How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity! ~ Psalm 133:1

In the last two weeks of January we’ve had some special gatherings and in February we’re looking forward to a new season of gathering at the beginning of Lent!

On January 20th, we joined our partnering churches for our first Wildfire Summit. Council members from seven churches came together for the first time in years. It was an energetic and encouraging day of naming the gifts and assets of our congregations and identifying the many overlapping connections we share in our broader community and our individual neighborhoods. One thing is for sure, the meeting kindled renewed enthusiasm for more gatherings of our neighboring congregations as we look with hope towards future ministry plans here in the Robbinsdale school district.

Last Sunday, we gathered for our Annual Meeting and decided to continue this season of generosity, mission and outreach. It was a delight to hear about the impact of the extra support that we were able to give our partnering organizations in ’23. It was a good reminder that our congregation continues to impact so many meaningful ministries in our community and throughout the world. And, we’re going to do it again in 2024!

As we look into February, the seasons are changing fast - not only because of such a warm winter - but, because the season of Lent is begins early this year. Ash Wednesday is early and shares a date with St. Valentine. Wednesday, February 14th is also Ash Wednesday this year and so we’ve decided to lean into love in our Ash Wednesday service. Ben has chosen lovely pieces of music that emphasize God’s love poured out for us and we’ll be reading and preaching from the love poem that is 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.

This year, we’ll be joining three other Wildfire congregations - Faith-Lilac Way, Holy Nativity and House of Hope - for a collaborative Lenten series focused on readings from the Acts of the Apostles. We’ll welcome preachers from each of those partnering congregations as we look at a kaleidoscope of stories from the Book of Acts. As the organizers of the series explain: “We’ll see the ways the Spirit alters our perspective, transforms our communities, and consistently blazes a trail ahead of us. We’ll catch up with the work of the Holy Spirit, finding ourselves ‘Altered by the Spirit’”

As we look ahead to a new month and a new season in the church, God’s Spirit continues to gather our community here at First in some familiar ways while yet drawing us closer to our neighbors in the community and neighboring congregations alike. I hope you’re able to join us!

Thanks and peace,
Pastor Colin