What s Your Testimony? by Pastor Michael

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1 Newsletter Title March Men s Group, 7 a.m. Imposition of Ashes, 7:30 a.m. Ash Wednesday Service, 7 p.m. 2 Writing Class, 6 p.m. 3 Kids Club, 6 p.m. 5 Adult Christian Ed., 10 a.m. Youth Group Outing, 12:15 p.m. 7 Church, 4 p.m. 8 Taizé, 7 p.m. 10 Kids Club, 6 p.m. 12 Daylight Saving Time, 2 a.m. Adult Christian Ed., 10 a.m. 14 Church, 4 p.m. 15 Taizé, 7 p.m. Pub Theology, 8 p.m. 17 Kids Club St Patrick's Day Party, 6 p.m. Book Club, 7 p.m. 19 Adult Christian Ed., 10 a.m. 21 Church, 4 p.m. 22 Taizé, 7 p.m. 24 Kids Club, 6 p.m. Youth Lock-In 8 p.m. 26 Adult Christian Ed., 10 a.m. 28 Church, 4 p.m. 29 Taizé, 7 p.m. 31 Kids Club, 6 p.m. What s Your Testimony? by Pastor Michael One summer I did an internship in an inner city Baptist church. In the Sunday evening service they provided time for testimonials, something I had not experienced before. When the pastor asked for people to share their testimony, the line would quickly form up front. It was never just one or two people. There would be ten to twenty people. One by one they would tell their stories, and the congregation would listen intently and call out Thank you Jesus to affirm what they had heard. This could easily take thirty to forty-five minutes. (Yes, they were very long services!) It was such a moving time. I always left inspired by how faith had made such a difference in people s lives. There were people who had lost jobs, lost spouses, couldn t pay rent, had trouble with Dying Well by Pastor Jes Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a wise heart. Psalm 90:12 I was in my first year as a minister here at West End, and a seasoned stranger who was soon to become a cosojourner on life s journey approached me after Taizé. With frailty, but strong light beaming from her smile she said Hi, Reverend. I m a dance instructor at Juilliard. I know we don t know each other, yet. But I m hoping you would be my pastor. I will be dying in the next year or two, and I was hoping you would help prepare me? their children, and the list goes on, and yet they gave their testimony about how faith was seeing them through it all. Sometimes there were tears and sometimes they couldn t contain their joy. Either way, their stories buoyed my faith in God. I also started asking myself, what would my testimony be? If I were to join the line one Sunday evening, what would I say? Just asking this question caused me to look at the events of my day differently. I began taking notice of how God may be prompting and prodding me each day. I invite you to ask the question, what s my testimony? Where do I see God at work in my life? Maybe one Sunday we ll invite people up to share what God is doing in their lives! I also invite you That s how I met Jaye. And her memorial would be the first I officiated as a minister. Jaye and I would spend the next year talking about dying while living and ending this life with peace. Sometimes I think I received more spiritual substance from our time together than she did. A little more than a year later, Jaye died when she was ready. She had prepared for a good death. What if we all approached death in the same manner that Jaye did? What if we approached life that way? With to check out a video we just made that is filled with testimonials about what the Soup Kitchen means to the people who rely on it and the volunteers who make it possible. You can view it by going to... It is inspiring to see how God is using this ministry to impact people. -Pastor Michael peace and preparation she lived well as she prepared to die well. We live in a culture that is very good at attempting to avoid the reality of death. As we begin Lent this month, we will look at death and dying and living well. In adult education and a new movie series we ll be offering, we will look at this topic through art, movies, and Scriptural reflections. Come join as we wonder together, what would you do if you only had three months to live? Grace and Peace is yours Pastor Jes

