From:                                             Concord Presbyterian Church <concord.margaretob@20526043.mailchimpapp.com>

Sent:                                               Wednesday, March 26, 2025 7:30 PM

To:                                                  concord.margaretob@gmail.com

Subject:                                         Concord Connects - March 27, 2025

 

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concordconnects
  
March 27, 2025
  
Keeping you connected to the life and ministry of 

Concord Presbyterian Church!

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT -
MARCH 30 @ 10:00am
"Complications" - Pastor Eric Markman preaching

     This Sunday we will be hearing the story of the prodigal son. Of course there were others who are part of this story as well. We will look at the father who sent him off and welcomed him back. The older brother, who was always there for the father and who wasn’t invited to the party. What is this passage about? Is it about a God who loves us so much that we are always welcome to come back? Is it about a young man trying to find himself? Is it about an older brother who had to live in the shadows? Is it about a father who didn’t pay attention to his two sons? Come and wonder with us as we wrestle with the Word of God!
     Join us for IN-PERSON WORSHIP on Sunday at 10:00am; doors open at 9:40am. 

     To join in WORSHIP ONLINE this Sunday, March 30, click on the picture above to go to our Concord website. Near the bottom of the home page, click on the same picture to connect with the worship video. The worship service will be available live at 10:00am Sunday morning or later in the day to view at your convenience.

 

 

SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRAMS
 


J.A.M. (Jesus and Me)
Kindergarten through Grade 5*
Children are led through activities and crafts provided in the PCUSA lectionary curriculum, Feasting on the Word, that are in response to the scripture shared during Wondering Time.



SUNDAY SEEKERS
Grade 5 -12*
This Bible Study includes reading scripture together and then sharing responses in a safe and welcoming environment.
 
*5th graders can choose to attend either J.A.M. or SUNDAY SEEKERS
😊

 

 

“On the Road with Jesus!” Lent - 2025

 

Dear Members and Friends,
Here is the Lenten series:
“On the Road with Jesus.” To fully enjoy it you should find each scripture lesson in the Bible, read it, and then read the short commentary for that week. After the commentary there is a prayer. After the prayer there is a link to a piece of music that reflects that scripture for that week. Please enjoy this series, and I hope it helps you on your journey with Jesus during Lent.

Peace,                         
Pastor Eric                

 

 


Weds. @ 10:00am via Zoom

Our weekly MUG & MUFFIN Bible study meets again on Wed., April 2 from 10:00-11:00am, led by Pastor Eric Markman. To join the Zoom gathering ONLINE, click on this link

 

 


LAST SUNDAY! -
FRIENDSHIP HOUSE TOILET PAPER DRIVE

At its many sites, Friendship House goes through a LOT of toilet paper. Concord is holding a toilet paper drive for them during the month of March. Please bring whatever you are able to donate and put it on the right side of the narthex as you enter. We hope to build a huge “snowman” there. At the end of March, we will deliver it to Friendship House. 
Thank you!  

 

 

Prayer List 
 Healing prayers for Connie Polleck, still in Wilmington Hospital & continuing her recovery from pneumonia & RSV.
Prayers for Joyce Johnson, hospitalized & recovering from a fractured ankle.
Prayers for Bldg. Manager Dennis Yoder - away from work for several weeks due to medical concerns.
Prayers of thanks for the Physical Plant Committee, hard at work fixing structural issues in the church & covering for Dennis.
Prayers for Lexi, daughter of Preschool Dir. Lori Schofield, beginning a new round of radiation treatments for the tumor behind her eye.
Prayers of healing for the Lunds neighbor AnneMarie, who is undergoing treatment for a nerve & brain condition that has been causing great pain.

Continued prayers for Felleng Kalema who is being treated for breast cancer & developed pneumonia. She is home from the hospital with oxygen & doctors are working to wean her off. Prayers also for her son Willie who is caring for her.
Prayers for Ralph Fuller, home & doing well following valve replacement surgery.
Healing prayers for Barbara Wise who fell & broke her arm, cannot drive.
Prayers for the following list of people who are in our hearts as they deal with ongoing health struggles - Jo Ann, June, Ginnie M., Rita, Dan V., Duane, & Craig E. 

*** 

If you would like to add names/needs to this list and our ministry of prayer, please email info@concordpc.org or fill out a "Prayers of the People" card at the Sunday service and hand to a greeter during the offering. 

 

 


Walk to Benefit Friendship House
Saturday, May 3
Wilmington Riverfront

Registration now open – click here to join or support the Concord Team!
[Concord's team is "Concord Cares" - Christina Pressley, captain.]

 

 

 

 

Safety Committee

Concord Presbyterian Church and Preschool have emphasized safety for many, many years. To stay safe, we have formed a Safety Committee with representations from various church functions, led by Safety Officer John Barineau. We can use volunteers, especially those with prior safety experience, to participate in walk-around safety inspections and ~quarterly Zoom safety committee sessions.
 

If interested, please contact John Barineau at
barinejm@yahoo.com
or (302) 545-1125.

