It took two days for the family and friends to celebrate Valentine’s Day at Garfield.

February 7^th was the Family Valentine’s Dinner where those who wished to spend Valentine’s Day with their loved ones and children gathered for a dinner of Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs.  Of course you know the children loved that.  The children made Valentine’s Day cards for the nursing homes and brought cheer beyond the community.  The children guessed how many Hershey kisses were in a jar and how many candy hearts were in a box for prizes.  But the highlight for most was the digital camera scavenger hunt.

February 14^th brought the traditional Valentine’s Day Dinner for the couples and guest.  With two serving times there was no waiting and each had their own table to spend a few quiet minutes with “that special one” (a rarity in our busy lives).  The social hall of the church was transformed into a candlelight dining room with hearts and a flowing punch bowl.  You could find lighted boxes and hearts in almost every corner thanks to Jenifer Bear.  Dinner was prepared by Linda Reeder and served by Linda and Greg Reeder.  Little did our “little” community know what a great team those two make in the kitchen?  With your choice of pork or salmon and crab cake the delights just kept coming. 

What is Valentine’s Day without chocolate and the chocolate cake, ice cream and raspberry topping was truly the desert that you wanted after such a delightful meal.

As the last serving was being served you could hear many people say….can we put in our reservations for next year.  Stay tuned…we will keep you posted.

  

Register your children to attend Garfield ’s Spring Break Camp! Leave forms in Pastor Katie’s office. It will be April 8-10^th, with two different hour options. Families can choose to send their children from 8am to 5pm with a cost of $15 per day or from 10am to 2pm at $8 per day. Scholarships are available.

Lunch is provided.  Wednesday we will have hotdogs, Thursday will be grilled cheese, and Friday there will be pizza.  With daily cooking, drama, crafts, and games, this camp is a perfect option for families needing help over spring break.

We are also looking for people willing to volunteer. If you are willing, please see Pastor Katie.

 

Join us on April 4^th from 9 to 12 as we continue to seek out God’s vision for Garfield Church over the next year. A light breakfast will be served and Conference Guide, Matt Poole will lead us in prayer, reflection and sharing. See Pastor Katie for further details.

Palm Sunday Worship -- 10:15 am

There is a special part in worship for children, so please come a bit early! Special music, drama, and scripture will make this service special as we prepare for Holy Week

Palm Sunday Hymn Sing – 7:00 pm

Come and enjoy special music from our community and a chance to sing our favorite Easter hymns!

April 8^th –

Spring Break Camp – 9 am to 5 pm (please pre-register)

Lenten Prayer Service – 6:30 to 7:15 pm

This will be the last of our Lenten services

April 9^th—

Spring Break Camp – 9 am to 5 pm (please pre-register)

Holy Thursday Service -- 7:30 pm

Join us as we come to the table and celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

April 10^th ---

Spring Break Camp – 9 am to 5 pm (please pre-register)

Good Friday Service – 7:30 pm

This is a Stations of the Cross service led by the youth using shadows, as we remember the death of Jesus.

April 11^th

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, 9

Join us for breakfast, games, and of course an egg hunt as we begin to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! Bring friends!

Prayer Vigil – 12 noon to 12 pm

April 12^th – Easter

8:00 am Easter Sunday Worship with Communion

9:00 am Sunday School with Breakfast

10:15 am Easter Sunday Worship with Communion

7:00 pm Community Easter Cantata

 

 

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins

and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned,

we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

1 John 1:8-10

 Daily I underestimate just how big our little Eden is getting. We have a table in our living room, where I usually set my soda while we play on the floor together. Last week, while we were playing, the door bell rang and I had to go and answer the door. And when I returned, I found the straw out of my cup and soda on the floor. “What happened, Eden?” It was like deer in headlights. “Did you drink from my cup?” I asked again. This time she threw her hands up in the air, as if to say, “I don’t know!”

