Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Greetings to all!

Marcus Borg, a well-known New Testament scholar, died recently.  Prof. Borg 
blended critical scholarship and a genuine spirituality to help people think about 
Jesus in a new way, including what it means to "believe in Jesus."

   In my childhood ... to believe in Jesus meant to believe what the gospels 
and the church said about Jesus.  That was easy when I was a child, and 
became more and more difficult as I grew older.  But I now see that believing 
in Jesus can (and does) mean something very different from that.  The change
is pointed to by the root meaning of the word believe.  Believe did not originally 
mean believing a set of doctrines or teachings; in both Greek and Latin its roots 
mean "to give one's heart."  The "heart" is the self at its deepest level...it means 
to give one's heart, one's self at its deepest level, to the post-Easter Jesus who 
is the living Lord, the side of God turned toward us, the face of God, the Lord 
who is also the Spirit...For ultimately, Jesus is not simply a figure of the past, but 
a figure of the present.  Meeting that Jesus - the living Jesus who comes to us
even now - will be like meeting Jesus again for the first time.
(from Meeting Jesus AGAIN for the First Time, by Marcus J. Borg)

Visit www.marcusjborg.com for more information about Prof Borg's life, work, 
and legacy.

Marion "Shug" Graves, a member of Walnut Hill Church, departed this life on 
February 25.  A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 21, 3:30pm, 
at Walnut Hill Church.  A reception will follow at 5:00pm at the Lexington Club.

The scripture lessons for Sunday, March 8, the Third Sunday in Lent...
   Exodus 20:1-17
   1 Corinthians 1:18-25
   John 2:13-22

Sunday Conversations continue on Sun, Mar 8, 10am, in Trinity Hall.  This 
Sunday completes our conversation series, Questions, with the question:  
"How Then Shall We Live?"

Children's Choir: Children through elementary age are invited to gather for 
music and singing this Sun, Mar 8, 10am, in Trinity Hall, as they prepare for a 
Palm Sunday (Mar 29) presentation.

Professing Our Faith, a confirmation study for older youth continues this Sun, 
Mar 8, 10am, in Trinity Hall.

A HOST(s) IS NEEDED for our after worship refreshments this Sun, March 8.  
Use reply email to volunteer for this Sunday, or visit the online sign up sheet 
to host a Sunday later in the spring.  Thanks to all our recent Sunday hosts!

YOUTH (middle and high school) are invited to gather this Sun, Mar 8, 5:30 -
7:00pm, in Trinity Hall for a meal and activities.

One Great Hour Of Sharing: Numerous Walnut Hill households participate 
in the OGHS during Lent.  The idea is simple.  Place a bowl, jar, box, etc, on 
your regular dining table.  Each day during Lent, each member of the 
household places one coin in the container.  Bring your coins to Walnut Hill 
on Easter Sunday (Apr 5).  The OGHS supports disaster relief, hunger and 
water ministries, and human empowerment around the world.

In the community:  The Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass is organizing
Dessert and Dialogue series for the spring focusing on the issue of violence
as it affects youth in our community.  The idea is to gather individuals from 
various faith traditions into diverse groups (5 - 8 persons) for several conversations 
through the spring, concluding with a large group gathering to share insights, 
discoveries, and ideas.  For more information contact tiabg.info@gmail.com .

Thanks to all who helped welcome Bol and Ajiel Aweng (and their son, Aweng)
to Walnut Hill this past Sunday.  Thanks to your generosity, Walnut Hill will
be sending approximately $1,500 to support the Buckeye Health Clinic in
Bol's hometown of Piol, South Sudan.  For more information about Bol and/or
the health clinic, visit www.bolaweng.com and/or www.southsudanclinic.org .

"Dance Blue," a 24-hour dance marathon to benefit the U.K. Pediatric Oncology 
Clinic, was held on Feb 14 - 15.  Barbara Waldmann-Ward participated with a 
$200 sponsorship from the Walnut Hill Community Fund.  The event raised a total 
of $1.6 million.  Visit the link, Dance Blue, to view the event finale. 

Peace to all.

Mike Ward


 

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