Since Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18) has already come and gone, here is a list of the remaining dates for this holy season:

  • Wednesdays, March 11 through March 25, Noon

The annual Wednesday Noon Lenten worship services, open to the whole community, held in our sanctuary. A half-hour worship service begins at Noon, featuring special music by a soloist or small group, the opportunity for prayer and reflection, and a short message from one of our Paris church ministers. Please consider attending and invite a friend from another church or with no church home to come with you.

  • Helping Those in Need – During Lent we distribute envelopes and fish-shaped boxes for the “One Great Hour of Sharing” offering. Our main collection date is Easter Sunday (April 5), so you can drop coins into your “fish” throughout the season, or you may turn in your donation any time. The income is divided between the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and Self-Development of People.
  • Sunday, March 29, 10:30 A.M. – Palm Sunday worship begins with joyous songs with palm branches, and then gradually moves toward the more sobering story of later on in Holy Week. Be part of the celebration and the reflection. 
  • Thursday, April 2, time to be determined– Maundy Thursday worship, with the New Providence congregation once again invited to join us. The sequence of Bible readings and songs (anthems, hymns, and solos), somewhat like the “Lessons and Carols” format of Christmas Eve, also includes the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Come and appreciate what Jesus did for us.
  • Friday, April 3, Noon – Community Good Friday service, provided by Paris Ministerial Fellowship. This year’s service will be held at First United Methodist Church. A light lunch will follow worship, for which there is no charge. 
  • Friday, April 3, 6 P.M. – Good Friday worship at New Providence Presbyterian Church. As in past years, the New Providence congregation is invited to join us Thursday evening, and then we go there Friday evening at 6 p.m. for a joint service. It always proves to be a meaningful time of worshipping together. 
  • Sunday, April 5, 10:30 A.M – joyous EASTER WORSHIP! Come and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection with your church family in our beautiful sanctuary. Worship will include special Easter hymns and anthems.

Sanctuary Choir News

   Thank you to the twelve individuals who came on Ash Wednesday. The meal was delicious, and the service was very meaningful. We wish more of you had shared with us.   

   Attendance at the first Wednesday noon service (Feb. 25) was also very low, but hopefully the numbers will be higher in the coming weeks.

   Please plan to attend our Maundy Thursday service on April 2. Session will decide at its March Meeting whether the time is 6:30 or 7 p.m. Tentative plans are to share a meal prior to the service.

   So much beautiful music has been written for the seasons of Lent and Easter. Please make the effort to come to church every Sunday in March and April. You will be blessed by the music and the messages, and you will enjoy the fellowship of church family and friends.       –Susan

 

________________________________________________________________________

      “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ 

      “So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

   “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.”         –John 20: 1-8

 

ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING:

   In 1949, several Christian groups came together to answer this challenge: How much money can we raise in an hour to address the suffering in the world?   They wanted to make the love of Christ real for individuals around the world who suffer from the effects of disaster, violence, and/or severe economic deprivation. To show the power that can be generated when Christians unite in a common cause.

    The season of Lent reminds us of Jesus’s sacrifice for mankind, and One Great Hour of Sharing gives us an opportunity to show our faith in Jesus to those in need.  

   Easter Sunday is the main collection date for the offering, April 5 this year, but you may contribute any time. Envelopes, information, and coin boxes are on the table by the Koinonia Kafe, and the table at the rear of the sanctuary.

 

THANK YOUS. . .

Excerpts from thank you letters recently received: 

         “Dear Friends, Thank you for your generous donation. We are grateful for your belief in, and support of our mission that provides volunteer services for those who live with long-term chronic illness or physical impairment.” May the Lord bless you for your thoughtfulness! Gratefully, Becky Step, Board President, Faith in Action of Edgar County”

        “Dear Friends, In the heart of winter, your generosity brings warmth and hope to the children of Kemmerer Village. Thank you for your gift.  Through your support, our children experience love in action. With sincere appreciation, Amie Sparks, Kemmerer Village Foundation. 

 

SPRING FORWARD!    Please remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour this Saturday evening, March 7 (otherwise, you risk joining us for March 8 worship during the closing hymn!).

  

MARCH BIRTHDAYS:

1       Tom Bradshaw

          Dale Thomas

3       Ann Hodge

          Sidney (Jipp)

Paulson

11     Tyler Penczek

          Nancy O’Bannon

13     Chris Clawson

21     Rodger Allen

23     Joyce Mason

27     Virginia Collier

 

 APRIL BIRTHDAYS

2      Scott Russell

         Logan Spung

5      Brian Blair

8      Fred Pfeiffer

11    Juanita Kimball

15    Annalee Blair

17    Linda Lindsey

18    Chris Schilling

19    Karol Farris Schilling

         Brittany Scott

20    Macsdyn Mae Blair

24    Kevin Farris

         Marsha DeVore

28    Alicia Howrey Planincic

 

   We Need Your Help with Per Capita:

We encourage you to pay your per capita this year, in addition to your pledge. Per capita is the annual per member “dues” our church pays to the larger governing bodies of the Presbyterian Church—Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly—to allow their mission work to take place. The per capita amount for 2026 is $42, a slight increase from the past few years. 

Thank you in advance!

 

UPCOMING GUEST SPEAKERS:

 

  • Sunday, March 8:

Rev. Joel Jackle-Hugh

 

  • Sunday, March 15:

Jeanette Levellie

 

  • Sunday, March 22:

Betty Brinkerhoff

 

  • Sunday, March 29

(Palm Sunday):

John Morris

 

  • Sunday, April 5

(Resurrection Sunday):

Jeanette Levellie

 

  • Sunday, April 12:

Jack Hoffman

 

  • Sunday, April 19:

Jeanette Levellie

 

Please sign up on the sheet at the back of the sanctuary to serve as liturgist on one or more Sundays. This frees our guest speakers to focus on their message.