Dear Saints,

As I write this note, the container filled with oil and palm branch ashes

from Ash Wednesday still sits on my desk. There’s pieces of ashy smoot

all over my computer and papers. On my index finger, the finger I used to

mark folks with the cross, is still painted black, at least in the crevices of

my skin and nail. All of this is a reminder that we have stepped inside the

holy season of Lent, and there is no going back. The journey of the cross

and the empty tomb lies at the horizon, beckoning us to go with Jesus to

those holy places like wilderness and table.

Last night in my sermon, I played on what we mean when we say

confession, especially as it relates to Ash Wednesday and Lent. We are

encouraged to claim our dustiness, so to remind us not only of our

mortality but of our humanness. We fall short, just like our bodies. So, we

can confess where we have made mistakes, trusting that God takes the

dust of our hearts and our bodies and yet, still can make beautiful things.

God can still speak life into the dust, so, therefore, we can approach the

throne of grace, trusting that our confessions are met with love and

forgiveness. That’s one kind of confession that happens at Lent.

The other kind of confession in Lent is about conviction. It was and

continues to be the tradition of the church to set aside Lent to be a time in

which the new believer learns what it means to believe in God through

Jesus Christ. As the church began, the catechumens (new believers) would

study for 40 days and then on Holy Saturday, stay up all night until

morning, where they would join Christ in the resurrection by their

baptisms. Right now, our seventh graders are doing something very

similar in Confirmation – though they are set to join Sampson’s Mills on

Pentecost.

But, this kind of confession doesn’t have to and should not be reserved for

the new believer alone. We are called always to dig deeper and plumb the

depth of our hearts about what we believe about God, about his son Jesus

Christ, about the Holy Spirit and why our faith makes a difference to us

and how we live. The church over the course of its 2,000 year history has

stopped and thought about what it is the church believes at different points

of time. We, likewise, are invited into an interior journey to pause and

meditate on what it is that we believe to be true for us today.

Why? Because we are different people than we were just a year ago, let alone the first time you

lent your heart to Jesus. Our experiences, our prayer life, our community, our families, our

relationships significantly shape us. Faith included.

Using the Apostles’ Creed (one of the earliest creeds of the church), we will allow space in our

Sunday worship to dwell on confessing what we believe, stopping at each of the six sections of the

creed. At the end of worship, we will be invited to write what we believe about God, the Father,

Jesus Christ, his only Son, the Holy Spirit, the church and the communion of saints, the

forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the body. Each one of us will have a moment to write

down what it is that we believe about such deep things. Over time, we will collect these belief

statements and fashion it into a grand tapestry, reflecting what we all believe as this church.

Our Lenten Devotionals and book reading will complement and deepen this experience. If

interested, please visit the table in the narthex for more details, to pick up a book or a devotional. I

can’t wait to see how our confessions of faith will be shaped, moved and deepened this Lent.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jessica

LENT 2020 CREED A Sermon Series on What We Believe

This Lent join us for a 40 day all congregational experience studying what we believe about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Communion of the Saints, the Forgiveness of Sins

and the Resurrection of the Body. We will utilize Adam Hamilton’s CREED for small group

studies, as our daily devotionals and for our Sunday morning worship. Books are $12.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26th with services at 12 pm at Faith Lutheran and 7 pm at

SMPC. Ash and Go will take place 6 to 9 am at Faith!

Lent Worship Plan

March 1st – CREDO/ “I Believe” March 8th – God, the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth

March 15th – Jesus, Christ, his only Son, our Lord March 22nd – The Holy Spirit

March 29th – The Church and Communion of Saints April 5th – Palm Sunday – Forgiveness of Sins

Aril 12th – Easter - The Resurrection of the Body

NOTES FROM THE DECEMBER SESSION MEETING We are all thankful that Pastor Jessica’s father came through the surgery and is recovering now. How we voted: A vote of confidence to further explore the Narthex project, and a proposal from the Vision Team at the March Session meeting. As you remember that was a priority in our Capital Im-provement Bridge Goals. We want to make the Narthex more attractive and welcoming. We gave approval for the Epic kids on February 19 to visit The Palms to spend time with the residents. We will remove the tile to expose the grease trap drain in the kitchen, as ordered by the bor-ough. A Job Description of Director of Children, Youth and Music Ministries. Calendar

