Dear friends,

This past Sunday in our Characters series we studied one of my favorite kings, King Josiah. King Josiah’s life was transformed when he heard, studied and applied the Word of God to his life. Not only was his life transformed, but Josiah impacted other people as well; he was fruitful on his frontline. Has your life been transformed by the Word of God? How has studying God’s Word born fruit on your frontline? Come join us for one of our Wednesday night classes to grow deeper in our faith and become more fruitful on our frontlines. Tonight from 6:30 - 7:30 pm, we will resume our Wednesday classes for adults. We will offer four classes:

· Potluck Parenting - Raising children is a tough challenge in today’s world. This 6-week discussion class offers practical tools and solid biblical advice based on the questions and topics the parents in the class have. Join Jim Glatz in room 151 in the Main Building. (jglatz@saxegotha.org)

· The Reason for God: Conversations on Faith and Life - This 6-week class will dig into the objections of the Christian faith to learn about both sides of the issues. Chuck Stoudemire will lead this class and teach some basics of apologetics. They will meet in room 154 in the Main Building. Study guide $9.00. (cestoudemire@windstream.net)

· The Ten Commandments: Are They Still Relevant? - Join this casual conversation facilitated by Jenni Gannon. They will meet in 155 in the Main Building. Each week a separate topic will be covered. Feel free to jump in at any point and if you miss a class, you can come back and pick up with the commandment being studied that week. (jennifer.gannon@dominionenergy.com)

· Holy Conversations: Talking About God in Everyday Life - This interactive class will help us learn to engage in comfortable conversation about the good news of Jesus with those around us. Taught by Helen Harrison Ham and Pete Eckert and will meet in the Library/152 in the Main Building. Book $14.00. (hhham@saxegotha.org)

For everyone’s safety, we will continue to wear masks inside the buildings and maintain the safe social distance of six feet. If you have any questions or would like more information about how to grow deeper in your faith, please contact hhham@saxegotha.org or 803-359-7770.

Grace and peace,

Helen Harrison Ham

TONIGHT, February 24 at 6:30 - 7:30 pm, we will resume our Wednesday classes for adults. 

·  Potluck Parenting - Raising children is a tough challenge in today’s world. This 6-week discussion class offers practical tools and solid biblical advice based on the questions and topics the parents in the class have. Join Jim Glatz in room 151 MB. (jglatz@saxegotha.org)

·  The Reason for God: Conversations on Faith and Life - This 6-week class will dig into the objections of the Christian faith to learn about both sides of the issues. Chuck Stoudemire will lead this class and teach some basics of apologetics. They will meet in room 154 MB. (cestoudemire@windstream.net) Study guide $9.00.

·  The Ten Commandments: Are They Still Relevant? - Join this casual conversation facilitated by Jenni Gannon. They will meet in 155 MB. Each week a separate topic will be covered. Feel free to jump in at any point and if you miss a class, you can come back and pick up with the commandment being studied that week. (jennifer.gannon@dominionenergy.com)

·  Holy Conversations: Talking About God in Everyday Life - This interactive class will help us learn to engage in comfortable conversation about the good news of Jesus with those around us. Taught by Helen Harrison Ham and Pete Eckert and will meet in the Library/152 MB. (hhham@saxegotha.org) Book $14.00.

For everyone’s safety, we will continue to wear masks inside the buildings and maintain the safe social distance of six feet. If you have any questions or would like more information about how to grow deeper in your faith in 2021 or the above classes, please contact hhham@saxegotha.org or 803-359-7770.

We look forward to you joining us this Easter. We will have 3 services this year.

Sunrise Outdoor Service: (6:30 am) Held in the Church Parking Lot in front of the Bell Tower

Traditional Service: (8:30 am) Sanctuary *

Contemporary Service: (11:00 am) Light House *

*The 8:30 am and 11:00 am services will be livestreamed on Saxe Gotha's YouTube Channel. Nursery will be provided for these two services for children age 3 and under.

Saxe Gotha partners with Mission Lexington throughout the year to help serve those in need in our community. During Lent, we will have a special donation drive to fill the shelves at Mission Lexington. We would love for every family at Saxe Gotha to participate if able.

Mission Lexington bins will be set-up around the Saxe Gotha campus until Easter. In addition, you can leave donations outside the Church Office week days from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

Update: The first barrel of donations is full! Thank you for the generous donations! Keep them coming!

The picture shows the 8th grade children from the Kondako Presbyterian School in Pibor who have just completed their “leaving exams.” To proceed to high school, each must pass the examination. The Pass Rate will be an indicator of the school’s progress although education has been impacted by Covid-related closure for months.

Kondako School is totally financially supported by your contributions to our ministry. Without you, there would be no school.  Thank you for your continued support.

During Lent this year, we invite you to begin Prayerwalking to refocus ourselves on God, rather than the distractions of the world. Prayerwalking involves taking our prayers out into our community where we desire to see God’s presence manifested and our prayers answered. We welcome you and your family to join us in praying for our community as we prepare for Easter. Download the brochure below to get your own copy of the Prayerwalking guide.

