of life returning, renewed. It is as inevitable as sunrise that people would see the substance of faith and hope in the tangible world so obviously responding to forces beyond themselves or their accumulated knowledge. “By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.” Romans 1:20 (Message)
For all our learning and sophistication, we still instinctively reach for the force beyond. Only outright arrogance can deny the force’s existence, and the denial falters in the face of evidence on every hand. In every tuft of grass, in every bird, in every opening bud, there it is. We can reach so far with our explanations, our science, our reason, and there still remains a force beyond which touches not only the leaf, the seed, the opening petal, but the human heart as well.
Spring is a result, not a cause. The cause lies beyond, still beyond. And it is the instinctive knowledge of this that inspires our celebrations of faith and life and belief. Resurrection is there for us to witness and participate in; but the resurrection around us still remains the symbol, not the ultimate truth. And people of good will instinctively reach for truth – beyond the substance of spring. Their thoughts reach beyond the greening and growing earth, of nesting and mating and birth, of life renewed. They reach toward the ultimate reality. In the same way as those early flowers strained upward toward heaven, so do we. We come to Easter, celebrating life and hope and the ultimate existence of belief, reaching, like the leaf itself, for something beyond, for the ultimate truth, our Risen Savior, Jesus the Christ.
May the reality of the ultimate truth be resurrected in you and yours this Easter,
Pastor Chris
 Pastor Chris Livermore |
Welcome to Christ United Methodist Church. We welcome you to join our worship services and invite you to become involved in our church program. We have an active church with many programs, but central to all that we do is proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is by following Jesus Christ that we also find life. We invite you to come and share in our adventure. We look forward to having you become a part of our growing family. Please use this website to become better acquainted with the programs and activities we offer. Feel free to call or email us for more information. |
We would like to hear from you,
so feel free to use our guest book
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICES |
The Good Friday Community Worship Service will be at St. Paul UMC at 7:30 P.M. |
EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE |
The Easter Sunrise Service will be at 7 A.M. at St. Paul UMC. There will be a breakfast following the service. You are asked to call the church office if you will be going so they know how much food to prepare. |
NEEDED |
If you have a wheelchair going unused at home, please consider donating it to the church. We are in need of at least two. Call the church office at 724-925-2881 to arrange pick-up or drop-off. |
WE NEED HELP!! |
We will be serving the Lenten Lunch on Wednesday, March 9. We will need help serving and cleaning up. If you can help us out, please let Faith Krynicky know or call the church office at 724-925-2881. |
CHOIR REHEARSAL
If you like to sing and have fun, why not come and try us out. Thursday Evenings at 6:15.
The Youngwood Community Choralers will be presenting their Easter Program on Sunday, March 20 at 7:30 P.M. here at Christ Church. This year’s program will be a little different than in years past. There will be audience participation, meaning sing alongs. Following the program there will be a time of fellowship.
