Dearest Faith Community Near and Far-

Sorry for this going out on Sunday morning! 

A quick remeinder…today is the second Sunday in Lent and we are talking about what it means to have a bigger table. Building a bigger table is going to look different for everyone, but I do hope you truly think about what it can mean for you. Everyone is invited to bring a cup, mug, glass, or wine glass to represent your table from home and bring it help make our table bigger. Inside your glass, I would like to encourage you to write a note in there about what it means for you to create a bigger table. Put that in the glass and we will keep them on the table throughout our series. Then on Easter Sunday, we will create something unique to Wintergarden to represent a bigger table for our families and faith community. 

We are going on this journey to build a bigger table for many reasons. To learn. To understand. To explore. To realize that sometimes what we think we read in the bible isn’t actually the correct translation. To realize that context and culture matter and most of us don’t fully understand the context and culture the Old and New Testament were written (trust me, this is complicated and I can’t remember all of it either!). It is my hope that we will work through the text, ask the questions, and dive deeper. That we won’t just say, “the bible says so” and not do the hard work of diving deeper into understanding. 

This Lenten season, everyone is welcome to learn, unlearn, and even relearn…to have an open mind and heart to explore something that might be different than we have always been taught. It is an opportunity to grow in ways that might be hard. But it is a journey…and one that is better to do together. Where this journey will take us, I’m not 100% sure. But it is a journey in relationship to God, one another, and with scripture. 

Avenues to learn:

• Every day, there will be a question posted on Facebook to help us dig deeper into our theme “A Bigger Table.” We hope you will engage with us to go deeper into learning through these daily invitations. 
• Sunday after church folks are being invited to learn through a study called A Biblical Case for LGBTQ Inclusion. This study will go through the material a little slower than Wednesday night. 
• Wednesday night from 5:30-7:30, gather for a light dinner via potluck and the study A Biblical Case for LGBTQ Inclusion.
• Worship on Sunday mornings at 10am.

If you want to talk more about where you are on this journey or even the struggles you are having with us even having this conversation, please reach out to me. I would love to take you out for coffee so we can just talk. Please know that where ever you are on this journey, there is no judgment, just love. 

Dates to Remember

• Sunday morning schedule: 8:30- Sacred Space, 9:30- Fellowship, 10:00- Worship
• Building Rededication on Sunday, March 10 at 4pm. Everyone is invited to join us for a special worship service as we welcome everyone who helped bring our sanctuary back to life. 

Making Headway

We’re making some headway on some more projects around the church. 

• We are praying that the permit for the showers will be approved. This project has been submitted 5 times!

Happy New Year-
Pastor Devon

ps…Fridays and Saturdays are the two days I am taking off every week. This isn’t always working great, but I am really trying hard to take these days off each week. If I do not get back to you, please know I will on Mondays.

LENT 2024

Worship with Wintergarden
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Second Sunday of Lent
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Sacred Space Meditation Service @ 8:30 am
In The Garden By The Fountain 
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Fellowship (light continental breakfast) @ 9:30 am
Worship following about 10:00 am
In the Sanctuary and on Facebook Live
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How to access the bulletin:
Bulletin HERE
How to Access Services Online:
Join us on Facebook for Worship Services
https://www.facebook.com/wintergardenpres
Remember, you don’t need a Facebook Account
to join us for worship. 

You can also click HEREfor the Facebook link.

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE

Sunday, February 25, 2024
Second Sunday of Lent
Fellowship @ 9:30 am
Relaxed Traditional Worship @ 10:00 am

A Bigger Table
The Problem With Religion
Scripture Lesson: Psalm 22: 23-31, Luke 14:1-6

Every Monday – Lectio Divina Every Tuesday & Friday – Wintergarden Bees @10am Every Wednesday Food Truck Delivery Every Thursday Food Pantry 12-4pm Feb. 28 Lenten Bible Study and Dinner 5:30pm (bring a dish to share)

UPDATES AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS

In order for us to do Sacred Space, we need some folks to show up by 8:15 to help with set-up. If we don’t have help with set-up, we will not be able to continue Sacred Space. In addition, we have been trying to get it online, but have had issues. We will keep trying. Thanks for your help and understanding. 

This Lent, everyone is invited into a journey to learn more about what it means to become a welcome, accepting, and affirming faith community. I hope you will join us on this journey of deeper understanding and love.

ONGOING SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES AND EVENTS

We wanted to let you know our official office hours. The staff has made a few changes to the hours the church is open. We are working on creating some better boundaries for the staff with work. Here are some details: Monday- we are closed. If there is a pastoral emergency, please contact Pastor Devon directly on her cell phone.  Devon is working from home and attempting to work on sermons and worship planning on Mondays. The rest of the staff are taking Mondays off. On behalf of the staff, please try and honor their days off and not reach out to them. We recognize there are situations that arise, but most things can wait. Thank you for helping our staff to rest and have time away from work.  Tuesday-Thursday- The office is officially opened from 10-2. We are there before and after those hours, but those times are designed for us to be able to get more things done. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will also be instituting “power hours” when we will all be working with our doors closed so we don’t have to keep taking so much work home. More details to come in the next two weeks.  Friday- the office is closed.

FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Please contact the church office at 941-743-5335 or email at foodpantry@wintergardenpres.org
With the pantry cover completed and the weather cooling down a little, we invite you to come volunteer with us on Thursdays. Bring a friend to help! 
Also, we need translators. If you know anyone who speaks Spanish, Ukrainian, or Russian, we need assistance.

Interested in joining our Garden? Garden of Eatin’ – Food Forest For more information click HERE.

At Wintergarden Presbyterian Church we’re eager to pray with you!   Please let us know how we can pray by submitting a Prayer Request online (link below). Prayer requests are emailed to Pastor Devon once submitted.

Prayer Request

Lectio Divina for February 26, 2024All are welcome to join us as we continue to engage in the spiritual practice of Lectio Divina together as a community. Maybe you can add Lectio to your New Year’s resolution list 😉 This Week’s Scripture: Psalm 19, Luke 14: 7-11 We will gather via Zoom for an intentional time of listening, reflecting, responding, and resting in the Word of God. We will meet on Mondays from 8-9am.  Here are some details about Lectio Divina.  Lectio Divina, literally meaning “divine reading,” is an ancient practice of praying the Scriptures. During Lectio Divina, the person listens to the text of the Bible with the “ear of the heart,” as if he or she is in conversation with God, and God is suggesting the topics for discussion. There are four movements for Lectio Divina:  1. Lectio: (Listening to the Word of God or Reading God’s Word) 2. Meditation: (Reflecting on the Word of God) 3. Oratio: (Responding to the Word of God) 4. Contemplatio: (Resting in the Word of God) Here is the Zoom Link:  Join Zoom Meeting: Click HERE https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87832080869?pwd=TUxCRThUcEdRbTNTWmJ6emZRamUyZz09  Meeting ID: 878 3208 0869 Passcode: 396015 +16465588656,,87832080869#,,,,*396015# US (New York)

Facebook for Wintergarden Presbyterian ChurchFacebook for the Garden of Eatin’ at Wintergarden Presbyterian Church

One of the podcasts that I listen to is called The Bible for Normal People. If you are looking for something that will make you think and reflect on the Bible, check it out. https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/