Ash Wednesday Service
Here is some information about Ash Wednesday and our Ash Wednesday services here at MCC.
Ash Wednesday service is 6:30pm this evening (Feb 17, 2010) in the church sanctuary.
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What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It takes it’s name from the ceremonial imposition of ashes on the foreheads of worshipers as a sign of human sin and mortality. This ancient tradition, going back at least to the tenth century, communicates the human condition before God by solemn word and sign. The silence and solemn tone of the service, along with the texts and hymns, are all intended to focus our lives on the dual themes of sin and death in the light of God’s redeeming love in Jesus Christ.
While the use of ashes as a sign of mortality may be new to some, it has a significant history in Jewish and Christian worship. The imposition of ashes is a powerful experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation. This day can become, in some manner, a Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, for the Christian community.
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About the service
The Ash Wednesday service at Marshfield Christian Church is designed to incorporate aspects of several different worship styles. Elements of traditional worship as well as more modern worship elements have been included to form a unique and moving worship experience.
Although you may initially be uncomfortable with some of the elements, take heart. As you experience each of the different aspects of worship, you are invited to notice how they affect your senses and emotions. What was, at first, uncomfortable may become a meaningful part of worship for you.
The repetitive, almost chant-like, singing of songs and the times of silent reflection in worship are elements of a worship style from a monastic community in Taizé, France, known as “Taizé worship.” These softly lit, meditative services of song and prayer are intended to open our hearts and minds to God in prayer. This atmosphere encourages us to bring our burdens, and the burdens of the world, before God in faith and confidence.
Quiet your mind and feel yourself surrounded by the mystery, compassion, goodness and presence of God.
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We hope you’ll join us for a meaningful time of worship this evening, and then again throughout Lent at our weekly Sunday worship services as we reflect on our fragmented world and how we can be part of a movement that brings wholeness and healing.
New Facebook Fan Page
It’s been well less than 24 hours and Marshfield Christian Church’s fan page on Facebook has 30 fans! Don’t you want to be one too? 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marshfield-Christian-Church/311874905285
-Pastor Alex
Recovery in Haiti
Global Ministries has recently posted their plans for continuing the recovery and renewal projects in Haiti. Please take a few moments and look through the information and see how you can be a part. The website is here.
If you are interested in being part of a local team that actually gets “on the ground” in Haiti, please contact the church office.
Youth and Children’s meeting
If you have a child or youth of school age, you won’t want to miss the information and planning meeting this Wednesday, January 27th at 5:30pm in the Marshfield Christian Church sanctuary. Details on our re-vamped and re-energized ministry to youth and children are the order of the day! If you have questions, but can’t make the meeting, please contact either Robert or Alex.
Blog on Haiti
The latest information on the situation in Haiti is still available at this website. On that page there is a link to a blog by Kim and Patrick Bentrott who, along with their son Solomon, are serving as missionaries for Global Ministries in Haiti. The blog is quite moving and I hope you’ll take the time to read it and look at the many pictures the Bentrott’s have posted in the past several days.
You’ll find the blog at http://www.kimandpatrick.blogspot.com/ .
Please continue to hold the people of Haiti and all the aid workers in your thoughts and prayers.
From Associate General Minister and Vice-President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
January 14, 2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am writing this message on behalf of our General Minister and President, Sharon Watkins. Even though Sharon is on sabbatical, she has been keeping a close eye on the situation in Haiti.
Sharon and I request your prayers for the people of Haiti, for our Global Mission Partners, and our missionaries who need not only our prayers, but also our resources. I also request your prayers for Dr. Glen Stewart, Regional Minister of the Christian Church in Tennessee, who is in Haiti with a delegation from the Tennessee region.
At the time of writing, they are safe and have arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. My understanding is that the U.S. State Department and the Tennessee Congressional Delegation are working to arrange their return. At the same time a delegation from the Oklahoma and the Great River Regions are on the other side of the island in the Dominican Republic. While they felt the earthquake, they did not have any damage.
In addition to these groups, I would urge you to pray for the Haitian communities within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). We have about 100 Haitian churches. These are anxious days and moments for many of them who have family and friends on the island. Charlie Wallace from New Church Ministries has traveled to be present with our Haitian churches in Florida.
As you can imagine, communication to and from the island is very limited. Week of Compassion, Global Ministries and others have been using all of their available resources and technology to connect with our missionaries and partners.
Yesterday afternoon, Rev. Amy Gopp, Minister of Compassion, participated in a phone call with Church World Service. This conference call provided additional information regarding the resources, needs and opportunities for service.
If you or your congregation are compelled to offer financial resources in support of our relief efforts and our partners, I invite you to give at www.weekofcompassion.org or send a check to Week of Compassion, 130 E. Washington St., Indianapolis, Ind., 46204; noted for Haiti or earthquake relief. Week of Compassion has already sent an initial grant to Global Ministries / Overseas Ministries in support of our missionaries and partners, as well as Church World Service.
Week of Compassion and Global Ministries are trying to keep their websites as up to date as possible and I encourage you to check them frequently.