We learn so early how easy it is to lie! Don’t we! Often we think it is easier to claim we have no idea how things happened, it is easier to shift the blame, it is easier to point the other way, then confess our sins before God and one another. And yet, if we heed the words of 1 John 1:8-10, we all will take to our knees and bow before the Lord in humble confession.

As a child, my parents always taught me it was better to come to them and seek forgiveness, then for them to find out what I had done wrong. My mother would often take us up to church with her for her evening church meetings. We would sit in the church office and color on old copy paper. And sometimes we would take the old copy paper and stick it in the typewriter, even though it was off limits.

One night in particular, we were waiting for mom’s meeting to be over and we stuffed the typewriter full of paper. As we began punching buttons, something went terribly wrong. But instead of confessing the problem to our mother, we threw away the paper, and put the cover back on the typewriter.

The next afternoon, when mom got home from church, she was complaining that someone at church said that we broke the typewriter. “I told them,” she began, “that if you had broken the typewriter, you would have told me.” And then our confession began to flow, and so did the punishment. We ended up grounded and paying for the typewriter.

As we come to the season of Lent, we are given a wonderful opportunity for confession. Our sins, things done and those left undone, weigh us down. They blur our relationship with God, making it harder for us to see Him in our midst. When we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, our relationship with God is made right once again. Confession allows for the work of Christ in our lives, allows us to grow in our faith, helps us move on towards perfection in love.

Each Sunday in worship, we will have time for corporate confession of our sins. Hopefully it will allow us to grow in our relationship with one another and with God. And as we do, we pray that God will purify us from all unrighteousness, as 1 John promises. May God bless you and your families this Lenten season.

 

In the midst of these difficult economic times, please keep in mind that the church has a food pantry, full of canned and boxed items for families in our church and community.

The red wagon is in the foyer for anyone who wishes to donate food for the pantry.

If your family or a family you know could use some help, please see Pastor Katie. All requests are kept confidential. 

The first two months of 2009 brought the start of our mission projects for the year.  And we are off to a good start.

The foyer was full of boxes where you could donate your Christmas card fronts to St Jude’s Children’s Ranch, your could bring food for our red wagon collection to add to the food panty (which in these economical times is being used greatly) and Heartly House collections for the battered women’s shelter.  And as always Garfield stepped up and shared the bounty that God has given us.

The March monetary collection for missions will be the Frederick Coalition on Emergency Relief.  Also remember that the youth are collecting for the Cardboard Derby where the proceeds go to Cedar Ridge Ministries.  The Derby is on March 1^st.

 

 The high school class in Sunday School has completed a study of Paul’s instructions to his young Christian friend, Timothy.  Paul’s advise included

1.                          Christian fights the good fight and remains faithful to God

2.                          Self discipline is required and must be practiced in order to win the game

3.                          it takes a strong character to stand up for Christ in an unbelieving world.

4.                          The Christian boy or girl must ask “what matters most?  When it comes to making or breaking friendships or relationships with those who can make or break us and

5.                          When life gets trough we can have confident and hope in Christ.

In March the class begins a four lesson study dealing with friendships.  In the present age of teenage suicide, school shootings, drug use and gang violence strong Christian friends are an important necessary to live in harmony with God, students need to look closely at themselves and their relationships with others.

The subject includes dealing with peer pressure, loneliness; close Christian friends and conquering cliques. Some or each of these situations is encountered in High School on a regular basis. 

We encourage the youth to join us in Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. for discussion and learning tips for coping and living a rewarding and peaceful life.

 

This summer, Pastor Katie will serve as the pastor at Camp Manidoken ’s Adventure Camp for 5^th and 6^th graders, July 5-10^th. We would love to have a group of our young people in 5^th and 6^th grades come to camp!

We are also in need of some adult volunteers (18 or older) to serve as counselors that week. Pastor Chris will be serving that week as well, with High School students. High Schoolers are also invited to come.

Both groups will participate in high ropes courses, canoeing, hiking, daily Bible Study, and other activities. 

If you are interested in serving or would like to send your youth to camp, please let Pastor Katie know. Forms are available on her desk.