2 Page 2 Pursuing Justice Means Breaking the Rules by Ian Carr McPherson Pub Theology March 15 8 PM The Dublin House This month s topic is Death, Dying, and Dust In Luke 18 Jesus tells his disciples how to force justice from an unjust system: be persistent, even relentless in your pursuit of what is right. Do not back down, and do not be afraid of breaking decorum either. If I m honest, this is an uncomfortable message for me. Being a Southerner raised with certain expectations of civility, gentility, and hospitality, I get a little queasy when asked to break the unspoken expectations of social etiquette. But this text gently (or not-so-gently?) reminds us that there s more at stake than our social graces, or even our reputations. When we speak of social injustices or inequities, people s lives are on the line. Restructuring the world s systems to favor the least of these like the widow in this story is going to be uncomfortable. But Jesus seems to think it s worth it. I find it interesting that this story is Jesus lesson on prayer. I have often thought of prayer as something deeply personal, introspective, and private. Perhaps it is, in part. But, if this text is any indication, Christ expects that our prayers will have public consequences. Like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery, we are called to pray with [our] feet. One of the most important questions we can ask of any given text is, In reflecting on today s context, who am I in this passage? Am I the judge? The widow? Am I interested in maintaining the status quo? Or am I unabashedly in pursuit of what is right, regardless of what is popular or socially expected? May our prayers give us the courage to be as relentless as the justice-seeking widow. May they give us the resolve needed to break the rules. Follow us on will meet on Wednesday, March 1st at 7 a.m. Join us as we continue to deepen our faith and friendships while we journey through life together. This month we will begin a Bible study on The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, exploring how it may inform how we live today. Want to keep up with what s happening with your WECC family? Go to Facebook : WestEndChurchNYC and It s a great way to stay connected to our community. The Lost History of Christianity Classes on Sunday, March 12 and 19, from 12:30 to 1:15 in the Chapel Annex There is a branch of Christianity that is absent from the history books. It grew in the culture from which Jesus was born, expanded and was larger than the Western church, was on the front line of Christianity s encounter with Islam, and yet we know very little about it. Join Pastor Michael for these two classes in which we will learn of the lost history of Christianity.

3 Page 3 March Musical Notes by Cynthia Powell Ash Wednesday is March 1, signaling the beginning of Lent, a time of reflection and introspection in anticipation of Easter, resurrection and rebirth. Our services will resonate with these themes, with music to include choral works that span the centuries - from 16th century motets to spirituals to contemporary works. I m excited to welcome back two very talented instrumentalists who worship here at West End: Bill Hayes (percussion) and Bill Ellison (double bass) on Sunday, March 12 when we ll do a spirited gospel number, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah (not the Battle Hymn of the Republic tune!) by Howard Helvey. Both Bill Hayes and Bill Ellison are high-caliber Broadway musicians who play for many of the top shows, and both have donated their time and talent to West End over the years. Bill Ellison has been a member of the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall for 30 years. As an orchestral bassist, he has played with many of major symphony orchestras and has played in over sixty Broadway shows, including Show Boat, Oliver!, Gypsy, The King and I, The Sound of Music, Annie Get Y our Gun, Sondheim on Sondheim, Porgy and Bess and On the Town. He toured with Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and has performed at the White House for Presidents Reagan and Bush. Bill has brought together jazz musician friends, including Bill Hayes (below) to play at our Tuesday Soup Kitchen, to the delight and gratitude of all who attend!. Bill Hayes has toured the world with Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, and Audra McDonald, performing everywhere from Paris to Uruguay to Tokyo. He recorded three albums with Streisand, six with Liza, and others with Sinatra, Rufus Wainwright, Brian Stokes Mitchell, the composer Meredith Monk, and jazz artists Maria Schneider, Gerry Niewood, and Lea DeLaria. He has also worked with Aretha Franklin, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, Marvin Hamlisch and photo by David McGlynn. Art Garfunkel. Bill has played for over fifty Broadway shows, and has recorded fourteen Broadway cast albums, including Jersey Boys and the recent Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes & Kristin Chenoweth. He has also played on many film soundtracks, and has appeared on David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Today, Good Morning America and many others. Bill toured France, the US and Canada with Charles Aznavour, and served as Music Coordinator for both Aznavour - Live on Broadway and Michel Legrand s Amour. He and his wife, actress Jackie Sanders are part of the New York-based French jazz band Bordeaux Blues. How blessed are we! See you in church, Cynthia

4 SUNDAY SERMONS The March 17 book is March 5: Doing This Thing Called Life Part 4: A Vision March 12: Seeing the World Differently Part 1: How We See March 19: Seeing the World Differently Part 2: What We See March 26: Looking Deeper Into Lent Adult Christian Education Sunday mornings at 10 in Room 6 Each Sunday will have the theme, The art of death and dying: learning how to live and die well. The season of Lent invites us to reflect on the brevity of life and what we hope to make of this wild and precious life. Through poetry, art, and music we will look at how to die and live well. The Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. in Room 4 The April 21st selection is Silver Wedding by Maeve Binchy. As the Pledge Campaign draws to a close, we need your help in reaching our goal. If you haven t already pledged, you can still do so by pledging online, using a pledge form in the back of the sanctuary, or ing the parish administrator at rdavis@westendchurch.org. Every pledge matters and makes a difference!

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