Calvary Update Tuesday 2/17/2026
Hello, everyone!

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. We will have an Ash Wednesday service at 6 PM and a Lenten service each Wednesday until Easter, with a focus on the cross and what it means in our Christian life and experience.

This season of Lent is a time to reflect on our spiritual lives. It serves as a sort of annual tune-up, because in the routine of daily life we often suffer from “mission drift.” We start to compromise in little ways that can cause us to become insensitive to God’s Holy Spirit as He leads us. Centuries ago, the Christian Church all around the world established this time of Lent for this very purpose.

Many people choose to “fast” or to give up some particular pleasure during this time, as a way of re-asserting spiritual disciplines that may have gotten soft in our lives. It’s a good idea, not as a way of earning points with God, but as a help in getting our own focus where it belongs. If there is some “innocent” pleasure or pastime that has become a special occasion of temptation for you, I highly recommend giving it up during this time. A few weeks’ abstinence can help establish a new habit in your life.

Last Sunday I announced that the Celebration of Life service for Glenn and JoAn Fredrikson was planned for Friday, March 10th. I was clearly confused. (Now there’s an oxymoron for you!).

March 10th is a Tuesday. Please note that the Celebration of Life service for Glenn and JoAn Fredrikson is set for FRIDAY, APRIL 10th. That’s the Friday after Easter Sunday. Please correct it in your planning, and I’m very sorry for the confusion I have caused.

Fernando and Monse, a missionary couple who serve in certain countries that “don’t like” Christian missionaries, are with us this week and we will invite them to speak as often as we can at different meetings this week while they’re here. We want you to know them and they very much need you to be praying for them! (Fernando and Monse both came to Christ in our church in Central Mexico.)

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
Psalm 32:1-2

Pastor Dan Giles