Throughout the Lenten Season, we will come together to pray for those in our community and around the world. Taking the time to refocus our vision from our own worries and concerns to God’s infinite grace and loving providence. To help us be aware of the prayer needs of our community we have launched the Saxe Gotha Prayer Wall on our website at saxegotha.org/prayer. Here you can post your prayer requests, see what prayer requests others in our community have posted, and show that you have prayed for them. This platform helps us to actively see the power of prayer in our everyday lives and in the lives of those around me.

To view the Saxe Gotha Services and other resources, please go to: youtube.com/user/SaxeGothaPres.

Kids Ministry to resume in person Wednesday Night Programming TONIGHT, Wednesday, February 24 in the Fellowship Hall. Sunday Afternoon Programming has resumed.  Masks will be required and social distancing will be enforced at all times and no food will be served on either day.

Dawn Merck is offering a 9:45 am Sunday morning Bible study time on Zoom. We are coordinating SS efforts, so she will also be using God's Story Cards and following along with Pastor Jim's sermon series.

Join us in the Fellowship Hall or on Zoom on Wednesday Nights at 6:30 pm. [NEW TIME]

Our Mystery Family will tell us about one of the miracles of Jesus and then lead us through a building or cooking challenge.

You can join the Zoom meeting with the following information:

Meeting ID: 730 6284 6921

Passcode: WWMF21

If you have technical difficulties or questions, please text Melinda at 803.397.7034.

Nursery is available for ALL services and Sunday School. Friends ages 3 and younger can join us in Room 215 during the worship services.

Preschool Sunday School for ages 2 through kindergarten will be meeting in rooms 214 and 224 until spring/warmer weather.

We are following CDC guidelines--temperature checks will be given at check-in. Please contact Sara McCarter at smccarter@saxegotha.org if you have any questions.

This bible study and fellowship time for kindergarten - 3rd graders will be on Sundays from 4:00-5:30 pm. Drop off and pick up kids under the covered awning to keep everyone socially distanced. The kids will be in MB Room 224/225. Bring a mask and friend!! Contact Sara McCarter at smccarter@saxegotha.org.

Sunday Afternoon Programming has resumed. Masks will be required and social distancing will be enforced at all times and no food will be served on either day.

Each week on Wednesdays, Downpour starts at 6:30 pm on the Saxe Gotha YouTube channel. Downpour will resume TONIGHT, Wednesday, February 24. The livestream will continue weekly even after in person Wednesday nights resume.

Students Sunday School Online: Click here to join a Zoom Sunday School Meeting for Students. Middle and High School students will meet together and then go into Zoom breakout rooms. Contact: Justin Hall at jhall@saxegotha.org.

Meeting Wednesday Mornings from 7:15 - 8:00 am in the Light House Atrium. Breakfast will not be served, but you can purchase a Chick-Fil-A biscuit to go. Rides are available to school. Contact: Justin Hall at jhall@saxegotha.org.

This group will be going through the book of 1 John. We will study what it means to love one another and the love of God. As we dig into the Word together, we will also have some time to deepen our friendships and fellowship with one another. We meet on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:30 pm at Stephanie McGee’s home. This group is led by Kalie Wehunt, Livvy McGee and Stephanie McGee. For more information, contact Kalie Wehunt. 

9th-11th Girls Bible Study

Meets on Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30 pm at Jennifer Gissendaner's house.: 248 Clubside Drive. For more information, contact Justin. 

This group is going through a semester of apologetics. We will learn how to defend our faith and how to handle the Word of Truth to do so. Meets on Mondays 6:00-7:00 pm. Meeting at Liz Carpenter's house: 84 Rocky Cove Road. For more information, contact Justin.

Join in for a Bible Study that's just for the guys. This group meets every other Tuesday from 6:00-7:00 pm in the Light House Cafe. For more information, contact Justin.  

High School Boys Small Group - Resumes March 3

We know that iron sharpens iron, so why not pump some iron, too? We're going to get together twice a week to study the word, work out, and get better. Barry and Justin are going to be leading this small group as we dig into the word and then hit the gym. We'll meet twice a week in the church gym. Monday afternoons at 5:00-6:00 pm and Thursday mornings at 6:00-7:00 am. You can join in for one or both meetings each week, but make sure you have rides worked out beforehand because we won't be doing school runs since we'll be done around 7:00 am on Thursdays. Wear clothes you can work out in and close-toed shoes. If you have any questions, you can contact Justin.

The Modgnik Team has met and come up with a great way to get our students to connect, worship and grow in a safe and creative way this year. We fully believe in the mission and importance of Modgnik, so we want to do everything in our power to make Modgnik happen, even if it looks different.

In-town Modgnik will meet on Friday evening, March 12, and all day on Saturday, March 13, at First Baptist of Lexington. The cost is $30 per person, and that includes a tee shirt, snacks throughout the event, lunch and dinner on Saturday, teaching, worship and all of the fun you'd expect from Modgnik. Registration is open. Check your calendars now, because registration is going to be quick, but believe me when I say that it's worth it for this awesome event. We have to get numbers together as soon as possible, so registration is closing next Wednesday night, so register now!

In February, Club 45 packed 160 bags of food for the backpack ministry! They would like to extend a big “thank you” for the continued support for this ministry! 

Meets virtually on Mondays at 8:30 am for a brief lesson and to pray for each other and for other people. Contact Scott Welborn at bleedbabyblu@gmail.com for meeting information. This Bible study is open to men of all ages.