Love Intentionally
Love Inclusively
Love Universally
Love Completely
Love Everyone
Love Better!
March 25, 2021 (Year One, Week 3)
Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
As we wind down our Lenten disciplines, it is my prayer that each and every one of you has become more focused in your devotion to our Lord, and more cognizant of what precisely it cost God to provide for your (our) salvation; for it cost God everything! It cost God the very life of God’s only Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ! But because God, in an act of sheer love, was willing to pay that price, we have everything; to wit, life eternal!
This coming Sunday, we begin our Holy Week observances with a worship on Palm Sunday, and worship opportunities on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and a very special service on Easter Sunday. Evening devotions will continue on evenings where no worship service is offered, and the To Start Your Day Readings will continue throughout. You are also encouraged to go to our website and sign up to participate in our Easter Vigil, running from Good Friday evening through Easter Sunday morning, where we each promise to dedicate a specific amount of time to prayer and meditation, while waiting in vigil for the resurrection. If you’ve never done that before, I’d really recommend doing so….it provides for a deep, spiritual experience. Please note the schedule and access below:
SERVICE DATE TIME ACCESS
Palm Sunday March 28, 2021 10 am https://youtu.be/uNaMJ1adfwg
Maundy Thursday April 1, 2021 7 pm https://youtu.be/60XJhU7P_ZM
Easter Vigil April 2-4, 2021 8 pm (4/1) - 9 am (4/4) https://www.godamong.us/post/easter-prayer-vigil-sign-up
Good Friday April 2, 2021 7 pm https://www.godamong.us/post/2021holyweekservices
Holy Saturday April 3, 2021 7 pm https://www.godamong.us/post/2021holyweekservices
Easter Sunday April 4, 2021 10 am https://youtu.be/VOQ-OrZDAMA
I truly hope that you’ll be able to find just a bit more time in your week to prioritize this worship. In it, and through it, we hear of God’s gracious love for us, not just as prophesied and promised, but as lived out in the death and resurrection of our Lord! Please join us!
As always, check out our website (www.godamong.us) for ongoing resources from our church, and if you need anything, please call. We’re here for you!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffee Before Worship
Before worship, around 9 am, join us for coffee/donut fellowship time (BYOC/D) on Zoom. We look forward to welcoming everyone in our community. Please think about joining in and saying hi to your brothers and sisters. That gathering can be found here:
https://zoom.us/j/98483096300?pwd=aTVJV0JJWkdsaG9ESFFMTlNuWVVDUT09
Easter Donations
Each Easter, we ask that you consider a monetary donation towards our Easter Special Music, Decoration, or Pastor’s Discretionary Funds. Your name will be included in the slides for our Easter Sunday online service. All donations must be received by Sunday, March 28 to be included in the slides. Please use the following link to contribute online www.godamong.us/easter-donations. You also have the option to print out the form and mail a check to the office. Thank you.
A Message from Dr. Brent Brown
Our Council President would like to stress,
"Please look into getting the vaccine as soon as possible if safe for you to do so. The faster we all get vaccines safely the faster we can have more people in church."
National Brain Tumor Society
Every year, our family is comitted to raising money and awareness for the National Brain Tumor Society in memory of our daughter, Lauren. Lauren passed away almost six years ago after an eight month battle with brain cancer, and I think about how precious life is as I miss her sassy personality everyday. Please help us help those who are affflicted with this deadly disease. This year, you can take part in our virtual walk anywhere in the country! So please join us on this special day when we remember Lauren and support all those who are fighting this illness. Thank you for your support and please consider tuning in as we honor this community on May 2nd. For more information on the National Brain Tumor Society, visit www.braintumor.org.
Incarnation Lutheran remains committed to supporting this wonderful cause, and we ask you to prayerfully consider joining us!
Stephen Ministry
The Stephen Leadership Team would like everyone to know a new class of Stephen Ministers is in the midst of their 50-hour training requirement at Incarnation that will come to completion in June. We would appreciate your prayers for our Stephen Ministers and Stephen Leaders as they progress through this process.
This week, the class will cover two topics. First, they will discuss "Maintaining Boundaries in Caregiving", which describes the importance of boundaries to protect both Stephen Ministers and their care receivers while ensuring the best possible care. Secondly, they'll learn about "Crisis Theory and Practice", exploring the effects a crisis has on people's lives and how to help them move through the crisis toward greater wholeness.
Also, please remember if you are going through a particularly difficult period and would like to pursue the idea of meeting with a Stephen Minister on a regular basis, please call Deacon Mindy or one of the Pastors, as we currently have Stephen Ministers available.
Project Mercy/Mexico House Build Mission
Our next house build for a Mexican family is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th. Due to Covid-19 and related border restrictions, we will do this build in Chula Vista again. We will assemble and paint the home components and Project Mercy personnel will deliver to Mexico and assemble. For this build, we are partnering with Spirit of Joy Lutheran of Ramona to build 2 houses!
Thank you very much to those of you who have already donated! At this time, we still need to raise about $2500 to fund the houses, so if you would like to contribute (or have friends or family that might) please use the church PayPal link, or send a check to the church. Please remember to mark your donation with "Project Mercy".
Donate to Lutheran Church of the Incarnation of San Diego County
Food and household donations: Since many of you like to donate items to the family, we've created an online wish list of things that are good to donate. Please look at the list and sign-up for any items you would like to purchase and donate. Please share this link too: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4aa9ad28ab9-mexico
Below is the bio for the family we are building a home for. We are building for the Astudillo Herrera family; a widowed mother and two sons aged 12 and 9. One of the boys suffers from epilepsy. We've also attached the bio for the family that Spirit of Joy volunteers will be building for.
Diapers needed! Interfaith is out of size 5 & 6 diapers, both very popular sizes. Also dog and cat food. If you are able please add these items to your shopping list and drop off at our usual times on Sat, Tues, or Fri between 9 and 11. If you have a person in your household that likes a project, bagging the dog or cat food into smaller sizes is greatly appreciated, 10cups in a 1 gallon bag is about right. Thank you so much for your constant generosity!
Food Drop off for Interfaith Community Services Every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday between 9:00 and 11:00 in the morning, volunteers are in the parking lot to move groceries and take all the donations to ICS.
