April 9th 6:58 Sunrise Service around the fire pit
Easter Services 9 am Contemporary & 11 am Traditional
From the Pastor’s Desk
To the Harrisburg Church Family I am excited to be able to spend my first Easter Sunday with you all. Christ is risen! The significance of the Resurrection as a historical event is simply incredible. It is the cornerstone of our spiritual substance. The importance of the Resurrection as a continuing event for today, tomorrow, and forever after is even more prof0und.
As we get ready for Easter Sunday morning at Harrisburg each person that comes in Harrisburg doors will fit in each of the four principal characters in John’s gospel chapter 20.
John: He saw and believed. Period. That is, he saw the empty tomb. He got it immediately. He knew that Jesus was the risen Lord!
Thomas: He didn’t see, and he didn’t believe. He didn’t get it. He could not get his head or his heart around an alleged resurrection without some kind of empirical evidence.
Peter: He saw the empty tomb, but was confused. Had no idea what it all meant. But, oh well, it wasn’t going to stop him from getting on with his life. He returns to Galilee, his old job and moves on.
Mary: She saw the empty tomb and, like Peter was confused, but totally immobilized. It was hard to think about how she was going to live without Jesus in her life. It is she who, when Jesus calls her by name, is able to utter the great resurrection affirmation: “I have seen the Lord.”
My question and the theme for Easter at Harrisburg is, “When was the last time you really seen the Risen Lord?” My prayer and hope is that we realize that he is always there.
We invite you to come worship with us as we remember and reflect on the “Last Seven Words” of Christ. Forgiveness, Salvation, Relationship, Abandonment, Distress, Triumph and Reunion
Holy Thursday is the beginning of the most sacred days of the liturgical calendar: The Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Passion, and the Resurrection of the Lord.
Holy Thursday provides us a perfect opportunity to reflect upon the spiritual meaning of Jesus’ Holy Sacrifice. Our faith teaches us that as the Body of Christ, we are all unified in this beautiful mystery of our faith:Christ has Died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd. we invite you to join us for worship on Ash Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
As a community of faith we’ll be making the commitment to read a Lenten Devotion for each of the 40 days of Lent. Here is the link for the 40 Days of Lent Devotional: Easter Prayer and Scripture Reflections. Visit our Facebook page once a week one of the weekly devotions will be featured we’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the reflection question.
Except from the UMCDiscipleship.org
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. The English word “Lent” comes from the Anglo–Saxon word lencten, which means “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of “spring.” In many other languages, the word used for this season refers to the 40-day length of the season (cuaresma in Spanish and Tagalog, carême in French, quaresimain Italian) or to the fasting that characterizes it (Fastenzeit in German, fastan in Swedish, paasto in Finnish, posta in Russian). The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter.
Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians. The First Sunday describes Jesus’ temptation by Satan; and the Sixth Sunday (Passion/Palm Sunday), Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his subsequent passion and death. Note that the readings during Lent, until Passion/Palm Sunday, focus primarily on the meaning of baptism and discipleship, in continuity with the season’s original purpose. Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the Resurrection.
Come one, come all to the Harrisburg United Methodist Chili Cook-off. Whether you come with your best chili – vying for the honor of “Best in Class”, or you come to enjoy many types of chili and cast your vote, it will be a fun time for all!
• When: March 18, 2023 5:00 – 7:00 PM
*Contestants: deliver Chili by 3:00PM
*Tasting and voting from 5:00 – 5:45PM,
then sit down to a chili dinner.
• Where: Harrisburg United Methodist Church •
Cost: Donations requested •
Our goal this year is to raise $5700. The cost per meal is 38¢ that equals 15,000 meals.
Join us for this fundraiser, it’s fun with a purpose!
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline.
Ash Wednesday emphasizes two themes: our sinfulness before God and our human mortality. The service focuses on both themes, helping us to realize that both have been triumphed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
During some Ash Wednesday services, the minister will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship. Historically, ashes signified purification and sorrow for sins.
It is traditional to save the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday service to burn to produce ashes for this service. Sometimes a small card or piece of paper is distributed on which each person writes a sin or hurtful or unjust characteristic. The cards are then brought to the altar to be burned with the palm branches. The ash cross on the forehead is an outward sign of our sorrow and repentance for sins.
— Adapted from The United Methodist Book of Worship
