Babies, The Porch, Vespers, Palms and More

Eleanor, daughter of Jimmy Squibb and Elizabeth Ireland
Eleanor, daughter of Jimmy Squibb and Elizabeth Ireland
Blair, daughter of Austin and Allie Tate
Blair, daughter of Austin and Allie Tate
Nolan Edwards, son of Kate Edwards and
Nolan Edwards, son of Kate and Meredith.

Dear Caldwell,

Carter, son of Jenni Reaves and Devin Anderson
Carter, son of Jenni Reaves and Devin Anderson

Grace and peace to you!

In these strange days when the clouds seem to hover, literally outside today and figuratively over our world, I pray you can sense God’s presence with and around you. The headlines bring news that seems to grow more grim by the hour and our stay-at-home experience is already growing old. But as I said Sunday, even though we may be scattered like those bones Ezekiel told us about, we are still community brimming with live and activity.

This is the last week of Lent, the season that leads to Holy Week. Our theme of Wilderness has framed these weeks poignantly. While we may not be exiting the wilderness of the pandemic, we do move forward as people of faith, walking with Jesus and his followers into Jerusalem starting Sunday. To prepare, here’s a quick rundown on this week’s gatherings for you:

The  Preacher Porch, tonight 7 p.m.: I’ll be leading tonight as we take a look at Matthew 21:1-11, that gospel’s account of Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem.

Tate Vandervoet, with dad Tim
Tate Vandervoet, with dad Tim

Vespers, Thursday night, 7 p.m. Gail and Lia Benton lead time reflecting on the theme, Offering God Our Prayer and Our PraiseEven During Difficult Times. We will consider Psalm 31, which is the Psalm that appears in the lectionary under “The Liturgy of the Passion.”  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=452675751

Madilyn Brinson, granddaughter or Carl Brinson and Rhett Brown.
Madilyn Brinson, granddaughter or Carl Brinson and Rhett Brown.

Let us see your palms! Because we won’t have the chance to enter the sanctuary waving our palms, we’d love to recreate it online. You’re invited to grab something green, out of your yard or somewhere else, and take a photo (families, singles, anyone) of you waving it. Justin will put a collage together and we will have a virtual procession! Email photos to jmartin@caldwellpresby.org 

Prayers for our healthcare professionals: As we shelter at home, a number of our members and friends are going to work and braving the risks to care for others. Please pray for God to comfort and guard these folks by name: Jenni Anderson, Lia Benton, Rhett Brown, Ginger Dickerson, Joan Kleinmann, Dee Murray, Chris Polk, Melissa Ratliff, Dee Rogers. Apologies if we’ve inadvertently left anyone out.

The Promise of New Life: As a bright note, we’ve been checking in on all of our new babies and their parents. All are well and thriving. With this email, we share a parade of these newest members (thanks to Gail for gathering!).

In Christ,

John