These forty days called Lent are like no other. It is our opportune time to return to the God who rescues, to receive the gifts of God’s grace, to believe with the heart and confess with the mouth the wonder of God’s love in Jesus, and to resist temptation at every turn. This is no small pilgrimage on which we have just embarked. It is a struggle Jesus knew. It is a struggle Jesus shares. The nearness of the Lord, in bread and wine, water and word, will uphold and sustain us.

LECTIONARY

• Deuteronomy 26:1-11 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand
• Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 God will give the angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways. (Ps. 91:11)
• Romans 10:8b-13 If you confess that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved
• Luke 4:1-13 The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness for forty days

Prayer of the DayO Lord God, you led your people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide us now, so that, following your Son, we may walk safely through the wilderness of this world toward the life you alone can give, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Sunday March 9 - LENT 1 (violet)

8:30am Worship @ Pilgrim

9:30am Coffee Fellowship at both churches

10:30am Worship @ Bethany

Mon. Mar.10

AA – 7pm@Pilgrim

Tues. Mar 11

Bible Study 10am @Pilgrim

Pastor’s Office Hrs. @Bethany 12-2

Bethany Council Meeting 6pm

Wed. Mar. 12

Quilting 9am@Bethany

Noon Prayer @Bethany

Martha Circle 1pm @Bethany

Pastor’s Office Hrs. @Pilgrim 12-2

Soup Supper Service 6pm @Bethany

Individual/Group Prayer 7pm @ Bethany

Choir 7pm @ Bethany

Thurs. Mar. 13

Apple River Conference @Balsam Lake 9-12

Fri. Mar. 7

AA meeting @Bethany 7pm

Pastor’s Day Off

Perpetua and Felicity and companions, martyrs at Carthage, died 202

Friday, March 7, 2025

Vibia Perpetua, a noblewoman, and Felicity, an enslaved woman, were catechumens at Carthage, northern Africa. They, with four other catechumens, had defied the Roman emperor who had forbidden conversions to Christianity, and were put to death in the amphitheater.

Harriet Tubman, died 1913; Sojourner Truth, died 1883; renewers of society

Monday, March 10, 2025 (pictured)

Harriet Tubman, born into slavery, helped about 300 others to escape slavery until the institution was abolished. Sojourner Truth, whose birth name was Isabella, was freed after slavery was abolished, and discerned a call to be a preacher. Taking the name Sojourner Truth, she set out on an evangelistic journey, where people found her testimony to be deeply moving.

Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, died 604 Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Born into wealth and power, Gregory was for a time the chief administrator of the city of Rome. Giving this up for a life in the church, he was elected pope in 590. He influenced public worship through the establishment of a lectionary and prayers to correlate with the readings. Gregorian chant is named in his honor.

Bethany Open: Monday-Friday 8:30-3:45pm

Pilgrim Open: Wednesdays Noon-2pm

www.bplutheran.com

Pastor Office Hours: or by appointment 324-438-5807

at Bethany on Tuesdays Noon-2pm

at Pilgrim on Wednesdays Noon-2pm