Dear Friends,

We are just days away from entering the Holy Season of Lent, those weeks on the Christian calendar that immediately precede Easter Sunday. This season has traditionally been a time of deep prayer and reflection for followers of Jesus. I always find this to be a meaningful time in my own faith journey. And I look forward to traveling through this Lent with you!

Downloadable Lenten Devotional

In service of our desire to draw near to Jesus in the coming weeks, the following has been planned and prepared. We look forward to experiencing the following with you and your friends and family. Please share this information with others you think might be interested.

• Ash Wednesday, March 2, noon - Brief time of devotion and prayer with Pastor Elizabeth and Jacob Tipantasig-Wolverton. (facebook.com/UnionChapelIndy)
• Ash Wednesday, March 2, 6-7 p.m. - Drive-Thru Ashes under the portico at the church. Receive the traditional ashes on your forehead and a blessing from Pastor Elizabeth and Pastor Carolyn of The Garden anytime during this hour.

Also available during this hour, a devotional from The Garden, Vincent van Gogh and the Beauty of Lent.

• Sunday Worship, 9:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary and Online - “Upside Down” Worship Series.

Early followers of Jesus were especially bold to live in the ways Jesus taught and modeled. They included and welcomed the outcast and alien. They sought justice for the oppressed. They valued and served the poor and undeserving. They lived according to the law of love, not the law of Rome. Some around them observed that "...these people have been turning the world upside down..." 

The core of Jesus' teaching as found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) teaches that to be a follower of Jesus is to live in ways that are often over and against the ways of the culture around them. Life with Jesus not only up-ends the comfortable life of a believer, it has the power to turn the world upside down - in a good way!

• Wednesdays in Lent, 10:30 a.m. - Starting Wednesday, March 9, a Traditional Worship experience will be offered in the Sanctuary. Hymns, organ, prayer, and a brief message brought by a variety of pastors, leaders, and musicians, will inspire you for faithful living.
• Sunday evenings March 20, 27, and April 3 and 10, 5:00 p.m. at Union Chapel Indy - “My One Word” at IGNITE, Union Chapel Indy’s Small Group and Faith Formation Ministry. Enjoy a meal, good conversation, and stories that will inspire you to pick one word to guide your life with Jesus. (Registration information coming soon.)
• Holy Thursday Worship, April 14, 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. This multi-sensory worship event will draw us close to the events of the final days of Jesus’ earthly life and prepare us for the Easter Sunday Celebration.

And then… big news about Easter Sunday! On Easter Sunday, April 17, we will move to a new time for Sunday morning Sanctuary Worship. On Sunday, April 17, worship start time will move to 10:30 a.m. In our effort to be as inclusive as possible and create the most accessible worship experience, leadership has suggested that 10:30 a.m. might be a more welcoming time for more people to engage the in-person worship experience here at Union Chapel Indy. Mark your calendars and invite your friends! We look forward to worshiping with you at 10:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday and thereafter.

Should you have questions about any of the events or activities of the Lent season, please be in touch with me or the church office. You can reach me by email at , or through the church office at 317.846.3429. I would look forward to hearing from you. And please know that you are in my prayers, during this season and always. 

The opening sentences of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1, NRSV) reads, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them…” In whatever ways you engage your spiritual journey during this holy season, may you find yourself in Jesus’ presence.

Blessings,

Rev. Elizabeth Gilbert

Senior Pastor

Union Chapel Indy, Inc.