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Today is day 3 of tour.  We all had to leave Tallassee to head off to Pascagoula, MS.  The bus ride wasn't too long but not the shortest ever.  When we stopped at the mall for lunch, a good number of us rented and raced animal scooters around the halls. 

Then we sang at our concert and ate some delicious food at the Church.  It was Hunter's birthday so naturally we all sang Happy Birthday as slowly as possible. And it was off to our host families for the night!

March 29th.

Yesterday we sang at the 8 and 10am services at the First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, AL.  It was an early morning after having a performance the previous night.  The church was huge with a lot of cool glasswork.  We sang four songs each service and then packed up.

We then arrived at the First UMC in Tallassee, AL with about 20 minutes until the concert started. We had to all change quick and review where we were seating.  We put on a great show & added in a skit to our performance.  

Wow! It has been an amazing tour so far! It has only been one day and so much has happened! After an early start yesterday and a long bus ride full of snacks, movies, sleeping, and laughs, it was good to be able to get off the bus and stretch our legs in Murfreesboro, TN.

March 22-  The Chapel Choir performed their pre-tour concert at Lemont First United Methodist Church.   Great job everyone!   Great way to start the 2015 "We Believe" Tour!

It was great to have Bishop Sally Dyck with us last Sunday! Her sermon truly uplifted us, as she encouraged us to "lift up our eyes" to the big picture of how God is calling us to live in the midst of today's circumstances.

The whole weekend was filled with special moments of being the Church together. As I walked through the church building Saturday morning, it was almost like hearing a symphony of inviting sounds -

I was away for a couple of days this week, at an educational event. Both days were filled with meaningful teaching, enlivening conversations with pastors and church leaders, scripture reading, music and laughter during meals together.

Tour Schedule:

March 28: Murfreesboro , TN

March 29: Tallassee , AL

March 30: Pascagoula , MS

March 31: Pensacola, FL

April 2: Tuscaloosa, AL

April 3: Paducah, KY

April 4: Arrive at Church

Tomorrow morning, 50 plus people will be gathering in the Fellowship Hall for a breakfast to honor and thank those who volunteer to help with worship services - from the parking lot welcoming team, to greeters, ushers, scripture readers, sound board crew members - and the list goes on.

Lent begins next week on Wednesday, February 18. Youth Director Rev. Howie Snyder, members of the Connection Choir and Onward Bound students will be leading a creative Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary.

This Sunday's worship theme serves as a bridge from the season of Epiphany to the start of Lent. Our scripture story, Mark 9:2-9, is often called The Transfiguration, a time when some of Jesus' followers realized they suddenly saw him in a new, and fuller, way and were being prepared to listen to him more deeply.

We had one of those unexpectedly "special" Sundays last weekend, on February 1 - not something designated on the denominational calendar, but definitely decreed by our  Saturday night snowstorm, predicted to turn into our Sunday afternoon near-blizzard.

Of course, many of our congregation were homebound that day, with snow-filled driveways and blocked neighborhood streets.