celebrationoffice Care of Creation, Holy Hikes, outreach, Spirituality, Worship

What is a Holy Hike?

Holy Hikes-Northeast Ohio, a ministry sponsored by Celebration Lutheran Church, is part of a nation-wide eco-ministry dedicated to rebuilding communion between all of God’s creation through liturgical hikes in area parks. On each hike, we pause at three different stations to hear scripture, pray together, and share Holy Communion. Think of it as “church in the woods!” In between each station, we enjoy one another’s company and learn a bit about the ecosystems around us. The hikes are typically an hour long, covering approximately two miles. If dogs are permitted in the park, they are welcome on our hike, as long as they are on leash!

Chardon, Ohio is surrounded by several beautiful systems of county parks and is a relatively short drive from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The hike location for each month is posted on Facebook – the Holy Hikes-Northeast Ohio page, and Celebration’s page. We hike year-round, canceling only for heavy rain, lightning, or for temperatures under 20 degrees!

Join us this Saturday (one of the few hikes that does NOT take place on the last Saturday of the month!) at the North entrance of Girdled Road Reservation (12840 Girdled Road, Painesville).

celebrationoffice outreach, polka worship, Worship

Save these dates!

Watch this space for more information, but save these dates!

July 16 will be our annual Polka Worship service, featuring the Chardon Polka Band. Weather permitting, this service will be held outdoors on the church grounds. Lunch will be provided by Celebration Lutheran Church. Gathering with coffee and donuts begins at 9:30 a.m. Worship will be from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., followed by lunch and a concert!

This fall, we will celebrate Celebration’s 30th anniversary! Bishop Laura Barbins, former pastor of Celebration, will join us to preside over worship, and we will of course enjoy a festive feast afterward. Date TBD!

celebrationoffice Worship

Earth Day Weekend

In honor of Earth Day, April 22, our April 23 worship will lift up our call as Christians to care for Creation. After worship, we’ll share lunch and a screening of the documentary “The Ants and the Grasshopper,” which follows a Malawian activist as she travels to the US to talk about the impact of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable populations.

celebrationoffice Faith Formation, Lent, Spirituality, Worship

Preparing for Lent

Midweek Lenten Worship: Join us on Wednesday, March 1, 15, and 29, for a soup supper at 6:15 p.m., followed by a short worship service at 7:00 p.m.

Even though Ash Wednesday comes more often in February than it does in March, it still feels “early” to me, this year! But today we enter the liturgical season of Lent, a forty-day period during which we who follow Jesus devote more intentional time to reflection, repentance, and reformation: how closely do our lives align with what we understand to be the will of God? How closely do we pattern our conduct after the life of Christ? The forty-day span recalls Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2, Luke 4:1-2), as well as Moses’ forty-day fast on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28).

This past Transfiguration Sunday, at the end of our worship service, we “put away the ‘alleluia,’” following a centuries-old Lutheran Lenten tradition. We will not utter the word again until we celebrate Easter Sunday. The tone of Lenten worship changes somewhat, as well, becoming more penitential and reflective. Each Sunday service will begin with a sung confession, and we will encourage periods of silent reflection and prayer during the prelude and postlude.

We will have midweek soup supper-and-worship on March 1, 15, and 26. Supper begins at 6:15 p.m., and worship begins at 7:00 p.m. We’ll have sign-up sheets on the oak table for contributing soup and sides. On the Wednesdays in between – March 8 and 22 – I will offer a short online (Zoom) prayer service, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Email Pastor Marilyn for the link.

As you begin your own Lenten journey, there are many good resources to guide and accompany you. Below, I share a number of them. Peace and blessings – Pastor Marilyn

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