April 13: The Bethel Nursery, downstairs near the gym, will be staffed for children ages 5 and under. Please note that the routine for Palm/Passion Sunday is different than usual: AFTER the procession, nursery volunteers will be in the narthex to welcome your child and escort them to the nursery.

Worship will begin in the Assembly Hall (the gym) in the western portion of the building, and then process outside (weather permitting) to the front steps of the church. Those unable to process are invited to be seated in the church, where the service continues following the procession.

Today’s Sacred Harp anthem, "How Firm a Foundation," by Martha Shaffer, reminds us of Christ’s undying love and forgiveness.

The text is from a hymnbook printed in 1787 by John Rippon, a Baptist preacher in London.

Mission Conversation:
Last month we discussed what the Holy Spirit does with the church in Acts: telling the story of Jesus; caring for people in need; gathering to break bread, pray, and discern; and encountering “outsiders.” Today we’ll imagine how the Holy Spirit might do those things among us.

Our choral anthem, "King of Peace," with words by John Newton and tune from the Sacred Harp, calls to mind the plight of the Prodigal Son, the subject of our Gospel lesson.
John Newton’s poem is a powerful personal statement, admitting he scorned God’s grace, and
pleading for the Lord’s forgiveness.

Adult Forum at 8:30 a.m.
Why is it so HOT in here?
The Rev. Dave Whetter, Bishop’s Associate for the Central States Synod, will lead a forum on how we can regain the practice of healthy and holy conversations about issues that we ought to be talking about.

Our choral anthem is another in the series of settings by composer Martha Shaffer of melodies from The Sacred Harp, a shape-note hymnal first published in 1844. Ms. Shaffer has renewed these old tunes with a fresh, resonant choral idiom that preserves their spirit of frontier American Christianity.

Adult Forum at 8:30 a.m.:
Peg Wehrenberg on The Value of Greenery

The value of green is potent for our inner environment. Identify the many ways you can increase the value of green in your own life in small, achievable increments.

There will be a freewill offering and an auction for tickets for several Cardinals baseball games.
Money raised will go to support a new project with Oloipiri Village in Tanzania: purchasing a vehicle to help provide mobile medical care for people in the village and its surroundings.

At Adult Forum, Martin Miller will lead us through a discussion of the sacraments. We’ll look briefly at how and why Christians found different meanings for the Sacraments over the centuries and consider what meanings we can find in the Sacraments and can share with each other and with our children.