A Word from our Pastor
I have stumbled upon some wonderful, uplifting, hope filled videos in the past couple of weeks. People trying to give us all glimpses of the joy that life has to offer, even when we can’t see each other face to face. I like these videos, because they are a reminder, in the midst of Holy Week, that we walk through the darkness and despair of Christ’s death, so that we can celebrate in the hope of the resurrection.
One of the videos I stumbled upon was of Broadway stars Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) and Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) doing a “mash-up” of the popular songs from the respective shows. The video itself is moving and breathtaking, but what really hit me was the way the words in the two songs encapsulated what the Holy Week experience is all about.
The mashup is of the song “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen and “Tonight” from Hamilton. And here are the words from each that struck me.
“And when our children tell our story. They’ll tell the story of tonight.” ~Hamilton
“Even when the dark comes crashing through. When you need a friend to carry you. And when you’re broken on the ground. You will be found.” ~Dear Evan Hansen
Those words are a lot of what we are feeling right now, and a lot of what the feelings are surrounding Holy Week. The disciples, and us if we allow ourselves, sit in those moments of wanting to tell our story while the darkness enters in and we prepare ourselves to say goodbye to the Jesus who walked the earth. But the hope, the hope comes in that our friends, the disciples too, carry each other, and in the resurrection we are once again found.
So let the darkness in. Let the light shine through. Let your friends carry you. Let hope reign. Let’s tell our story, today, this week and in the months ahead. Dear friends, reach out your hand, you will be found.
And if you want to enjoy the video here you go: https://youtu.be/2aQykuIaJVI
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Melissa
P.S. Some of you got baskets that had peeps in a baggie in them (save those all will be explained.) Some of you did not, we didn’t get quite enough in. If you did not receive a baggie of peeps in your basket we invite you to get some peeps on your shopping trip this week and use the baggie and paper in your packet to make your own!(Again, all will be explained on Easter Sunday!)
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 continue to give thanks for our Church Council checking in on everyone during the week and sharing needs and concerns with Pastor Melissa
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 (melissa@maranachurch.com) or your Church Council person who has been calling you know and we will get you connected with a shopper.
Milestone Celebration!
We know we may not be together in person, but we would still like to celebrate those in our community who have achieved milestones this year. If you have someone going into: Kindergarten, 3rd grade, or graduating from high school or college please send us their name so we can work on getting Bibles together and celebrating with you!
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! We will continue online worship through at least April 30th, as directed by our bishop.
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!
NEW SERMON SERIES
“This is Church. We are Sanctuary!” – Pastor Melissa will be inviting each of you to help share our stories after Easter. People will be invited to have an interview with Pastor Melissa that will be shared in worship. Along with your favorite scripture you will be invited to share the story of your faith, and how your faith is sustaining you during this crisis. If you would be interested in being interviewed let Pastor Melissa know ASAP!
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.
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: Holy Week Showdown! Share with us your pictures and experiences of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter!
Last week’s winner: Thanks to Susan Quinn, Pastor Melissa and Lora for showing how their “work at home” was going!
Pray for the world. For our community. For each other. We get through this together!
Digital Directory
Over the next week, we will be emailing everyone a link for our new digital directory. Please click on the link that we send and follow the directions to gain access to the directory. Feel free to reach out to Lora at Office@maranachurch.com if you have any questions.
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, Michael Robnett, and those in recovery or suffering from addiction, those in financial difficulty, friends and family in the military.