A note from the pastor:


The second day of March marks the beginning of the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. This Lent our worship and discipleship will be inspired by a collection of resources from A Sanctified Art which is a group of artist pastors.  A poetry and art filled devotional will be available electronically and in print to help you get the most out of this season.  The theme for the season is “Full to the Brim: An Expansive Lent” and I have included a summary from the creators below.  I will be praying that all of us come to know the fullness of God’s grace and rejoice in the sharing of all that is overflowing from our hearts and lives.


From A Sanctified Art:

“We recognize that traditional iterations of Lent often emphasize restraint, confession, and piety.  The origins of Lent were that one was to leave their old life behind to fast and prepare to be baptized into a new way of living.  In essence, this was a practice of stepping away from the rat race, corrupt power, scarcity mentality, and empty rituals in order to live a more expansive and full life of faith.  And so, Full to the Brim trusts the promise of our baptisms—God has already claimed us as God’s own and nothing we can do will ever change or erase that.


Full to the Brim doesn’t ignore or deny sin and suffering.  It doesn’t absolve accountability for wrongdoing. Instead, it contextualizes our faith.  If love is our beginning, how can we live our lives led by love’s promises?  It reminds us to live fully—as we pursue justice and hope, or express grief and gratitude.  And so, this Lent, let us trust—fully—that we belong to God. Let us increase our capacity to receive and give grace.  Let us discover the expansive life God dreams for us.”


Have a blessed Lent,

Pastor Darren



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Lent 2022 begins on Wednesday, March 2 and ends on Thursday, April 14





As each date passes, click on the graphic to watch the appropriate worship service.


  • First Sunday of Lent - March 2, 2022

    Scripture:  Joel 2:12-17


    With all that you are


  • First Sunday of Lent - March 6, 2022

    Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 4:1-13


    Even in the desert, Jesus expands our definitions of a full life. It’s not the life the Tempter presents: a life defined by excess power, control, or reign. Jesus sees beyond this facade and says, even in the midst of fasting, “One does not live by bread alone” (Luke 4:4). Excess is not abundance, but there is more. There is a fuller life we are called to live. Even in the midst of struggle, oppressive forces, hardship, and grief—God’s promises spill over, like the bounty of the first fruits from the ground. Even in the desert, you are called to the riverside to be washed by grace.


  • Second Sunday of Lent - March 13, 2022

    Scripture: Genesis 15:1-12. 17-18; Luke 13:31-35


    God is our refuge. There is nothing that can separate you from God, or could keep God from gathering you in, protecting you fiercely. Jesus’ lament for Jerusalem is seemingly counter to how he is treated by Jerusalem. And yet, we receive grace upon grace, even if not deserved. Jesus as a mother hen is an image of fierce love and protection. You are a precious child of God. God longs for you. God will gather you in. No matter how much we try to separate ourselves from God, God will run to protect us. God’s love for us is fuller than we can imagine.


  • Third Sunday of Lent - March 20, 2022

    Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9


    Like the fig tree, you are worthy. You’re not a lost cause. You’re not a waste of resources. You deserve audacious hope. You deserve to be nurtured. Your fruit will come. Like the gardener, you are invited to see others with audacious hope and budding potential. The lesson of the fig tree invites us to unpack the source of our worth in a system and society that often measures worthiness by commerce, production, output, success, status, achievement, ethnicity, and/or gender identity. We might ask, “Can the fig tree have worth even if it never produces any figs?” What does that mean for us if the answer is “yes”? Patience, nurture, asset-based thinking, and audacious hope are counter-cultural practices needed for an expansive life.


  • Fourth Sunday of Lent - March 27, 2022

    Scripture: II Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32


    The word “prodigal” is commonly used to describe the son who squanders his inheritance. Yet, this parable invites us to consider how God’s grace is also prodigal—extravagant, lavish, illogical. This parable disrupts and expands our definitions of grace. Once again, grace is not earned. After wasting his resources, the younger son becomes destitute and returns home to his father, saying, “I am no longer worthy” (Luke 15:21). In response, his father welcomes him with a celebration and the fatted calf. The older son, in contrast, has done everything “right”—he’s tried to perform, work hard, check all the boxes—but he forgets how to celebrate. How might you receive and extend prodigal grace?


  • Fifth Sunday of Lent - April 3, 2022

    Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-8


    God is brazen in turning tears into joy. Not so long after their brother Lazarus dies and is raised from the dead, Mary and Martha joyfully welcome Jesus into their home. Mary pours out fragrant perfume (perhaps originally intended to anoint her brother’s body after death) and it fills the whole room. This is a brazen act of beauty. Beauty is resistance to death; beauty is an act of love. Her anointing of Jesus’ feet is also a public act of worship. Her faith does not hide; it is not frugal. It is embodied, broken open, and poured out. This isn’t a frugal faith — it is an abundant, extravagant faith. Mary’s act is also risky—she puts her full body into it, sort of like a protest. She exhibits a shameless and brazen faith.


  • Palm Sunday - April 10, 2022

    Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 19:28-40


    As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the multitude of disciples begins to joyfully shout with praise. The Pharisees try to silence them, but Jesus responds: “I tell you, even if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (Luke 19:40). All of creation cries out with praise—that message rises above the noise, even if the oppressive powers want to silence it. As we begin our walk through Holy Week, let us ask: What can’t be silenced? What must be said? What things can we not stay quiet about? What is bubbling up that we need to give voice to—faith questions, apologies, issues of justice, truth-telling? As we go deeper into the story, the truth will soon be set free.


  • Maundy Thursday - April 14, 2022

    Scripture: John 13:1-17, 31b-35


    Take off your shoes


  • Good Friday - April 15, 2022

    Scripture: John 19:1-30


    A cup of sorrow


  • Easter Sunday - April 17, 2022

    Scripture: Acts 10:34-43; Luke 24:1-12


    Mary Magdalene, Joana, Mary the mother of James, and the other women go to the tomb with spices to tend to Jesus’ body. When they find the tomb empty and are stunned by the presence and words of the men in dazzling clothing, they remember. They remember what Jesus had said, which compels them to go out and tell the story. Even in utter shock, they return to their deepest knowing and allow themselves to receive the expansiveness of resurrection. Their imaginations and hearts expand, and they must take action in response. Many of the disciples won’t open themselves to this expansiveness and reject it. Peter is curious enough to return to the tomb, and as a result, he is filled with amazement and awe. How do we carry forth what we have learned this Lent? Can we be curious enough to return and remember? Can we allow ourselves to be filled with expansive hope? Can we trust in the expansive promise of new life, and carry that promise with us wherever we go?