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We’re Already Welcoming, Why Do We Need to Say So?

By Vicar Lisa

One of the questions that people commonly ask when considering becoming a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Community is “We’re already Welcoming, why do we need to say so? What difference could having an explicit welcome statement make?”   

One of the reasons is to leave nothing unsaid. Sadly, our LGBTQIA+, and Black, Brown, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) siblings continue to experience exclusion and harm from people supposedly acting in the name of Christianity. Even churches who declare “All are welcome” often demonstrate to LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals and families that “All” does not include them. For this reason, the welcoming invitation RIC partners create is explicit, recognizing the injustices that have occurred in the name of faith.

It also is a way of communicating who we are as a faith community.  All RIC partners are published on the Reconciling Works website in a searchable national map which provides LGBTQIA and BIPOC persons a way to identify a church community that is committed to justice and racial equality. They will know that we have gone through a time of discernment to specifically welcome those who may have previously been excluded and know that we are a community that is skilled at welcoming.  Now that is good news!

Third Sunday in Lent, 
March 3, 2024

10 a.m. Worship with Communion

Announcements

  • First Sunday Potluck: Join us after worship for our First Sunday Potluck and continuation of the Sunday Morning Bible Study, “How Lutherans Read the Bible”. All are welcome!
  • Lent Soup Suppers: Each Wednesday during Lent we gather at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for a Soup Supper and devotion. Please plan to join us this Wednesday, March 6. We also need volunteers to bring soup, salad, bread, or a light dessert. If you can help, please sign up on the sheets in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Weekday Bible Study: Our next weekday Bible Study will be at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 13, in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Save the Date: We will have a special congregational meeting after worship on March 17, to select Zion’s synod assembly representatives. During this assembly the Rocky Mountain Synod will be selecting a new bishop.
  • Easter Flowers: On Easter Sunday, our Sanctuary will be filled with beautiful flowers symbolizing the glory of the resurrection. Sign up to help sponsor Easter flowers using the special sheet in the flower book at the back of the sanctuary. Include your name and any commemoration you would like to see included in the bulletin. A minimum donation of $35 is encouraged and donation envelopes are in the flower book.
  • Holy Week: Palm Sunday Worship — 10 a.m. on March 24

        Wednesday Soup Supper — 6 p.m. on March 27

        Good Friday Worship — 7 p.m. on March 29

        Easter Sunday Celebration — 10 a.m. on March 31

    (Fellowship Brunch, Member Reception Follows)

  

E-formation – Third Sunday of Lent, March 3

During Lent, the church prepares its catechumens for baptism, and it renews its members in the meaning of baptism. Today’s readings highlight the difference between first-century Judaism and the Christian gospel: Christ is a replacement for the Jewish religious rituals. Yet many contemporary Christians maintain with Paul that God’s promises to the Jewish people continue apparently God has more than one way of mercy.

John 2:13-22

This gospel is a primary example of John’s use of narrative to proclaim Christology. Christ is the temple. Coming to church in Lent is coming to Christ, whose body is raised from death and who lives now in the community of believers. Our Passover is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Exodus 20:1-17

The Decalogue, which arose in a period of Israelite history prior to the building of the temple, is appointed for this Sunday to highlight both the similarities and the differences between the evolving biblical Judaism and the community of Christian believers. The Commandments understand all human life as conducted before God. In the New Testament itself (for example Matthew 5) we encounter the earliest of continuing Christian appropriation and reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments. Historically, attention to the Commandments has been part of baptismal catechesis.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

This reading helps connect the Ten Commandments with Christ as the replacement of the temple: Paul contrasts the faith of the baptized with both Greek learning and Jewish signs. In Lent we affirm the gospel with its offer of the weakness of the crucified Christ.

Zion's Lutheran Church
zionsluth@gmail.com
719-846-7785