Holy Week and Easter Schedule
Make sure you and your family don’t miss out on everything Muhlenberg Lutheran Church has planned for Holy Week and Easter this year! See below for links and information on how to connect to the many worship opportunities we have available. Join us!​
Palm Sunday – March 28  
Daily – March 29-April 1  
Maundy Thursday – April 1  
Good Friday – April 2  
Easter Vigil – Sat. April 3
  • 7:00pm Service on Facebook and YouTube, with creative storytelling from the Muhlenberg community.
 
Easter Sunday – April 4

What is Lent?

The forty days of Lent invite people of faith to follow Jesus more closely, and awaken to the work of the Spirit in our lives and in our world.  In many ways, Lent is a season of simplifying, refocusing, and getting back to the basics of our faith.  This is a season of preparation for those who are going to be baptized during Easter, and one of faithful reflection for all God's people.  There are many ways to observe this season, but the traditional Lenten disciplines are: giving of alms to the poor, praying, and fasting.  Each of these are meant to focus our hearts and minds on God's activity in our lives.  Individuals and families can make choices of how you wish to observe this meaningful season of faithful simplicity. 

Throughout the season of Lent, the texts from the gospel of Luke appointed by the Narrative Lectionary point us to unexpected situations, unexpected stories, and unexpected results as Jesus is journeying toward Jerusalem. We will explore how the gospel subverts our expectations and calls us to unexpected discipleship and unexpected grace.

How Can I Participate?

There are many activities to join in throughout the season of Lent!  See the full list of one-time and weekly events below:

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Parking Lot Worship Services

Join us in the Muhlenberg Parking Lot for socially-distant services, including Holy Communion - all from the safety of your vehicle!
  • February 14 at 4:00pm: Transfiguration Service, where you can pick up your Lent Activity Bags (see p. 2)
  • March 14 at 4:00pm: where you can pick up your “Holy Week at Home” kits

Alleluia Coloring Sheets for Pastor Alex's Children's Sermon on 2/14.  Download, color, and then take some time as a family to "bury" the Alleluia for the Season of Lent!  Keep the Alleluia in a safe place until Easter!  (You can also pick one up at the Parking Lot Service)
-Beginner Coloring Sheet
-Advanced Coloring Sheet
Ash Wednesday Worship

7:30am Service via Zoom
​7:00pm Service via Zoom

​On Ash Wednesday we begin our forty-day journey toward Easter with a day of fasting and repentance. Marking our foreheads with dust, we acknowledge that we die and return to the earth. At the same time, the dust traces the life-giving cross indelibly marked on our foreheads at baptism. While we embark on this unexpected journey through Lent to return to God, we have already been reconciled to God through Christ. Returning to our baptismal call, we more intentionally bear the fruits of mercy and justice in the world.
In preparation for Ash Wednesday, we invite you to gather several items for worship:
  1. Dirt or ashes.  We will impose dirt or ashes on ourselves, or on the foreheads of those in the room with us during worship, as a communal act led by the pastor. You may use a small amount of dirt from the ground or a potted plant. If you have ashes from a fireplace or firepit, you can use those CAREFULLY. DO NOT ADD WATER as this creates a caustic mix that could burn your skin.
  2. Bread and wine for communion.  We will share communion together at this service. Please have a small piece of bread and wine or juice on hand.
Wednesdays in Lent

Join your friends on Wednesdays beginning February 24 for connection and formation during Lent, and make a five-week commitment to learn and grow together in faith. We will gather via Zoom.  Choose from these learning opportunities:
Book Study of "Stamped from the Beginning" - with Pastor Alex, 7:00 - 8:30pm: Repentance is central to the season of Lent and racism is a sin. As we seek to repent from the sin of racism that manifests in personal and systemic ways throughout our nation and lives, we must learn how we got here. "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America" by Ibram X. Kendi will serve as our guide to these conversations. We will bring the lens of faith and repentance to conversation around racism in our history and our present. The book is divided into 5 sections which we will cover each week from 7:00-8:30pm.

