“He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Matthew 8: 17b 

Join the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor for live worship Sundays at 10 a.m. at www.congochurchbbh.org, Facebook, or tune into BRTV, channel 7 or 1301 for Spectrum subscribers.

During this season of Lent, we will offer a worship series titled, Holy Vessels. Each of us is created a precious and holy vessel of embodied love. We have been through a harrowing time since last Lent that has shattered our sense of wholeness–body, mind, and spirit–like a glass vessel fractured into pieces. In this Lenten “season of recovery” for our physical, communal, mental, intellectual, and environmental health, we will explore the healing narratives of Jesus that tell of divine solidarity with human suffering and remind us that we can begin a journey toward making something beautiful from that which is seemingly broken. Beach glass offers us a multifaceted symbol of this transformative process.

The first offering of this series will begin Feb. 17, Ash Wednesday, at 7 p.m. You may join this worship service at www.congochurchbbh.org, Facebook, or tune into BRTV, channel 7 or 1301 for Spectrum subscribers. Bring a small bowl of ashes and a bit of oil. Pastor Peter Ilgenfritz will deliver his sermon titled, “Shattered” and will explore Matthew 11:28-30. Ash Wednesday is a time of naming brokenness. As we enter the season of Lent, we commit to enter also into a season of healing and recovery that requires the naming of what has been shattered as a first step. We take “the yoke” of responsibility as disciples of Jesus to be the Body of Christ — a body of those who need healing and offer healing in the world. The promise of Jesus is that he is with us in our weariness and burdens.

This First Sunday in Lent, Feb. 21, Pastor Peter Ilgenfritz will preach his sermon, “Treasure” and will explore Matthew 8:1-4, 8:16-17. Beach glass begins as something whole and yet discarded. As it is tumbled by the sea, it is broken and polished until it becomes a treasured “mineral gem.” We do not embrace that suffering is necessary or God-given, but that suffering is a part of life. When pain comes and brokenness enters our lives, Jesus reaches out to touch and remind us of the Treasure that we all are–worthy of new life in the midst of hopelessness. In a year when pandemic has wreaked havoc on our world, we begin by affirming our journey to physical health.

Join the Adult Christian Education classes via Zoom on Sunday mornings at 8:30. They will be studying America's Long Struggle Against Slavery. Folks should contact Barbara Fritz at bfritz105@gmail.com a Zoom link if you wish to join. 

Send prayer joys and concerns to Prayer Chain Coordinator, Barbara Fritz at bfritz105@gmail.com; note if you would like to have your prayer shared on Sunday during worship.

You may submit your offerings online at www.congochurchbbh.org, or mail to Congo Church BBH, P.O. Box 468, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.