University Lutheran Church

340 E. 15th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281-6612 (480) 967-3543

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ULC/LCM Online – WEDNESDAY

Wednesday’s ONLINE Worship Available at 6:30pm During the Academic Year

Campus CenterWednesday, April 14, 2021 – 6:30pm – Online Worship

Keep following us on Facebook as well. LCM Students can stay in touch on the LCM Facebook page.

Purple Reign?

LetterThe purple is gone. White and gold now hold sway. The penitential church season of Lent is over and the rejoicing of Easter has commenced! No more sober faces as we worship. Texts about crosses, sacrificing, and suffering have been succeeded by stories of appearances and surprising disciples behind locked doors, at a fish bar b que, the comforting message of a shepherd called good.

All of this coincides with a time in our country that things may be looking up in terms of vaccinations and some economic rebound. Yet, public health experts are cautioning us to be careful. Doing well and headed in a good direction does not guarantee it will remain so. Keep wearing masks, socially distance, wash your hands, and avoid crowds. Do the things you were doing before the numbers began moving in a favorable direction.

There is a good lesson here for us. Easter is not carte blanche. That is, Easter does not mean sin no longer matters. Easter means we can deal with our sin. Sin does not need to hold us back from doing the things we were called to be doing even prior to Lent. 

But sin still matters. Serving, loving, caring, advocating, proclaiming, worshiping, forgiving, repenting, and growing. These are not seasonal for followers of Jesus. These are for all the church year. They are a major part of our discipleship tool kit.

Wear your spring colors, enjoy the warmth and sunshine, live as a “sent forgiver” ….one who has been forgiven. In Lent and Holy Week, you and I did not earn this, Jesus earned it. We are simply those to whom it has been bequeathed. In our joyful Easter living we cannot forget this. The dose of reality that is Lent need not be over us like a cloud. Neither should it be forgotten. Remembering who we are is always a call to remember whose we are. Easter triumph, Easter joy, this alone can sin destroy! From sin’s pow’r, Lord, set us free, newborn souls in you to be!

Campus Center Pergola Ramada Removal

Pergola

UPDATE: You received an email on Monday saying the pergola would be removed with the pillars remaining while council completes a plan for a  probable shade structure or structures. The removal was completed Tuesday. You can see our “new look” in this photo. 

The pergola surrounding the Campus Center on the south and east sides of the building has rotted and turned into a safety issue. Timbers have fallen and will fall. Fortunately no one has yet been hurt. The pergola, an addition to the Campus Center years after its construction, has been worked on twice in the last 12 years to replace some of the boards and to paint it.  However far too many boards are in need of being replaced including the large support timbers which are original  to the pergola addition.  Council has been working for some time on a plan for shade on both the east and south side of the Campus Center but has yet to finalize a plan. In the meantime a bid to remove the wooden portions of the pergola for $500 has been submitted only if we accept the bid now. Council, in their meeting April 11, voted to accept this bid. 

Yes, this means the pillars will remain for now.  It may not be the best look for awhile until a plan and funding for the plan are completed, but it will make us safer. Think of the pillars as socially distanced soldiers willing to stand guard as we are now made safer.

BEFORE

Pergola
AFTER

In Person Indoor Worship

Empty Chairs

For the time being we will continue outdoor worship as we have been doing. The time will move to 9am May 16. Currently it does not yet appear safe enough to move indoors to our small sanctuary with a low ceiling. Council has set a hoped for target date of September 12 to return in person indoors. The COVID numbers, CDC and synod recommendations will continue to be used as guidance. Stay tuned! In the meantime online virtual worship will continue. The plan is also to live stream worship once we return indoors and have purchased the needed equipment and gathered and trained people to operate the equipment. Interested in contributing to the equipment fund? Send your check to the church office marked “video equipment”. Some folks have already done so. Thank you! Interested in helping out? Contact the church office info@ulctempe.org or 480.967.3543.