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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we enter into another season of Lent, anticipating the death and resurrection of our Lord, I wanted to draw your attention to two things.

First, I want to encourage us all at Willoughby to remember the critical importance of being a hospitable body of believers on Sunday mornings. When you see a new face, remember to say hello. If you've got gifts of hospitality--or even just a good heart!--perhaps think of inviting people over for lunch. It was a practice of days gone by that I believe would be good for us to re-embrace. People don't stay in churches over the long haul because of Sunday morning services--the great worship or preaching; they stay because they've experienced the love of God in community. They stay because of relationships.

Second, I invite you to begin reading Jesus 'Upper Room' discourse in John's Gospel (chapters 14-17) around the dinner table or for your personal devotions. Jesus' parting words to his disciples here will launch us into a new series entitled 'Before I go . . . '. What kind of things would you want to say to people--loved ones and otherwise--before you go? We'll spend six weeks reflecting on what Jesus most wanted us, his followers, to know before he went through his own suffering and death.

The Lord be with you all,

Pastor Ed