A Word from our Pastor
We are preparing to entire into the season in the church that is known as Holy Week. It is typically a time when we reflect on the grief, the sorrow, and the pain that comes with acknowledging the death of Jesus Christ.
This year, especially, it seems as if our lives are filled with grief, sorrow and fear in the face of the unknown. Almost everyday we are greeted with the news that those who are ill are rising in number and the deaths keep coming. Just today our Bishop has asked us to continue to suspend all in-person gatherings until at least April 30. How can we possibly face a week that is filled with even more grief, sorrow and pain?
This year, I encourage you to let the feelings of Holy Week sit within you. Acknowledge those places you feel lost and uncertain. Acknowledge the things you miss as a part of your everyday life. Acknowledge your humanity. For that is what Jesus did during Holy Week. He participated in the actions and feelings of being human. He ate with friends, he prayed, cried out, and ultimately he died. (Don’t worry, we know the resurrection is still coming!)
You hopefully received a special Easter Elf delivery on your doorstep this week(or will soon!) Check your porch if you haven’t seen it yet. Inside your package is everything you will need for Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday. We will walk through each piece together so we can fully experience Holy Week, together but apart. If you are technologically inclined, snap photos of how you and your family are walking through Holy Week together this year.
Finally, look for another special Easter Elf delivery next week with all the things you’ll need for our online Easter Worship!
Know that I am praying for you, thinking of you, missing you, and waiting in hope for when we can meet together again!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Melissa
Read Below for new and continuing information around how we are being church in the world as it is right now!
SERVE.
We continue to serve one another in a variety of ways. We are looking at how we use our buddy pack collection now AND how we do something over the summer. We will keep you posted.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to give! Because of you we can keep serving our community. We continue to need your regular giving, you can mail your giving to 7620 N. Hartman Lane Ste 100 Tucson AZ 85743. Or you can give online: https://maranachurch.com/give/
If you need someone to go out and get groceries for you so you can stay safe and healthy please let either Pastor Melissa or your Church Council person who has been calling you know and we will get you connected with a shopper.
CONNECT.
Online worship will happen every Sunday at 9:30am at this link: https://maranachurch.com/watch-live/. We also post our service on facebook and our website after the service if you can’t join us at 9:30am!
Erin and John Daddona will be recording some songs for us to listen to each week. They will post these songs on Facebook Live right after our community worship time for you to enjoy. We are working on getting these songs accessible in other ways as well!
Nightly bedtime story with Pastor Melissa(and guest) takes place every night at 7:30pm on our Facebook page. Feel free to join us any night. This is also posted after the fact if you can’t tune in at 7:30pm!
Every church council and staff member has agreed to contact members and regular attenders of the church weekly to check in and connect. Share with them any concerns, thoughts, questions, or needs you have.
JOURNEY.
Small groups are still meeting in various ways, check with your leader if you don’t hear from them. If you are a small group leader and need a way to connect across the distance, contact Pastor Rob rob@maranachurch.com and he will help you use our call-in/video conferencing system!
Our children are also important to us as we journey together. Bedtime Story happens every evening at 7:30pm.
Youth Group meets Sunday’s at noon over ZOOM. Let Pastor Melissa know if you need more info.
This week after our Palm Sunday service you will be able to listen to the poem we are using LIVE from the artist himself, Dale Fredrickson. That link will be shared after our music.
INSPIRE.
Help out where you can! Reach out to neighbors who may be hit harder by the virus than you. Let the church know if you need someone to pick up groceries, go through the drive thru, or FaceTime you with a funny story!
Thank you to our Easter Elves who dropped off, safely our supplies for this week: Tom & Michele Schnee, Denise & Colette Hills, Susan Quinn, Sondra Winchester, John Wilkinson, Lora Wineinger and Pastor Melissa!
Weekly Social Media Challenge: If you made it this far we are going to have a weekly social media challenge! This week we invite you to post your best “working from home” photo!
Last week’s winner: Only two people submitted jokes so we call it a tie! Thank you Sandy Padilla and Dick Adams!
Pray for the world. For our community. For each other. We get through this together!
Please Include in Your Prayers…
Families of Lilia Underwood and Genaro Dorame, Haydee Huerta, Charles McGlinn, Mike Welfel, Sam Redman, Jeff Acuña, Virginia Schwartz, Eileen Montgomery, John & Kay Stevens, Glory Stack, Jessica Young, Dylan Dominguez, Deena Hadley, Helen Green, Deann Pujol, Cary Ajeman, Paul Sherwood, Melissa Valenzuela, SherryAnne John, Glory Stack, Don Newton, Ken Newton, Jessica Maldonado, Lois Ehrsam, LInda Febrero- Frieze, and those in recovery or suffering from addiction, those in financial difficulty, friends and family in the military.