Dear Members and Friends of the Ark and Dove Community,

 

Surely we all have noticed that extreme cold weather has descended upon the central United States, as far south as Texas. The results are a disaster. That’s where PDA (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance) comes into play. Already PDA has contacted each Presbytery in the Synod of the Sun. Presbyteries in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas will receive guidance and assistance based on what they are facing.  Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is one of three programs in the Presbyterian Church that are funded by the Lenten/Easter offering known as One Great Hour of Sharing, see article below. 

In this season of Lent:

 

Lent is the season of the church year when we look inward and put some discipline into the life of the disciple.

 

Ash Wednesday is a day when we acknowledge our mortality and our proclivity for wandering away from God. This year it was also fun. We had about twenty carloads of people drive through for the imposition or the distribution of ashes. How great it was to see you all. Thank you to pastors Stephen and Caroline Price-Gibson, who covered the after worship service crowd!

 

Peace of Christ,

tstern@arkanddove.org

P.S. Wear your blue shirt this Sunday!

Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

For the past week, I have been chewing on a statement. Mood follows action. I have heard this saying repeated by Rich Roll, an author who overcame debilitating alcoholism to become an ultra-endurance athlete. Roll says it often to remind people that they can't wait on a good feeling or ideal circumstance to make a change in life. If you want a change in mood, you can't wait to be in a better one. If you want to do something differently, you can't wait for the motivation to do so. You have to take action.

This is a helpful saying for Lent. If you feel like you are in a spiritual malaise, a religious funk, you should not wait for the feeling to pass. You should take some action. As I mentioned in my Ash Wednesday meditation, you can do as Jesus assumes: give, pray, and fast. But you can also make sure that you maintain connection with people who are seeking to improve their spiritual mood with action. I cannot recommend enough that you join a Lenten small group this season. There are extra spots Sundays at 4 pm and Thursdays at 8 pm. Even if you can finish only a phrase or page of our Lenten book, Jesus and the Disinherited, please connect with a group. Especially if you feel in a fog or under a dark cloud, join others walking through valleys together. Mood follows action.

Peace,

jnelson@arkanddove.org

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Frances Keyes; Arlyce Lohr; Annetta Fenstermacher; Amy Richarme; Patty Plander; Krista Klohr; Gary Myers; Christa Kronser; Merlin Berry; Dick Paronto; Bob Johns; Richard and Edie Budd; Vaughn Brown; Ryan Stavely’s father, Brian; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Dotty Kaufman, her son, Bill, daughter-in-law, Carol, granddaughter, Sarah, and grandson Nathan; Kathy Miller’s brother-in-law, Jeff Miller; Kim Champagne’s aunt, Joan; Lewis Shorter and Lewis Shorter’s niece, Jennifer Schwandt-Gayle; Bob Fuller’s brother, Joe Fuller; Dot Forloines’ family and her great-grandson Luke; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom Brown; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s family in Connecticut and daughter, Allison, and niece, Naomi; Linda Taylor’s mother, Izola; Grant Kirby’s mother, Caroline, and Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Clarke Beaudry’s mother, Judy LaMarque; Kennon Bauman’s uncle, Dan Johnston; Amy Goldberg’s grandmother, Ruth Cooper; Christy Yeager’s mother, Linda Jordan; Diane Johnson's Uncle Ed, Aunt Janet, and cousin Richard; Shelley Franklin's father; Hollis Butterworth’s daughter, Rachel Mershont; Amanda Wehage’s sister and father, Dave; Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Gunther Kurtz; Sabonna Keeney’s mother; Bernabe and Griselda Solano, and Griselda's sister, Irma; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn, and Paul Doughty’s mother, Ruth Doughty; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Bill Ruble’s mother, Mary Jane Weathers; Ann Hirschy’s aunt, Cindy, and brother; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Patriceo Green’s cousin, Philip Brown; Lou Kareha’s aunt, Judy Kochis, and cousin, Thomas; Cheryl and Doug Walcutt’s grandchild, Gray Adacutt; Cheryl Walcutt’s mother, nephew, and sisters; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Kathy Miller’s friend, Sandee Dickson; Sue Hanburger's friends, Barb, Phyllis, Martha and Craig; Linnie Girdner and Jan Hof’s friend, Grace Ligon; Ylonda Fauntleroy’s friends, Alma Hinton and Tanya; Rob Yeager’s friends, Lisa and Kearston; Scott Howe’s friend, Jen Miller; the Gaurins’ friends Nyla and Danielle; Kim Young’s friends, Pat and Joyce; Catherine Chambers’ friend, Seamus; Michelle Schoonmaker’s friends Duane Thomas and Bri Ree; Jen’s father; and Kathy Emmert's friend, Patty.

PRAYERS OF HEALING for those with COVID-19 including: Oscar Hurtado’s brother and sister, Eduardo and Anita; Kyle Elliott; Christine Connally’s cousin, Karen; Kelly Stern’s friend, Lisa Brown’s father; Jim and Judy Cooper’s friend, Tim McNutt; Margaret McGillivray’s friends, the Sanders family; Amanda Crose's grandmother, Betty Davis; Michelle Schoonmaker's Auntie Bernice; Josephine Girdner; Paul Doughty’s uncle, Dan, and cousin, Elizabeth; Doug Walcutt’s father, Chuck Walcutt, and stepmother, Linda Walcutt; Diane Johnson’s grandson, Avery Woods; Ed Barrett's friend, Joe Bogner; Julia Kirby’s great niece, nephew, his wife, and friends, the Speer family, the Coffey family, and April and Sam; Amy Hagemann’s friend, Mary Hurt Werner; Rob Yeager’s friends, David Palombo, and Jeff and Ana Siegel; Lisa Marino, Jay Mulholland, and their 4-month-old daughter Lily; Ylonda Fauntleroy's family, Annette and Leah Turner, and friends, Sandra and Elijah Williams; Debbie Saylor’s friend, Frank Williams; Michelle Schoonmaker's colleague, Ajita Robinson; Yeni, her husband and their six children; Jennifer Roman's aunt, Laura Clay, and grandmother, Louise Nothdurft; Kathy Emmert’s friends, Chuck and Cheryl; and Lori Kronser’s friend Debbie and her family.

PRAYERS OF LOVE, SUPPORT AND PROTECTION for all essential workers around the world, including: Mike Stiegler; Bill Gaurin; Tricia Gray’s mother; Becca Distad; Jack Burnett; Caitlyn Bussey; Emily Sanders; Audrey Miller; Linda Jordan’s nephew, Russell; the Ralston’s family members and friends; Simone Stiegler’s friend, Jean Marie; Amy Grimm’s mother; Jeff Grimm; Amy Goldberg’s brother, Joseph Alexander, and parents, Michael and Maryann Cooper; Judy Cooper’s daughter; John Mikeska’s son, Jonathan; and Hollis Butterworth’s sister-in-law, Cyndie.