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Dear San Marco Church Family: I pray that during this Holy Week you have made time to reflect on the journey and sacrifice of Jesus as he approached the cross. I get inspired as I consider the events of Holy Week because I see Jesus’ words and actions as a model of perseverance and resilience in a world filled with pain and uncertainty. What Jesus’ journey represents to me is that if we face challenges with confident trust that the worst things that we experience will never be the last things, we can live with hope despite every obstacle that we encounter. We do not have to view Jesus’ crucifixion as a source of our guilt and shame, but as a reminder that human beings have a dark side and that Jesus modeled the reality that responding to darkness with goodness and light will ultimately defeat the darkness. On Maundy Thursday, we recognize Jesus’ sharing the Last Supper with his disciples. He offered a COMMAND that they should love one another. He knew at the time that these disciples were not always dependable and that at least one of them would betray him. But Jesus’ teaching was not conditioned upon anyone’s behavior. Essentially he was saying that his followers are not to relate to each other in a transactional manner. Rather we are to love one another even if we don’t always LIKE one another. We are to love one another even when we don’t trust one another, and maybe especially when loving one another will be aggravating, exhausting, and even dangerous. Not only did Jesus teach this, but he modeled it for us! I hope you are able to attend our Maundy Thursday service to hear more about Jesus’ teachings at the Last Supper. I am so excited to share that we have an infant baptism scheduled for Easter Sunday! Milo is just over four months old, and he and his family look forward to celebrating his “putting on Christ”, as we say in our baptisms. While there are many reasons to attend worship on Easter Sunday, having the privilege of witnessing an infant baptism adds a special joy to the experience. This will be my first Easter experience at San Marco Church, and I pray that this Sunday’s worship will be a source of hope and encouragement for everyone who attends. It is a great time to invite friends to worship, so don’t be shy in extending invitations. Please pray for me as I prepare messages this week, as I depend upon your prayers. I remain honored to serve as your pastor, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday! Steve Hart
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