Communities & calendars
Dear Church Family, Friends and Guests,
Welcome to Hollywood Adventist Church, “Where God's Spirit is given space to change lives!” I’m returning from an extended vacation time that took Jill and I to Southeast Asia. A wonderful adventure, we return aware of histories, nations and peoples in ways we'd not been before, inspired by the resilience we’ve witnessed, and the positive benefits of forgiving while remembering as political and economic life continues into chosen futures. Though we had a wonderful time, it's great to be back!
A lot has happened while we were gone... For those who may not know, we've lost several members of our Hollywood and Burbank church communities this past year. We're living new realities. And through it all, I want to thank you to all of you who kept on keeping on. It really makes a huge difference!
It's true that Adventists don't adhere to the Christian calendar—at least not formally. There's no lectionary printed by the church, nor any liturgical or sermonic guide—thanks be to God! What we center is Christ, the teachings of the apostles, and the words and lessons of scripture. Despite this, I find it helpful to at least loosely follow a couple of seasons that include the events that take us from Upper Room where Jesus shared Passover with His disciples, to the betrayal by Judas, to the trial and the betrayal done by Peter, which bring us to the cross and ultimately into the resurrection of Jesus. The larger Christian church is in a season known as Lent, and I think that this is a helpful season for us to consider as well. Interestingly, many churches that are liturgical are choose to focus on deepening and strengthening faith using spiritually proven.
Grace and Peace,
Pr Greg