Where have you experienced holy places?

Aloha! Dear friends, we are halfway through the prayerful, penitential season of Lent, as we spend these 40 days in spiritual reflection on the way to Holy Week and Easter.

Last Sunday, the 2nd Sunday in Lent, we explored our citizenship by focusing on Philippians 3:17—4:1. Yes, we may be citizens of this world, but as believers in Jesus Christ we are also citizens of heaven, even now, and we can experience both the blessings and responsibilities of what that means. Home is where the heart is! So check your passports and let’s learn how to live as active citizens of heaven while residing in this wounded, fearful world.

This Sunday we cross the halfway point on our journey to Holy Week, and we’ll
visit Mount Horeb with Moses, who comes across a bush that’s burning without being
consumed—and realizes he is in a holy place, in the very presence of God (Exodus 3:1-15). As a response, he removes his sandals. Where have you experienced holy places? Why not visit one of those holy places soon during Lent, and rekindle your spiritual relationship with our holy God? We’ll learn more about how we might do that this Sunday.

We enjoyed our second “Soup and Study” gathering on Wednesday evening, and these will continue through April 9 at 6 p.m. in Sumida Hall. Even if you’ve missed it so far, you’re invited to enjoy fellowship next Wednesday over a simple meal with lively conversation about the third of five “Will You” questions in the baptismal covenant. We close our time together with the service of Compline. Please sign up on the clipboard in the back of the church to let us know when you can join us or bring soup to share!

Also, last Sunday we had the first of the final two “Faith and Science” Adult
Formation classes in the Vicar’s office after worship. We had a wide-ranging
conversation about “Science and the Image of God.” We will conclude the series in two weeks, on Sunday, March 30. Please join us! See below for scripture to study and questions to ponder in order to prepare for our conversation on the vital topic of “Life and Death.”

Dear sisters and brothers, I am so grateful for you! You are in my prayers, and I
ask for your prayers for St. Timothy’s Church, for our dedicated staff and our devoted
lay leaders, and for your vicar. May God bless you and your loved ones in this holy
season. 

Aloha Ke Akua!
Fr. Pete+

To help you prepare for the "Faith and Science" adult formation class on March 30:

Read and Reflect: Psalm 90:1-4, 10, 12
1  Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
2  Before the mountains were brought forth
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3  You turn us back to dust
    and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
4  For a thousand years in your sight
    are like yesterday when it is past
    or like a watch in the night.
10  The days of our life are seventy years
    or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span [a]  is only toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
12  So teach us to count our days
    that we may gain a wise heart.

Questions to Ponder Ahead of Time
- Where have you witnessed the glory of creation this week?
- Think about the last funeral you attended. How did the priest describe the
person’s life and death?
- In what ways do you measure the quality of your life?
- Reflect on the many Bible passages that focus on life and death, and life after
death. Do they have any images in common? What are some of those images?
- How do you “number your days”? Is this phrase hopeful or frightening to you?
- Read and reflect on the entire Psalm 90 in your Bible.