News

The Tempe Festival of the Arts is this weekend (March 8-10 from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm). Parts of downtown Tempe will be blocked off for the event. See Festival map.

It’s ASU Spring break. There is no student meal on Sunday 3/3 or Wed. 3/6. Also we will have a Lenten Worship Service on Wednesday, but no student Bible study.

Sunday, March 3

• 9:15 am Forum (Campus Center Library or via Zoom).
• 9:15 am Choir Rehearsal (Sanctuary).
• 10:30 am Sunday Worship (Sanctuary or via Live Stream).
• 11:30 am Coffee & Refreshments (Campus Center).
• 11:30 am Hunger Task Force (Campus Center)

Tuesday, March 5

• 8:00 pm AA (Campus Center).

Wednesday, March 6

• 6:30 pm Lenten Worship (Sanctuary or via Live Stream).

Thursday, March 7

• 12:00 pm Page Turner’s Book Club (Campus Center Library).
• 8:00 pm AA (Campus Center).

We are looking for a Treasurer. MaryBeth LaMont has been doing a great job as our Treasurer, but she will be stepping down from that role. (She will continue as our church Secretary.) The main duties for the Treasurer are:

• Preparing monthly financial reports and attending monthly ULC Council meetings
• Overseeing all the funds
• Assisting ULC Council with annual budget
• Creating and presenting a brief Treasurer’s report for the annual meeting
• Filing monthly/annual taxes/W-2s
• Writing a few checks as needed (MaryBeth will remain on account and will also be able to assist with this.)

This is a paid position that requires approximately 10 hours a month. Please contact the office (info@ulctempe.org or 480-967-3543) if you are interested. Thank you.

Change is the inevitable movement that happens in life. Transition is the process which we engage in the inevitable changes of life. A major part of the Old Testament has to do with the Exodus event. In the book of Exodus, the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt is a story of transition where God’s people roam the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. Change is initiated by God. Change is inevitable. The Israelites have been enslaved in Egypt. The Covenant with Abraham was that the nation of Israel would become a blessing to the world. God had also promised that they would have a land and become a nation. The Israelites prayed for a change. They were ready to move from bondage into freedom and settled in the land God had promised their ancestor Abraham. However, they were not prepared for the challenges that lay ahead. After God negotiates with Pharaoh the fate of the people of Israel, after several attempts, Pharaoh lets the people go. As they enter the wilderness of transition, Moses assures the people that God is with them.

“The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night (Exodus 13:21-22).”
Moses lifted his staff over the red sea and parted the waters for the Israelites to cross over to the other side. They walk on dry land towards freedom!

Soon they discover the water in the wilderness is bitter, then God provides water that becomes sweet. They accuse Moses of having taken them to the wilderness to die, for they were hungry. Then God provides “bread from heaven” or manna. Each day they gathered enough bread as each person needed to eat. There was no need to store it for the next day and there was no hunger. When difficulties arrive, the people complain and even wish to be back in Egypt under slavery. Times in the wilderness for the Israelites comes with several challenges, but God continues to provide for their needs in surprising ways.

God was with the Israelites during the 40-year journey to the promised land, even if at times they got tired of the long journey and wondered whether God was with them. Reflecting on our history as University Lutheran and Lutheran Campus Ministry. How have you seen God at work in the last 30 or 10 years? If you’re a newer to our community, how have you seen God at work in the last year or even six months? Do you find any connections between the story of the Israelites in the wilderness and our current times of transition? How is God providing to sustain God’s mission in our community and in the neighborhood where the church is located?

Peace,
Pastor Arhiana