"See, I am making all things new." (Revelation 21:5 NRSV)

What an emotional time this is! For us of Salem and Crosswinds faith families, we are experiencing how our Lord is fashioning something brand new and growing that we could never have imagined before; for those who have committed these 40 days to studying with a small group about God's purposes for our lives, it will be a time of learning and stretching; for those who will go to the movie theater to see and ponder The Passion of the Christ, our understanding of Jesus‚ willing love and sacrifice for us will be profoundly affected; and for believers everywhere, this time of reflection and repentance is unlike any other part of the Christian year.

And somehow, I wouldn't want it any other way. God is converging a union, a book, a movie, and the season of Lent in order to birth something within each of us that He will use powerfully for His Kingdom.

Included in this newsletter, you will find an article from Pastor Kerrin Kirkpatrick, inviting us to "set our faces toward Jerusalem" with God's great mission in mind. I have also written a brief overview of the process of church union as we are guided by The United Methodist Book of Discipline, our Bishop, and our District Superintendent. Our actions are breaking new ground in a way that no other churches in the Iowa Annual Conference have done before. There are also many articles and ads encouraging your prayerful and faithful participation in this growing family of believers, bringing people to God and God to people, all for His glory. I hope that you will read and respond in ways that will bring truly honor Him.

A month ago, I was invited to Willowcreek Church, near Chicago, to see an early showing of "The Passion" and to hear Mel Gibson speak in person about his artistic and spiritual efforts. One scene in the movie that I will never forget is of our beaten, brutalized Lord, who has just fallen under the weight of the heavy cross. Mary, His mother, bursts from the crowd of onlookers to scoop Him up, just as she did when Jesus was a little boy, falling while playing. Instead, she is only able to cradle His bloodstained face in her hands for a moment, before He is pushed on by the Roman soldiers. In that moment of love and compassion, Jesus looks lovingly at her and at all of us through the movie screen and says: "See, I am making all things new." He then embraces His cross and trudges on toward His victory over death - our salvation.

"Suddenly, the purpose of the pain was so clear and the wounds, that earlier in the film had been so difficult to see on His face, His back, indeed all over His body, became intensely beautiful. They had been borne voluntarily for love of each of us." (written by news commentator, Paul Harvey) I echo his observations fully. Jesus is making all things new and beautiful in so many ways, right here, right now.

While the season of Lent can be painful, it can become a gloriously triumphal time. It is my prayer that you will be deeply blessed by all of these God-directed events that are ahead for us as brothers and sisters in Christ.

~ Pastor Linda