Reading/Discussion Schedule
2/24: Part 1 "Cotton Mather" Ch 1-6
3/3: Part 2 "Thomas Jefferson" Ch 7-12
3/10: Part 3 "William Lloyd Garrison" Ch 13-20
3/17: Part 4 "W.E.B. Du Bois" Ch 21-29
3/24: Part 5 "Angela Davis" Ch 30-37

(If you miss a session, the opening presentation will be recorded each week and uploaded to an Unlisted YouTube Playlist.  Click the date above that you missed to be taken to the video, or click HERE to view the playlist.  Group discussion will not be recorded.)
Prayer and Contemplative Practices - with Linda Alley, 7:00pm: Would you like something fresher and deeper for your prayer time? Learn about five types of contemplative prayer and practice them during this 5-week workshop. Most types encourage more listening than speaking and more spacious rest than effort. Led weekly by Linda Alley at 7:00pm, each half-hour session will include teaching, practice and feedback, beginning with Breath Prayers on week one.
Wednesday Morning Bible Study - with Pastor Lauren, 10:30 - 11:45am: Explore the parables Jesus tells on his journey to Jerusalem on Wednesday mornings from 10:30-11:45am. Pastor Lauren leads this discussion-based group in a deep dive into the gospel of Luke.
Wednesdays Mid-day Worship - 12:15pm: As a sign of our unity in Christ, Ecumenical leaders from around the Valley will lead mid-day Lenten Worship each Wednesday. Services will be about 20min. long, shared live on our YouTube page. These services will reflect the diversity of voices and traditions in our community that all call us to find strength in our unity in Christ.
Wednesday Night Fellowship - 6:30 - 7:00pm: Sign on to Zoom for conversation and fellowship before classes begin at 7:00pm! There will be no Holden Evening Prayer during Lent.
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Wednesday Soup Suppers at Home: Each week, we'll share a favorite soup recipe from a fellow Muhlenberger that you can make at home. To receive the recipes, make sure you're signed up for Muhlenberg's email list (form is on our homepage) or check out Muhlenberg's Facebook page.
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Lenten Midday Recital Series on Thursdays

Every Thursday at 12:15pm, a live-streamed, 15-20 minute concert will be hosted by Elizabeth Williams. Eat your lunch to the sounds of beautiful music, live on Muhlenberg's Facebook and YouTube pages.
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2/18 - Elizabeth Williams, organ & piano: Instrumental arrangements of spirituals honoring Black History Month, part 1
2/25 - Cynthia Page, soprano; Elizabeth Williams, piano: vocal arrangements of spirituals honoring Black History Month, part 2
3/4 - Alice Wightman & Elizabeth Williams, piano: piano solos and duets of familiar hymn tunes
3/11 - Linlin Uta, piano: classical masterpieces for solo piano
3/18 - Elizabeth Williams, piano: an "All Bach" program celebrating the birthday of J.S. Bach
3/25 - Catherine Creasy, french horn; Elizabeth Williams, piano: sacred greats for horn and piano
Donations and Activity Bags

​Baskets of Promise Collection: During Lent, the Christian Formation and Local & Global Mission Committees and JAMers elementary youth group are sponsoring Lutheran World Relief’s Baskets of Promise appeal by collecting items for Personal Care Kits. We invite you to donate the following items: individually wrapped bars of soap, individually wrapped toothbrushes, bath towels (lightweight please - they dry easier in the sun; dark colors, 52”x27”), combs, and nail clippers. Please bring bags to the March 14 Parking Lot service (4:00pm) and place them in the wood bins. The JAMers youth group will meet at Hillandale Park (wearing masks and socially distanced) to assemble the kits!
Lent Activity Bags: If you enjoyed our Advent craft/activity bags, then you will want to join us for our February 14 Parking Lot Service (4:00pm), where the Christian Formation Team will hand out Lent craft/activity bags. These will contain a Family Devotional (with something to do each day) and other items and activities to help you and your family journey together throughout Lent.

Sunday Morning Worship

As always, join us for worship each Sunday at 8:30am via Zoom for a service of Holy Communion, and 11:00am for a Service of the Word on Facebook and YouTube.

Each week we'll dive deeper into our Unexpected Lenten theme. Through the Word, music, conversation, and preaching we will explore how the gospel subverts our expectations and calls us to unexpected discipleship and unexpected grace.

What about daily/personal devotions?

Lent is a 40 day season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus. Throughout the season, our Daily Digital Devotionals will focus on Lenten Micropractices.  Through our Muhlenberg Digital Devotionals Facebook Group or in your email inbox, you’ll find a new practice to guide you each day on your journey of preparation. Some practices can be done on the spot, some during the day, and others will take some time and/or prep work. Traditionally, there are three pillars of Lent: praying, fasting, and alms giving, which come to us from Matthew 6:1-18. Our micropractices rotate through these themes, along with additional practices that don’t fit neatly in one of those categories (“more”).  Engage with the practices when and how you can. There is no right or wrong way to do them. You are no more or less holy by doing them all or only a few. Feel free to adjust the practice of the day to better fit yourself or the members of your household. 
Printed copies of these Daily Devotionals will be available in the Connection Box (located outside the gathering area) for pickup at the church.  You’re encouraged to share photos or reflections in our Facebook Group or on Social Media using #UnexpectedLent with how these Lenten Micropractices revealed Unexpected grace.