UCC churches set Lenten series

“Revive, Rejoice and Resurrect” is the theme of the Sunday morning worship Lenten series being conducted by First Congregational United Church of Christ of Jamestown and Zion United Church of Christ of Medina.

The series is based on the six choices that churches face in meeting today’s challenges of ministry in their communities. It was developed in conjunction with four workshops conducted across the state earlier this year by the Evangelism Task Force of the North Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ. The Rev. Susan Lester, pastor of First Congregational UCC is the chair of the task force, and Pastor Karl Limvere of Zion UCC is a member of the task force and moderator of the conference.

Based on a church renewal book by Paul Nixon, the series will include “choosing life over death; community over isolation; fun over drudgery; bold over mild; frontier over fortress; and now rather than later.” The series reminds people that Lent ends with resurrection on Easter morning, Limvere explained.

“Just as the disciples experienced the living Christ some 2,000 years ago, the church today is alive with hope and possibility when it embraces the ministry and teachings of the living Christ in the life of the congregation,” he said.

“Just as the Hebrew nation was called to choose to live in full convenant with God when they crossed the Jordan into the promised land, we are called to live fully in the abundance of today to enter into the promise of the peace and justice that God prepares for us,” Lester said.

The First Congregational UCC worships Sunday at 10 a.m. while the Zion UCC worships at 10:30 a.m.

Tags: united church, community, lent, services, religion