Income	2008	2009
Month	6848	11834
YTD	6848	11834
Expenses	2008	2009
Month	8730	9402
YTD	8730	9402
Sunday School/Missions	2008	2009
Sunday school	223	229
YTD	223	229
Missions	155	641
YTD	155	641
Attendance	2008	2009
Worship	326	316
YTD	326	316
Sunday School	91	92
YTD	91	92

 

A word of thanks from the Valentine dinner - I would like to thank each and everyone who decided that they, their loved ones, guest, and other family members would try Garfield’s Valentine dinner.  I believe all went well, and everyone enjoyed the fellowship they encountered while dining.

A huge thank you to the faithful kitchen cleaners. The downstairs organizers, the photographers,

A special thank you to my wonderful husband, who was right there all night and never, missed a beat.

Cooking isn't the hard part, it's cleaning everything, putting things back to normal, and the pictures to prove it. That is the part that is trying and tiring.

I felt all was going well when I had a couple request the same table for next weeks dining.  So again, thanks for your support at the dinner, and the support you give at all the functions.                                          Age Level Director

 

Pastor Katie will be on Vacation March 2^nd to 8^th. Please call her home phone and leave a message. She will be checking it regularly.

 

 

Again this year Garfield will host the Community Easter Cantata.  The cantata will be held Easter night, April 12^th at 7:00 p.m. and will include several churches from the area.  The title of this year’s cantata is “The Risen Christ”.

For those of you who have participated and/or attended in the past years you know this is a production that you will not want to miss.

If you wish to sing in the production note the practices are:

March 29 at 2:00 p.m.

April 5 at 2:00 p.m.

April 11 at 9:30 a.m.

Other rehearsals will be held with Sandy or you can attend at St Mark’s Lutheran Church rehearsals on Wednesday evenings beginning at 7:45 p.m.

 

Lent is the fourth season of the Christian year. Its length is the 40 days preceding Easter Day, not counting Sundays. This means Lent always begins on a Wednesday, known as Ash Wednesday.

Lent commemorates Jesus’ fast and temptation in the wilderness of Judea Province, which, according to the Gospel, lasted 40 days. Just as Jesus confronted his temptations during these 40 days, Lent helps Christians focus on our most basic need as sinners: forgiveness.

The only way our Lord’s forgiving power can become effective in our lives is by our taking the initiative to confront our sins, confess them and repent of them. In short, Lent is a season of penitence.

Some Christians fast during Lent. This denial of bodily comforts can help encourage self-reflection about the need for Jesus’ forgiveness.

 

On March 8^th we will Spring forward.  Be sure and change your clocks so that you won’t miss Worship and Sunday School.

 

  

On January 24^th several of the church members joined to have an indoor cleanup day.

The toys in the nursery were washed and those with missing parts disposed of, the flies and “dirt” on top of the overflow room was vacuumed and dusted, the library was gone through to be sure all books were in good condition and the storage area was “tided” up along with the “coat area” in the back of the church.

All though this was a day of work a lot of fun was had and a lot accomplished.  Thank you to all who helped and mark March 28^th on your calendar for the cemetery and yard clean up.

 

In the 8th century B.C., a prophet of God condemned the sinfulness of many of Jerusalem’s citizens. On behalf of God, he chastised anyone who abused power, was unjust toward the poor and used bribes and position to gain money and status. He even condemned prideful women who walked “with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet.” (He was referring to little bells attached to women’s ankles.)

Who was that prophet?

A. Isaiah

B. Amos

C. Hosea

D. Jeremiah

 

Seven-year-old Kathy tried to quiet her younger brother during a church service. “Hush … hush,” she warned him. “You’re not supposed to talk out loud in church.”

“Why?” asked the brother. “Who’s going to stop me?”

Kathy pointed to the rear of the sanctuary. “See those men standing back there? Well, those are the hushers!”

 

A Sunday School teacher asked her little children, as they were on their way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?”  Once bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping”.