Your partner in prayer,
Rev. Todd Adams
Associate General Minister and Vice President
Nursing School Devastated
I just checked the website again and am both encouraged and crushed by the news found there. It seems the director of CONASPEH is safe, although there is still some difficulty in making contact, but the nursing school was completely destroyed in the quake. And, if the loss of property were not enough, it sounds like many, or all, of the students were trapped inside. It is just a complete tragedy that some of the people who might have been able to provide so much assistance in this dark time, were also among the casualties.
While I am sure that it will take months to begin the rebuilding process in earnest, I would encourage you to consider how you might be able to help. Can you join with a recovery group and travel to Haiti to assist in the recovery and rebuilding efforts? Or can you donate funds to be used in those efforts? Even if neither of those responses are an option, I believe it is our duty as people of faith to pray as though our very lives depended upon it. Pray for all the thousands and thousands affected by this tragedy. And pray for the many others, whose personal tragedies, while no less important, might be overshadowed by this massive disaster. Pray also that we might use our resources (financial, spiritual and physical) in the most effective way to bring about a measure of peace, of God’s shalom, in this broken and painful situation.
-Alex Ruth, Pastor
Haiti Update
Things are still very uncertain as of my last check of the special webpage put out to update Disciples on the effects of the earthquake on the tiny country of Haiti. The many people who are trapped and hurting are foremost in our thoughts and prayers, even as our lives here in the mid-west go on relatively unaffected. The sun rose, kids were taken to the bus stop to go to school, the bus driver and I exchanged waves, and upon arriving at work I fired up the computer and started checking e-mail and news. Pretty much the same as every other day.
I’ve noticed a huge amount of “buzz” about a theory as to the cause of the earthquake in Haiti. Unfortunately a very public figure has claimed that this natural disaster is the result of the Haitian people making a “deal with the devil.” While I understand the very visceral need to make sense of great tragedies like these, I cannot support the view that this tragic situation is somehow the product of divine retribution. However, disagreeing with this gentleman does not give anyone the right to start throwing stones. We have all, after all, made mistakes, held un-healthy or distorted views, haven’t we?
It is, I believe, our duty to take this opportunity to react and respond to this crisis with Christian love and a servant’s heart. Haiti has and will be for some time, one of the poorest countries in the world. This is an opportunity for us to see if a camel will really fit through the eye of a needle (See Luke 18:25). It seems to me that Jesus didn’t spend much time determining the cause of the infirmities he miraculously healed, but rather set about restoring health and wholeness to the marginalized and forgotten in the community. We have begun to understand over the past several years, that our communities extend well beyond the borders of our neighborhoods, beyond our towns and beyond our own countries.
May we respond with the heart of Jesus to this tragedy. Not seeking to explain or categorize, but to assist in bringing about healing. I can only imagine that by helping the hurting population of Haiti, we will most authentically reflect the attitude, heart and mind of Christ.
“God of all time, be especially with the people of Haiti at this time. Enfold the hurting and broken in your loving arms and guide them to green pastures and beside the still waters. Be with the many family members and friends who know and love people who have been in the midst of this great turmoil. Bring them news of their loved ones. All-knowing God, it is our un-knowing that most tears at our hearts and minds. Yes, we want a positive report from everyone, but mostly we just want to know. Give us a place to plant our feet and light the path before us all, we pray. Light the path and increase our strength as we seek to follow it in the dark days yet ahead. Amen.”
Blessings and peace,
Alex Ruth, Pastor
Effect of Hatian earthquake on CONASPEH unknown
The global mission emphasis for Marshfield Christian Church in 2010 is the Karen School of Nursing in Haiti. With the recent earthquake there, we hold all of the Hatian people, as well as the staff and students of the Karen School of Nursing and all the varied CONASPEH projects in our prayers. The staff at Global Ministries will be keeping us up-to-date through a special webpage.
Here is what they had posted moments ago:
Haiti Earthquake – What We Know at This Point
January 13, 2010
Global Ministries has received a call from the family of Kim and Patrick Bentrott indicating that they and their son are fine. We also received news from the Disciples Tennessee Region group letting us know that they are fine. For more info about the TN group: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100113/NEWS01/1130377/1025/NEWS
We have not been able to contact Patrick Villier, the president of CONASPEH, to learn about the situation of the staff and building. We are also still waiting to hear from Polycarpe Joseph of the House of Hope. We will post any news that we receive immediately on this webpage, so please check back throughout the day.
From David Vargas: “The biggest anxiety we have is not being able to contact Patrick Villier, president of CONASPEH. CONASPEH is serving 6000 grassroots congregations among the poorest of the poor. Many of those congregations will be devastated. Haiti has been a top priority for Global Ministries in our Critical Presence emphasis. At this moment, it is very important that we as Disciples and UCC step up to meet God’s people and creation at the point of deepest need. In all my years in Global Ministries, I can say that this situation is probably the “deepest need” we have experienced as we walk with our partners. Thank you for keeping CONASPEH and the people of Haiti in your prayers.”
Gifts for emergency relief can be made through One Great Hour of Sharing, Week of Compassion or directly through Global Ministries with the designation “Haiti Emergency”. You can follow the links below:
OGHS: http://www.ucc.org/disaster/major-earthquake-strikes.html
WOC: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=6566
Global Ministries: http://globalministries.org/give
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I’m not sure, yet, how we will choose to respond to this situation beyond our thoughts and prayers. When those plans become clear, I will most certainly post an update.
Blessings,
Pastor Alex
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