MARS MEMO

Lenten Activities

and<= /span>

Easter

Mars United Presbyterian Church:

WEDNESDAY NIG= HTS (6 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.)

THEME: Ra= ising G-Rated Kids in an X-Rated World

Mar. 7 = ; Soup Supper and Worship

Mar. 14 &nb= sp; Soup Supper and Worship

Mar. 21 &nb= sp; Soup Supper and Worship

Mar. 28 &nb= sp; Soup Supper and Worship

FRIDAY LENTEN LUNCHEONS (12 noon – 1 p.m.)

THEME: Th= e Means of Grace (Recommended source: Celeb= ration of Discipline by Richard Foster)

Messages by:<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Pastors of the Mars Ministerial Association

Mar. 2&= nbsp; Study = Speaker: Rev. Bob Rigg&nb= sp;

Mar. 9&= nbsp; Simplicity Speaker: Rev. Austin Hornyak

Mar. 16 Service Speak= er: Rev. Beverly Gross

Mar. 23 Confession = Speaker: Rev. Gary Weston

Mar. 30 Worship Speaker: Rev. Jean Gomola

Good Friday Service:

Apr. 6&= nbsp; Preaching Pastor: Rev. Jean Gomola

MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE

April 5 - 7 p.m. Worship – Lord’s Supper served and a Drama called “= ;No Condemnation”. Worship = will follow a Lamb stew dinner that begins at 6:00 p.m.

EASTER

April 8 &= nbsp; 8:30 a.m. Worship

= = 9:30 a.m. Breakfast

= &nb= sp; 11:00 a.m. Worship=

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR PASTOR

There’s a lot of talk among church leaders these days about something called “= ;the Miss= ional Church.” The word “missional” is fairly new to me and has taken some getting used to. Now I’ve resigned myself to = the fact that it isn’t going away and in fact, the m= issional church movement is sweeping across our nation and impacting our churches in amazing ways. What is the missional church?&nb= sp; The word “missional” is simp= ly the adjective form of the word “mission.” The missional= church looks at everything the church is and does in relation to the missio= n of God in the world. The congreg= ation understands that the church does not exist for itself, but for participatio= n in God’s mission of reconciling the world to God through Christ. For them, mission work is not just= an activity carried out by special people in faraway places; rather mission is= the essential character of the church in whatever context it exists.=

That hasn’t alw= ays been the way Christians have thought about mission. For centuries the church has enjoy= ed a close relationship with the culture and society in which it existed. They call that era Christendom. In case you haven’t noticed,= that era is coming to an end as the culture around us becomes increasingly non-Christian and even hostile to the Christian faith. When the church enjoyed a solidly Christian culture it assumed, right or wrong, that everyone around them was= a Christian. Mission work then meant sending special people to faraway places to share Christ wi= th people who had never heard the gospel before. The missional= church movement is helping us face the reality that more and more people are living their lives without any involvement in the church. The mission field des= perately needing our attention is not some faraway country, but our very own neighborhood and community. M= ore and more people are slipping away from involvement in the church. Why is this? Very simply – the church has failed to be shaped by participation in God’s mission, which is to set things right in a broken, sinful world, to redeem it, and to restore it to = what God has always intended for the world.&nbs= p;

It is crucial that we rethink why the church, this church, exists. What is it that God is calling us = to be and do? How can we turn our c= hurch around and begin to grow again? Growing churches are missional churches.

  &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;       Rev. Jean Gomola

VOLUNTEER = SCHEDULE for March 2007:

Tarry &= ; Talk Crew: Building and Grounds: Jay Wilson, Don Lewi= s and John Harrison.

