Epworth Echoes: Winter 2021

By Mary Ellen Reetz-Pegues Even while recovering from knee replacement surgeries, Mary Ellen Reetz-Pegues continued teaching her Adult Sunday Class via email. She missed only one class -- January 10 – two days after her second surgery. She was back teaching on January 17 with a lesson about one of her favorite things – music! We’re sharing that lesson below and asking that you respond to one or more of the questions Mary Ellen poses in this lesson and email your response to us for the next Echoes.        As I’ve been reading the lessons, I've found many that were meaningful and pertinent. However, I’m going to mention a couple that dealt with music, and in particular, the songs we sing. We so need our songs in this trying age!   From  Our Daily Bread , January 13, “What’s Your Song?”  with a reading from Deuteronomy 31: 15-22.   “So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.”  Deuteronomy. 31:22   ...

  Contents click the article title to read the article Nourishing Faith Boundary Reflections Christmas Eve Pastor’s Column Power of Music   Welcoming All Bag of Blessing God’s Light Enters Reading for Justice   Doing Good Creation Care Curing Cabin Fever Lefse Love   BEing Church Illume Epiphany Justice Calls Lenten Journey   Epworth Echoes  is a newsmagazine p ublished 4 times a year by   Pastor:   Steve Reiser Editorial Board:  Shirley Durr, Cynthia Lillquist, Mary Ellen Reetz-Pegues, Brian Lillquist, Saundra Johnson Photographs:  Aaron Jones (cover photo) ,  Nan Rice, Nancy Meisel-Youngman, Cynthia Lillquist, Steve Reiser   Image Attributions: ·        aurora borealis photo:  (favim.com) ·        Year of Justice logo : Steve Reiser ·        Boundaries photo:  “The Beginning is Near” (imgur.com) ·      ...

  Although our Christmas Eve service could not be in person to protect our families and neighbors from coronavirus infections, it still held many of the traditions we've enjoyed over the decades at Epworth plus some clever innovations, some necessary for our new reality.   Christmas Eve worship, although filmed in the sanctuary, could only be seen on Facebook. The virtual worship experience opened with a video of luminaries lining the aisles leading to the altar decorated with our traditional poinsettia and Advent wreath   Besides the innovative video, the manger that has decorated the balcony for the past few years was placed on the altar instead so that worshippers could see it from home.   Traditionally, Christmas Eve services have consisted of scripture and familiar carols with special music interspersed throughout. This year was the same – with a few twists.   Jasper Ayers Assad has been the first soloist for Christmas Eve for a couple of years and he carri...