March 1 - Communion March 3 - Esther bible study with the temple, 7pm March 4 - Purim cookie baking, 9:30am March 9 - Tips for Cops March 9 - Purim service at the temple, 7pm March 9-11 - Office closed (Val on vacation) March 20 - Food Bank April 4 - LOGOS Training

Nancy Swanson, Clerk of Session

SAMPSON’S MILLS BOARD OF DEACONS

The Deacons enjoyed their annual Deacon Dinner held on February 23 at Twin Oaks. After a delicious dinner, we enjoyed our yearly “gift” exchange. Many people received some wonderful treasures. There was even some “stealing” to get something better! Thanks to Ina for making the arrangements. Deacons are gradually getting out to serve communion to our shut-ins. Nell Enterline was visited, and found to be very alert for 102 years!

The Annual Soup sale is coming up on Election Day, April 28. It will be here before you know it. Plan to purchase some of our delicious homemade soup. Donations of home made soup will be greatly appreciated.

Come and make an Origami Project

and enjoy a delicious lunch of

Chicken Crepes and French Onion Soup

with a delicious dessert!!

Everyone 60 and over is welcome!

Tuesday, March 3

11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Call for reservations 412-678-5355

$3.00 Donation

Every Thursday at 9:30 am

OPEN

SunDay

March 1

A Word from Your Stewardship and Finance

Ministry Team The offerings to the General Fund :

2/2/2020 1884.00

2/9/2020 2591.00

2/16/2020 2347.25

2/23/2020 2260.00

1/2020 Online Giving 2485.14

Total 11567.39

God Bless,

Butch Andrews

Chair of Stewardship and Finance Ministry Team

SAMPSON’S MILLS WHITE OAK FOOD PANTRY Thank you! Thank you! To all those who came to the Cupboard Stretcher’s

distribution on Friday, Feb. 21st to volunteer. Please come back - it’s always a Blessing to share our ministry!

It’s finally around the corner - TIPS FOR COPS! Once again the Police Department of White Oak and surrounding municipalities don their server aprons and test their

serving skills at the Twin Oaks Lounge in White Oak from 5pm-9pm, Monday, March 9th. All tips go to our White Oak Food Pantry - it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year. Besides good food (limited menu) and excellent service, you can greet new and old friends, play

the 50/50, and place tickets to win baskets of every size and variety.

Come and have a great time for an even greater cause, helping our neighbors in need. See you there!

PS - We still need baskets to be made up. Bring them to the church and we’ll take them to the police station. Thank you!

Jolene and Kathy

Phone: 412-678-5355 Email: sampsonsmillspc@verizon.net Website: sampsonsmills.org Facebook.com/sampsonsmillspresbyterianchurch https://sampsonsmills.org/youtube

Bible Study with Pastor Jessica

Wednesday at Noon

Bible Study

Wednesday evening at 7:15 pm.

The ladies meet for breakfast

first Monday of each month 9:00 am

Denny’s in North Versailles.

The men meet for breakfast

first Tuesday of each month at 8:30 am

Denny’s in North Versailles.

Zumba Class

every Monday and Thursday

7:15 to 8:15 pm for health and fitness.

Walk15

Every Thursday

9:00 am for health and fitness

The Food Bank

third Friday of every month

Volunteers and donations always welcome!

The Millers Daughter’s Book Club

third Tuesday 6:30 pm

(for more details contact Linda Lawrence)

Theresa Hillmar 5

Bill Rhodes 8

Diane West 10

Patty Nelson 11

Nancy Swanson 11

Leila Wertz 11

Delaney Williamson 12

Laverne Dobos 13

Rich Peters 14

Butch Andrews 15

Jan Ellenberger 17

Ben Seiler 19

Max Keefer 20

Chris Graham 21

Jeff Carroll 21

Carol McDowell 27