“The Word of Forgiveness”

A Service of the Word for the 1st Sunday in Lent
February 22, 2025: IN-PERSON and ONLINE at 10:30 a.m.
The Rev. Matthew Emery, lead minister, preaching
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Luke 23:32-35

This Sunday, Pastor Matt kicks off our series on the seven last “words” (that is, messages or sayings) Jesus spoke from the cross while he was crucified with the first word: “Father, forgiven them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

We’ll also have the joy of witnessing the sign and seal of God’s grace and incorporation into the body of Christ through the sacrament of Holy Baptism for Jacob Levi Bosiak, son of Ben & Emily Bosiak (and grandson and great-grandson, respectively, of CUCers Tracey Pawluk and June Gatzke).

Finally, a worship note for the season: For our “prayers of the people”--that is, our time of praying for the church, the world, and all who are in need with our thanksgiving and our intercessions, our joys and our concerns--during the season of Lent we’ll be switching things up for a little while by returning to the practice of giving time and space for worshippers to lift up their own prayers and prayer concerns with their own voice. (Longer-time CUCers will remember engaging in the prayers-of-the-people portion of worship in this way as recently as the early year or two of Rev. Matt’s tenure here.) If a worshipper prefers to have one of our pastors voice their prayer, the written prayer request cards are still available, but should be handed to one of the pastors before the worship service begins, as the prayer time will happen in the service prior to the offering.