 

 

From Mission & Congregational Life Committee

     Below is a letter from Karla Koll, the PC(USA) Mission Co-Worker who we have helped to support and encourage for many years through Presbyterian World Mission. I thought you might be interested to hear from her, so am sharing her message.  
     As she says, PC(USA) World Mission is no more and has been replaced by a more ecumenical mission effort. You can read the latest about this change here: pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2025/3/17/world-mission-leader-addresses-questions-regarding-shift-global-ministry-approach 
     We would like to see some international mission continue for Concord and that is now being done through, most recently, the Guatemala mission project. Although we are not supporting a mission co-worker now, we are continuing to reach out through the faith to communities and people in need, in coordination with the Presbytery.

Dottie Lund & Marj Johnson, co-chairs
Mission & Congregational Life Committee

 

Rev. Dr. Karla Ann Koll

Serving in San Jose, Costa Rica
Latin American Biblical University

kakjtb@yahoo.com

 

 

Dear companions on this journey,

Every morning now as I wake up before dawn I hear the song of the Clay-colored Thrushes. Here these cousins of the American Robin are called yigüirros. The Costa Ricans claim the mating songs of these plain birds call the rain, which should begin in a few weeks. The start of the rainy season is so important here, the yigüirro was declared the national bird in 1977.

 Yet the start of the rainy season is not as predictable as it used to be here. Four students of the Latin American Biblical University (UBL), two from Costa Rica and two from Honduras, are focusing their graduation seminar on the impacts of climate change in each of their communities. They have found that the most obvious impact is the alteration of precipitation patterns. The rains are no longer predictable, so farmers do not know when to plant their crops. When the rains do come, often more rain falls in a shorter period of time, provoking floods. Instead of a predictable cycle of a dry season followed by a rainy season, communities face floods and droughts. Mía, William, Suyapa and Antonio will be focusing their individual projects on encouraging people in their communities develop an ecological awareness that will help them understand climate change and build resilience in the face of the impacts.

On the liturgical calendar, we are now in the season of Lent. In most of Central America, the season of Lent falls during the dry season. As the days go on, I watch most vegetation around me get browner and browner. Yet there are some plants like the jacaranda tress that burst forth in colorful blooms in anticipation that rains will come to help the fruits develop. Life longs to go on.

The season of Lent invites us to reflect deeply on the brokenness around us and on how far the world human beings have built is from God’s dreams for God’s creation. It seems the brutality of the powerless against the vulnerable is intensifying. Children displaced by war are starving now that food aid has been cut off. The massacre in Gaza and in the West Bank continues. More than 200 young Venezuelan men were flown to El Salvador and thrown in the largest prison in the Americas, where they joined thousands of other men who have also been jailed without any due process. And the list goes on and on and on.

This year there is another layer to the grief I am experiencing during Lent. The Interim Unified Agency (IUA) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has eliminated all positions for mission co-workers and is in the process of closing the office of World Mission. This signals the end of the incarnational understanding of mission that has marked the presence of the PC(USA) around the world for decades. In the future, a small number of global ecumenical liaisons will maintain contact with mission partners around the world. Most of my mission co-worker colleagues will be ending their service with the PC(USA) on March 24th. In my case, my service has been extended through May 16th to allow me to finish our current academic term as a mission co-worker. I invite your prayers for all of us as we move through this transition.

The work of the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) in contextual theological education will continue. Currently the UBL has around 150 students from more than 15 countries. In the School of Theological Sciences alone there are 12 students working on their theses for graduation. I look forward to continuing to accompany our students as a volunteer as I move toward retirement in the next year or two. My colleagues and I at the UBL look forward to sharing more information about the work of the institution in English very soon. Though it will no longer be possible to support the UBL through Presbyterian World Mission, there are many ways to be a part of equipping students of all genders to be agents of transformation in their churches and communities. You can write me or our rector, Elisabeth Cook at rectoria@ubl.ac.cr, for more information.

On a more personal note, Javier and I are in the process of purchasing the house we have been living in for the last eight years. We are very thankful to have a beautiful place to live and we look forward to hosting many more visitors. I promise more pictures of the garden. Since August, my knees have been giving me lots of trouble, so I am anticipating one or two surgeries soon. I am looking forward to being about to hike in the Costa Rican mountains again. In the meantime, I am very thankful to have found a water therapy pool close to our house.

I am so grateful for the many, many people whom I have met over the years I have served as a mission co-worker of the PC(USA). Thank you so much for continuing to stay in touch. I know I have not communicated frequently in recent years, but I hope to share much more with you in the future.

Longing for resurrection,
Karla

 

My mailing address is:
Rev. Dr. Karla Ann Koll
Latin America Biblical University
Apartado 901-1000
San Jose, Costa Rica

 

 

 

NaturaLawn of America at 40 Germay Drive, Wilmington, DE 19804 has been providing free lawn care services (fertilizing and pest management) to Concord Presbyterian Church for many years, using natural and organic-based products that are safe for children and pets. If you are looking for a lawn care service, please consider contacting NaturaLawn at 302/652-2000 or visit their website by clicking on the logo above.

 

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