Here's what's happening......this evening, Good Friday Gathering
The scripture readings for this evening's Tenebrae Service will be:
Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm: Psalm 22
Epistle: Hebrews 10:16-25 & 4:14-16 & 5:7-9
Gospel: John 18:1-19:42
Click here to read them.
What does Tenebrae mean?
(the following explanation was written with help from and thanks to the Christian Resource Institute.)
"Tenebrae " is Latin for "shadows" or "darkness". Often during the Holy Week leading up to Easter, Christian communities and churches will have a Tenebrae service (most often on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday). The setting, time, and characteristics of the service may vary, but it is usually held in a dark setting, with candles or other minimal lighting. This evening, we will read several passages of scripture, view a short liturgical video, hear a short homily, and pray in silence. Throughout the short time together, the lighting in our sanctuary will gradually decrease to symbolize the growing darkness not only of Jesus’ death but of hopelessness in the world without God. We will end in darkness after the candle that has been central to our sanctuary since Advent that represents Christ is extinguished. You are welcome to stay and pray as long as you like. Good Friday is a time to remember the sacrifice of Christ, and while it may be difficult to leave in such a somber state, we can know that Sunday is coming soon.
...in Worship on Sunday
This coming Sunday, April 8, is Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday. The readings for the early morning "sunrise" gathering (6:30 AM - please note that this is different than what was originally printed on the 40 days of lent handout) are:
Psalm: Psalm 114
Old Testament: Isaiah 25:6-9
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8
Gospel: Luke 24:13-49
Click here to read them.
And the readings for the 11:00 AM worship gathering are:
Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm: Psalm 31:9-16
Gospel: Luke 22:14-23
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
Click here to read them.
...in Discipleship - the 40 days of lent
This weekend concludes our journey through the 40 days of lent.
We will gather at the church building on Good Friday at 7:00 PM for a meaningful Tenebrae service. Then on Easter Sunday morning we will gather at the church building at 6:30 AM for an Easter "sunrise" service, a community breakfast after, and then regular Sunday gatherings. For more information or a whole schedule, use these links:
The 40 Days of Lent - Explanation
Schedule of Readings and Activities
...in Prayer - Nick Matthews(from Elise Alvarez & Rev. Mike Matthews) - Nick is living in a sober house in Roxbury for a three-month long rehabilitation program, which is designed to reintegrate individuals into the community. After completing the program, he and his biological mother are hoping to find a place together.
Mike & Naomi were able to visit him and take him out to lunch. He looks good and is healthy. He asked Mike to say "Hi" to all.
For all those who wanted Nick's current address:
Nick Matthews
2591 Washington St.
Boston, MA 02119-1717
Nick has made it clear to us that he wanted to be with his mother. We have known this for several years. And she was the only one we could find that knew of an alternative to staying in lock up until he was 18. She informed Naomi and Mike of this program and we referred the program to his P. O. who followed through and got this to happen.
His mom, Dee, has been out of jail since June '06 and has been working the AA program and similar programs to the one Nick's in. She also lives in a sober house in Cambridge. She really sounds committed to staying sober and out of jail and has let Nick know that she will not help him, housing or anything, if he does not maintain his sobriety and work toward a better life.
Keep Nick, Dee, & the Matthews family in prayer
...in Africa
Here is the latest from the Austin Family in Kenya, written on Saturday, March 31:
Greetings from Naivasha, Kenya.
It's been so wonderful to get emails from many of you and even phone calls from some. Any form of communication is a blessing! We get an occasional day of homesickness where we'd like to be able to pull a cold diet coke from the fridge or hop in our car and just drive somewhere, but for the most part we are very happy here and have adjusted quite well. Praise God for answered prayer - Caleb is FINALLY warming up to the people here. He likes the High Schoolers especially - they are a bit less overwhelming to him. He says he wants to go out and see them because they are nice. It's quite a change from the past month, so thank you for your prayers regarding that. Also, Johnny's diaper rash is about gone - he was allergic to the wipes we bought here so we've gone back to buying Pampers (which are very expensive, and they only have them in Nairobi.) Also, he just got two more teeth, so that had to do with it also. But, aside from his poor sleeping and diaper rash, he's SUPER happy and ALWAYS a very big eater - he eats much better then Caleb does and eats everything we eat for meals - he's a BEAST! :)
This has been a great week of being with the kids more. Each day we've had choir practice with the high Schoolers who wished to join choir. It's been so much fun and a great time to hang out with them and get to know a lot of them. They are such wonderful young people. This upcoming week we'll be teaching the staff Microsoft word, so this week we were preparing three classes and a final exam for them. It was fun! This past Monday the staff threw a little surprise birthday party for Jon - with cake, bananas and bread and butter sandwiches - and soda...it was so thoughtful and sweet. That was an awesome ice breaker time with them. They are so fun to be with. We've been blessed to be working with such great people.
We’ve had a fun couple days of a mouse hunt, too! :) We have a mouse who has taken up residence in our apartment. At first we worked hard to chase him away, but when he left and came back, we've pretty much decided he's part of the family now. He even woke me up this morning chewing through some wood in the kitchen...crazy thing! And I thought the kids were loud in the morning!
The boys seem to be growing up so quickly. Johnny's babbling up a storm and so close to crawling. He fell of the bed the other day because he moves around so much - oops! Caleb's starting to read some three letter words now and is doing math with water bottles. We’re taking plenty of pictures that we'll probably not be able to show you until we return home. we just found out that Jon's parents bought plane tickets to come out here at the end of May - we are so excited to see them and to share some of this experience and the beauty of Kenya with them.
Well, that'll do it for now. Next time I will try and tell you what our "typical day" in Kenya is like. Please continue to pray for us as we don't want to leave here with any regrets. We also have an opportunity that I can't go into detail about but we really could use lots of prayer for God's discernment and that he will clearly open and close doors according to his will for our family.
We love and appreciate each of you. Less than three months now...
Serving HIM,
Jon, Ang, Caleb and Johnny
...in Stewardship
Spring Cleaning Day - Saturday, April 7, at 8:30 AM. Paul Goodwin has offered to organize a Spring Cleaning Day at the church building. Come and help us as we give the interior of the church building a good cleaning.
As always, you can keep up-to-date with NSCC happenings by using our on-line calendar (click here).
...Benediction
As you continue to seek the face of God,
May the example of Christ move you,
His love compel you,
And his sacrifice remind you.
