Wait, What? Where?

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

Mark 1:12

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.

Luke 6:12

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’

Mark 14:32

And these are not even close to an exhaustive list

We have no record that Jesus said, “It is important to use spiritual retreat to pull back from the madness of the world around us and to focus on God.” But he modeled this action time and again. He took himself out of the fray and put himself in touch with God through prayer and reflection. He took time for himself.

So what about you? Will you take time for yourself, to pray, to be in community, to follow your heart toward God? See, Lent is a special time. If it’s not, you’re not doing it right. Yep. YOU. You have to choose to set the time aside to find special moments. No one is going to do that for you, and most of us won’t even do it for ourselves. This Lent is leading to a full Easter experience, and I don’t want you to miss a thing.

Palm Sunday, March 24th at 10am

This year we’ll have a children’s procession with Palms as we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It’s a special service with lots of activities for families, and we invite all to be a part of this first moment of Holy week.

Maundy Thursday Soup and Bread Supper, followed by Tenebrae Worship, March 28th at 6:00pm

Would you like to participate in making soup or helping in other ways for this service? The sign up page is right here on our website. After sharing a meal together, we’ll move to the sanctuary for a special service of Tenebrae, where we read the story of Jesus’ march to the cross, extinguish candles, and sit in the darkness. We seek to feel what he felt, and to understand his journey better.

We leave the service in silence, carrying our thoughts and our connection to God through Jesus with us out into the night. Don’t miss this powerful moment!

Easter Sunrise Worship with United Parishes of Southborough at Hopkinton State Park, Easter Sunday, March 31st at 6:30am

After spending Friday and Saturday in personal retreats, we return to worship with the sun! This services finds us in the capable hands of The United Parishes of Southborough, the same caring, supportive folks who run the Southborough Food Pantry. At Easter we unite in the early dawn at the Hopkinton State Boat Launch to share songs, prayers and praise.

Our Moderator Peter Zschokke will again provide music and lead the singing, and Rev. Paul Sanderson of the First Community Church of Southborough will be preaching.

Easter Son-Rise Breakfast presented by Men’s Fellowship Easter Sunday, March 31st at 8:15am

We’ll have a link soon to a flyer with all the important details. Bottom line: come after the Sunrise Service or just come straight from home, for pancakes, sausage, eggs and home fries in high Men’s Fellowship style! We’re hoping to make this a new Pilgrim tradition and we’re happy to offer this event to the public as well. There will be a suggested donation of $10 per person, up to $25 per family.

We’re grateful to have time for fellowship and fun between services on Easter! Thanks to Mens’ Fellowship for this special event.

Easter Worship, March 31st at 10am

“This is the Day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Join us for a full service of celebration of the love of God expressed in the Resurrection. We’re inviting families to remain in the sanctuary together, and we’ll have activities available for anybody prone to the wiggles. Charley’s message will engage kids of all ages, as we share the Good News of God’s love again.

Easter Egg Hunt, right after Easter worship!

Seek and you shall find! Join us to watch the kids hunt up treats across the Pilgrim Church Grounds. Big kids can help too, and we’ll look to make this a fun and engaging time for our capable younger explorers.

Thanks for reading all this, and consider yourself invited to a full Holy Week of activities and opportunities to connect and to feel God’s love.