Easter's coming! Will you be coming, too? 😀

Published: Fri, 03/12/21

Preparing for Easter

With vaccinations on the rise, I encourage you to consider coming back to the church to meet and greet your friends in person, and to participate in the community of our church. It's not going to be "the same as it was" or a return to "pre-Covid normal" - in fact, it will be better! I'm optimistic that "absence makes the heart grow fonder!" We have much to do together! And perhaps the first step is to worship and to celebrate the Lord's work and His resurrection.

Easter worship services

Palm Sunday - March 28 @ 11 am

Good Friday - April 2 @ 7 pm

Easter Sunday - April 4 (early outdoors and 11 am indoors)

This Sunday: Jesus said, "The words I speak are spirit and life."

Jesus knew the Bible inside and out. He read it in the original language from a scroll before it was ever in book form as we know it. I suggest that He knew it by heart, since His divine love and wisdom inspired its writing. He loved it more than we can know. Part of the blessing of the New Church is the opportunity to love the Bible as Jesus did – from the inside out.

As we prepare for the celebration of Easter, let’s take a fresh look at the Bible and the Lord’s words with the goal of appreciating their complexity and simplicity and their invitation to experience heavenly joy.

Here is a little taste of what Swedenborg revealed about the depth of meaning in every verse of the Bible.
“The nature of the Word’s style is that it has holiness in every meaning and every word; in fact, in some passages there is holiness in the very letters. As a result, the Word connects us to the Lord and opens heaven… The inner meaning is the spirit that brings the letter to life.” True Christianity 189ff (parts)

With love and respect and anticipation,

Nathan

nathan@sunrisechapel.org 520-820-5148

Kitty Aughey

Photo by Tryn Seley April 2012

Our dear friend, Kitty, passed into the spiritual world Thursday, March 11. Since the middle of February she was under hospice care at the La Famiglia care home where she had been living for a little over a year. Because of CoViD, visiting was not allowed in the past few weeks except by the hospice chaplain who said she thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Kitty. She also noted that the staff loved Kitty and described her as happy and affirmative.

For many years Kitty was sincerely and energetically devoted to helping lead and organize the Sunrise Chapel kitchen, the Women's Guild, and all manner of activities involving food for Sunday luncheons, memorial receptions, and other special events. She has been missed the past few years!

She is survived by three sons, Steve, Dave, and Rob. She will be joining her son, Greg, who preceded her years ago, and her brother Tom Bell.

Plans will be made for a memorial service. Stay tuned.

Nathan

Here is the spiritual task we're currently working on:

"Not Giving Up"

This task was introduced last Sunday. You can also read the essay on choosejoynow.org

I encourage you to work on this whether you attend the small group or not. Two advantages of being involved in a small group are having some accountability for putting the task into practice and learning from each other's experience. See below for Zoom invite or ID.

Note: we did not meet on March 10, but will resume on March 17.

Join our final session of this small group this Monday at 2 for a brief history of the New Church

Our final meeting for this series will be this Monday, March 15 at 2 pm. Join us for an overview of the history of the New Church beginning with events during Swedenborg's life. There are various organizations throughout the world based on Swedenborg's theology. We will also have a brief look at the development of Sunrise Chapel since its beginnings in the 1980s.

Join Zoom Meeting on Monday at 2 pm

https://zoom.us/j/96970678961
If the link doesn't work, use the Zoom Meeting ID: 969 7067 8961

Nathan 520-820-5148

Spiritual Growth Group on Wednesdays at 2

Wednesday Spiritual Growth Group graphic

Final meeting of this series this Wednesday March 17 at 2 pm

https://zoom.us/j/97789633363?pwd=aEhCVnYyT0tDQlR4V0RKWG8yQjRsUT09
Passcode: choosejoy

If the link doesn't work, open your Zoom app and use these credentials:

Meeting ID: 977 8963 3363
Passcode: choosejoy

Nathan 520-820-5148

Your church home for partnering with the Lord and each other in the practice of cultivating spiritual growth and choosing heavenly joy

www.sunrisechapel.org

nathan@sunrisechapel.org Office 520-298-1245

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