Muffins: Mar. 4 – Chuck Moore, Keith Nichols<= /p>
   &nbs= p;        Mar. 11 – C. Moore, K. Nichols, Rich Williams

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 18 – Tom and Pam Kennedy, Linda Lees

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 25 -

Greeters:<= /u> Elder Mary Ann Croop and Deacon Ruth Wilson

MUP Driver= : March 4 & 11 – Rich Will= iams

   &nbs= p;        March 18 & 25 – Steve Schaefer

   &nbs= p;

Flowers: <= /u> Mar. 4-

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 11 –

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 18 – Ruth Wilson

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 25 – Nancy Huggins

Crib Room:= Mar. 4- Gail and Chelsea Carpenter=

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 11 – Chelsea Carpenter

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 18 – Becky Courson

   &nbs= p;        Mar. 25 – Shelly Bocheff

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY ANNOUNCED

A Women's Bible Study= will be held the first Monday of each month beginning March 5. They will be u= sing the Horizon's study titled "In the Beginning." This study w= ill cover the book of Genesis. For more information, please call Margaret Cook = at 724-625-2217. We will meet at the church on Monday, March 5 at 2 p.m.= to carpool to Ann Carter’s home in Valencia. All are welcome!

Notes from= our Session:

Summary of our F= ebruary 8, 2007 Meeting:

A Summer Youth Trip to take place this summer was approved. Look for details and sign up = soon.

Christian Education will investigate the possibility of having a Youth Pastor.
Building and Grounds will be looking into costs associated with replacing the Sanctuary level carpeting.

Cabinets were approved to be built in the NNN Classroom with a Memorial Donation pending approval of the Decorating Committee.

The Membership Committee was commissioned to reach out to members who have been absent in Worship and Church activities.

FLEA MARKET 2007 = Start saving your “STUFF” for this s= ummer, the Flea Market is back. The success of this fund raising activity depends upon the merchandise that is donated. An early summer date= is being settled and will be announced soon.&= nbsp;

NEW HYMNALS are ordered.&nb= sp; The Worship Committee would like = to thank all who took the time to examine and vote for one of the two hymnals = that were in the Tarry and Talk area. Response has been so positive that additional hymnals will be ordere= d to meet the donation requests. J= ust be sure to fill out a donation form to indicate your intentions.

<= o:p>

PROGRESSIVE DINNER

Date: Saturday, March= 10th

Time: 5:30 p.m.= to 10:00 p.m.

Cost: $3 per person plus food you provide for one course which is being collected in advance. If you did not get a chance to sign-up in church and would like to attend, call Bea Moore at 724.935-3274

= MISSION = TRIP FOLLOWUP

On Saturday, February 10, six people set out from Mars on the first mission trip sponsor= ed by the Mars U.P. Church. The destination was Long Beach= , MS, where their Presbytery = has set up a recovery effort for those whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Our project was to roof a home using materials provided by the homeowner. Led by Paul Smith, the team of Pastor Jean Gomola, Howard Croop, Melanie Houghton, Nancy M= archese and Darlene Harrison put a new roof on the home by the end of the week. Although our goal was to serve, we gained so much more than we gave as we talked with the people who lost so much but showed so much hope and appreciation. We stayed at the Long Beach Presbyterian Church with another group from Holland = Michigan. Thankfully they arrived with= a group of men who loved to cook, so we started each day with a hearty breakf= ast and returned at noon for a prepared lunch often using food that the women of the Presbytery had prepared and frozen for our use. The trip was a changing experience for those of us who went, but none of that would have been possi= ble without the support of the Mars UP Church congregation. We thank the session for approving to fund our trip, the wonderful people who “stood behind us” praying for our safety and a productive trip and to Harry Miller = for providing the van which made the trip so comfortable. THANK YOU ALL!

IN MEMORIUM<= /p>
Haro= ld L. “Peanuts” McCandless

January 27, 1923 – February 22, 2007<= /o:p>

Luci= lle MacPherson

February 3, 2007

̶= 0;I am the resurrection and the life,” says the Lord. John 11:25

Mars United Presbyterian Church

Phone: 724-625-1365

Email: marsup@mars-up.org=

Website: www.mars-up.org

Office Hours:&n= bsp; Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Rev. Jean E. Gomola, Pastor

Email: Gomola@mars-up.org=

Cell Phone:&nbs= p; 724-699-9185

Home Phone:&nbs= p; 724-458-9292