Westview Church Preschool will be holding their annual Scholastic Book Fair Sun., Feb. 19. We will be selling books in the preschool hallway before and after church. All proceeds will be used to purchase new items for the preschool. Our goal is to purchase cozy furniture for our library area as well as adding more books to our library.

The next Community Game Night will be Sat., Feb. 11 ,  5 – 11 p.m., at Westview. All are welcome! No childcare provided, but young gamers are welcome to participate with their parents. Please bring a snack and a pop to share.

Two new adult classes will begin Feb. 12 during 9 a.m. Discovery Hour. These are in addition to the continuing “Invitation to John” class, which newcomers are still invited to join. (Invitation to John class will meet in room 116, back of the worship center, beginning Feb. 12.)

Consider one of these options!

Marriage Class – will meet in worship center
facilitated by Scott & Erica Obstarczyk – Feb. 12-Mar. 11 (five-week class)

Please join us for a 5-week class on marriage using the MarriedPeople curriculum.  We will look at what Scripture has to say about marriage and discuss the 4 Core Habits of a Great Marriage:

• Have Serious Fun
• Respect and Love
• Love God First
• Practice Your Promise

This class incorporates weekly video segments.  Participant Guide recommended: $8.

Ministry 101 (Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts) – will meet in lower level pantry conference room
facilitated by Susan Watson – Feb. 12-26 (three-week class)

God created you for a life of service – a life with a purpose.  Join us for this 3-week course as we explore the person God created you to be and discover how you can be fruitful and fulfilled in a meaningful place of service.

In a few weeks we will be celebrating Ash Wednesday. To some the whole idea of Ash Wednesday and, for that matter, the whole idea and season of Lent appears to be morbid. Confronting our mortality, looking hard and long at sin and the yearning for forgiveness seems like a sure fire way to depress people.

Christians commemorate the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The purpose of Ash Wednesday is to reflect upon our frailty, our desperate need for forgiveness, and centrality to Jesus Christ’s last days. These themes are symbolized by the imposition of ashes. Ashes. Dark black ashes. Black ashes placed on our foreheads, with the words, “You are dust and to dust you shall return….” Be sure to attend our Ash Wednesday Service at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.

Many give up something for Lent to remind ourselves of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. But, what if, instead, we added something in Lent? Adding service to the food pantry, daily prayer, reading of scripture or giving one random acted of kindness to someone. By adding something to our life during Lent, we free ourselves from prohibition and engage instead in focusing on others rather than ourselves.

For those who do not follow Lent or some Christians who do not participate in Lent, they often ask what is the deal with marking these “special” days? Michael Horton, in his book The Gospel-Driven Life, suggested why Christians should care about Lent:

“…these special days are valuable chiefly as a teaching opportunity. To be sure, every Lord’s Day is a celebration of Christ’s saving work. Paul seems to have allowed freedom to celebrate old covenant feasts, but upbraided those who bound Christian consciences on the matter, especially with fasts and abstinence. I believe an evangelical celebration of Lent affords an opportunity to reinforce rather than undermine the significance of Christ’s person and work.”

Celebrating Ash Wednesday and Lent can be a meaningful way to encounter God’s love, grace, and mercy in our lives. Ash Wednesday is a day in which we examine ourselves, understand our morality, reflect on God reaching into our world in the person of Jesus and experience our need live out His forgiveness.

What are you adding for Lent?

Think about it.

See you Sunday,

Tom

Westview Church has a staff opening for a Ministry Assistant. Angie Schmitt will be stepping down from this role in the next month. Please see the posted position description for details of the position.

Westview is also seeking a part-time Youth Director to oversee our Junior and Senior High Ministries.  The position description is here.

If you are interested in either of these positions, or would like more information, please contact Susan Watson at susan(at)westview(dot)org or 987-3220.

This past Sunday, Jan. 29, we celebrated our annual Partnership Sunday. Here at Westview we refer to our members as Partners in the Gospel, and we renew our partnership each year. You can find our partnership covenant form and 2012 estimate of giving card on our website or at the Welcome Center. These may still be turned in to the church office if you weren’t here last Sunday

If you have not previously joined as a partner and are interested in doing so, please contact the church office at 987-3220 or Pastor Susan at susan(at)westview(dot)org.

The youth group will be participating in Hope Ministries Service and Mission Program April 7th. This will give our youth the opportunity to eat with the homeless, meet in the Bethel chapel for a time of reflection, prayer and presentation on homelessness from a recovery graduate, tour Bethel Mission and deliver food and supplies to homeless tent camps. We are asking you to be a part of this opportunity by helping with donations to serve the homeless.  We need to collect items such as toilet paper, socks, shirts, etc.  We have created pull tags with items that need to be purchased and we are asking you to take some from the bulletin board in the hallway outside of rooms 109-111, purchase the items and drop your items in the drop box next to the Welcome Center. For questions, contact Ashley Wirtjes at 515.460.7679.