| A Lenten Tale from Worth & Beth Wheeler @ Boise Mustard Seed
Mary is a newcomer to our group as of last late-October. She’s a recent widow (about 2-3 years ago) who spent all of last year looking for a church community that she could call home. She’s one of the few people who found us online. As she gradually grafted into our community, she told me she felt like we were calling her to do things that were hard, but that she felt like part of the family immediately and really enjoyed and looked forward to spending time with us. However, she was also looking for a community with more people her age. We’re fairly diverse age-wise, with people in our crew that are in their 40s, 50s and 60s, but the numbers of those people aren’t the largest. We sat down for coffee in January and she told me a lot more about her life story and why she felt like she wanted to look at some other churches. After listening to her for quite some time, I asked her only a few questions of challenge and discipleship, and about how she felt like part of the family at Boise Mustard Seed. She took those questions seriously. A few days later I received an emotional email from her telling me about the significance of our conversation, a few other conversations with other friends and personal meditation readings over the interim days and how through all of this she perceived God speaking to her. She ended the letter by saying: “I’m all in!” And she has been. As we’ve continued the journey, she was able to bring particular insight, as a former Catholic, to our church family’s emphasis on spiritual formation during Lent. She is preaching this Sunday at our worship gathering about personal reflections and lessons learned during Lent this year, and how her understanding of Lent has changed over the years. We are extremely blessed to have Mary join the church family.
A Good Friday Story From Geoff Holsclaw @ Life on the Vine
“I’m digging this God stuff”, is a comment I (Geoff) often hear from my friend. He’s been sober for 30 years, but only when we started hanging out last year did he start learning that God wanted to be a part of his entire life, not just his sobriety. Now he’s praying for more than staying dry, but for a job, for the people in his life that drive him crazy, and for peace. His AA friends have noticed that he is a lot calmer and less angry. My friend and I get together and talk about God and life and his relationships. In typical church talk, I would say he is “On fire”. He has started reading his Bible and is becoming more familiar with Jesus and everything he did.
Most amazing of all, during our Good Friday service (which for us goes through the last 7 statements of Jesus from the Mount of Olives to his death on the Cross), my friend said, “At the beginning of the service I just felt something come into me. It was good.” Yes, it was a Good Friday, that by His wounds we have been healed.
Easter Soul by Bob Hyatt @ Evergreen Community
This past Easter at Evergreen Community in Portland we had the privilege of holding our first ever Easter Baptism! We borrowed a baptismal from another local community and set it up on the sidewalk outside of the Pub in which we meet.
We baptized Devin, a young woman who came to our community with no church background to speak of. It’s been wonderful to see her journey from someone who was interested to someone who is committed to following Jesus with her whole life.
Evergreen has a special niche in connecting with people who have left church or faith and are just now coming back, but as joyful as that is for us, one of the things we love most in community is seeing the lives of those who know nothing of Jesus transformed as they encounter Him in our community!
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