Author: lakewooducc

Holy Week Observances

April 17   Maundy Thursday.  This will be a remembrance of the end of Jesus’ earthly life shared over dinner around the table in the sanctuary.  The observance including  a simple meal, communion and the service of Tennebrae will begin at 6:30 pm.

Good Friday  Beginning at noon there will be an oral reading of the Gospel of Mark from start to finish.  Those in attendance will be invited to share in the reading.  By revisiting the earliest gospel, we will remember the scope of Jesus’ life and witness.  Come for the whole reading or for a portion.  It will take about two hours.  All are welcome.

Easter Sunday. There will be one Festival Service at 10:30 am.  This will be in intergenerational service.  All ages welcome!

Easter Flowers
This year for Easter Sunday, the congregation is invited to bring a flowering plant to church to bring to the altar as part of the processional.  Please purchase a plant of your choice and bring it Easter Sunday!  This will be a glorious celebration of new life in Christ!

Come to the Sixth Assembly of the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network

Come to the Sixth Assembly of the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network (FL-iCAN!) and be inspired to dream, network, and design climate actions that will improve our world. Together we can respond positively to the new era of annual extreme weather events arising from the climate crisis.

The rituals of faith and wisdom traditions once helped cultures stay in balance with nature. That balance has been lost. The climate is in crisis. Science describes the impact on us all. Ritual attunes our hearts and wills for doing right together. The Sixth Assembly will explore both science and ritual to help us love Earth, its people, and the Commons with good intentions.

Matthew Fox will lead off Friday evening helping us to find healing in rediscovering the power of ritual in society. Saturday morning Harold Wanless will take us through the most recent science on the warming seas and extreme weather.

Then we will spend the day in workshops that focus on Earth, people, and the Commons. The one-hour workshops will be organized into three tracks: policy, action, and narrative.

How can we get affordable solar? How do we ensure we have clean water? How do we deal with rising temperatures and seas? How do we restore lost wildlife? How can we talk about climate in meaningful ways with our neighbors? What can we do that will help make the environment better? What rituals work for all of us? How is Easter a celebration of Earth? What big ideas move us beyond fossil fuels? How can we grow our own good food in the city? Let’s be honest about our past and hopeful about our future.

On Sunday afternoon we welcome everyone to participate in the Cosmic Mass: Our Sacred Earth at the St. Peterburg Coliseum. Together we’ll grieve the mess we’ve made as a society, heal our divorce from the environment, commune with all life, and discover the healing power of our joy.

Bracketing the Assembly is an opportunity to take an African-American Heritage Tour of St. Petersburg with Gwen Reese and take a deep dive into seeing how losing the Commons means destroying vital communities.

FL-iCAN! is convened by the Florida Council of Churches with programing assistance from the Connection Partners and support from the Thriving Earth Exchange. Special thanks go to the Southeastern Yearly Meeting of Quakers and Creation Justice Ministries. Most of all we are grateful to Trinity Lutheran Church for offering their facilities for the Assembly.

Contact: Rev. Dr. Russell Meyer, 813-435-5335, fl-ican@floridachurches.org

The Rev. Dr. Russell L. Meyer

Executive Director

Florida Council of Churches

3838 West Cypress St

Tampa FL 33607

813.435.5335