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Lent
Lent at Community UMC is a season of honest reflection and quiet transformation — a journey where what feels heavy is slowly carried toward hope, and even sorrow is gathered into renewal through the promise of Easter.
Each week offers meaningful worship, thoughtful devotionals, and simple spiritual practices designed to help you slow down, breathe deeply, and prepare your heart. Along the way, you’ll find family-friendly gatherings and hands-on experiences that invite every age to wonder, serve, create, and grow together.
Come walk the road with us — noticing grace in small moments, practicing compassion in everyday life, and opening ourselves to the new life God is already bringing.
Join us this Lent as we reflect, reconnect, and gently turn toward resurrection hope.
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About the series
Lent was originally a season for new converts to learn
and prepare for their baptism on Easter. During that time,
they would study what was central to Christianity. As we crafted this series, we asked: what are the core, foundational concepts of Jesus’ life and ministry? What makes each of these good news? Can we trust that the good news is truly good, even when it challenges us? .
If we're being honest, we can easily distort or sanitize Jesus' teachings. Following Jesus leads to a richer, more expansive life, but it’s not necessarily comfortable. We often describe Jesus’ ministry as “radical” which comes from the Latin word “radicalis,” meaning “root” or “ground.”¹ Therefore, the good news should bring us back to our roots, back to what grounds us: loving our neighbor, caring for the vulnerable, pursuing justice and mercy, and resting in God’s unending grace.
The good news is extravagant, untamed, illogical, and persistent. It is joyful—like fine wine saved for celebration. It grows like a mustard seed that flourishes rapidly into a tree to shelter the birds. It smells like expensive perfume poured from an alabaster jar and like crumbling bread passed endlessly through a hungry crowd. It sounds like children laughing and like stones dropped to the ground instead of violently thrown. It feels like feet washed with tender care. The good news is alive in the world.
Services
Ash Wednesday
Wednesday - February 18th - 7:00pm - Sanctuary
*No childcare offered
A time of prayer, scripture, and reflection to begin Lent. Ashes will be offered on the forehead for those who wish to receive them.
The Good News is... all are invited
Luke 14:15-24 (Parable of the wedding banquet)
We begin Ash Wednesday with an open invitation. Instead of inviting people to focus internally on fasting and self-deprivation during Lent, this parable invites us into a communal feast. The host of the party sends a servant to search the entire city to bring people in: “Go to the highways and back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled.”(CEB) Though the net is cast wide, too many guests deny the invitation, instead focusing on their individual concerns. Yet, the host’s invitation is persistent. They search high and low for the dispossessed and the vulnerable, perhaps those who are hungry to accept the invitation. As guests are gathered in, the miracle is that there is still room. There is more love and abundance available, if only we are present to accept it.
First Sunday of Lent
Sunday - February 22nd - 9:30am - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... so good it catches us by surprise
John 2:1-11 (Wedding at Cana)
Matthew 13:31-32 (Parable of the mustard seed)
John's Gospel doesn't begin with a temptation story; instead, it opens Jesus' ministry with a wedding miracle. It may feel a bit lavish to start the season of Lent with a wedding banquet, but the good news begins with joy. This week we focus on the subversive and playful nature of the good news. The kin-dom of heaven is so good it should catch us by surprise! Like a mustard seed, the good news can grow from the smallest seed into the tallest tree. Like an unruly weed, or fine wine saved for last, the good news is abundant and cannot be contained. As we sink into Jesus’ teachings throughout the season, we may not always be comfortable, but we can trust that these teachings are good, rooted in love, and worthy of celebration.
Second Sunday of Lent
Sunday - March 1st - 9:30am - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... great love for God & neighbor
Luke 7:36-50 (Woman with the alabaster jar washes Jesus’ feet)
Matthew 25:35-40 (“Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me”)
Simon and some Pharisees host a dinner for Jesus and an unexpected guest arrives: a woman from the city who kneels at Jesus’ feet and washes him with expensive perfume. Simon scoffs at this party foul, but Jesus reorients his focus, asking him to truly see the woman and recognize that she has shown “great love,” offering the tender hospitality he was not granted when he entered Simon’s home. The woman with the alabaster jar shows a shocking, extravagant love that exemplifies the greatest commandment: to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. Will the other guests see that loving God goes hand in hand with loving neighbor? We’ve paired this story with Jesus’ words in Matthew 25. When we care for the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned— each of whom are created in the image of God—we are showing love for God, too.
Third Sunday of Lent
Sunday - March 8th - 9:30AM - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... together, the impossible is possible
Mark 6:32-44 (Feeding the 5,000)
Ephesians 3:20-21 (“By the power at work within us [God] is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine”)
As Jesus and his disciples head to a deserted place, perhaps seeking peace and quiet, many from the surrounding towns follow them. Instead of turning them away, Jesus expresses compassion and begins an impromptu teaching session. As the day goes on, the disciples have logistics in mind and urge Jesus to send the people back into the villages so they can feed themselves. Instead, Jesus presents them with an impossible task: “You give them something to eat.” Dumbfounded, the disciples can only fathom the limitations and financial constraints of Jesus’ suggestion. Yet when they “go and see,” their meager provisions multiply so that thousands are fed. This week we focus on building networks of collective care in order to meet people’s needs. Jesus models a way to be in community by coming together and sharing what we have, dispelling perceived impossibilities. The good news empowers us to believe in the miracles that can become possible through the power of community.
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Sunday - March 15th - 9:30AM - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... protection & care for the vulnerable
Matthew 19:13-15 (Jesus blesses the children) Deuteronomy 24:17-22 (Care for the alien, the orphan, and the widow)
In many modern contexts, it may seem sweet that Jesus welcomed little children; however, in Jesus’ context, spending time with children would have seemed wasteful or useless. When Jesus blesses a crowd of children (after the disciples rebuke them and try to send them away), he once again reorients socially constructed hierarchies to center the vulnerable. Throughout his ministry, Jesus emphasized the last, the least, and the lost, building upon the mandates of the Hebrew Scriptures to care for the immigrant, widow, and orphan among you. Deuteronomy repeatedly reminds the Israelites, “you were once slaves in Egypt.” Their memory of oppression should impel them to provide for anyone under-resourced or cut off from the protection of a household. Similarly, Jesus uplifting children is a reminder that we were all once children and we have all been vulnerable at some point in our lives, relying on the protection and care of others. If we’re truly living out the good news, then anyone vulnerable will not only be protected from harm, but cared for so they have the chance to thrive.
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Sunday - March 22nd - 9:30AM - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... rooted in justice, mercy, & faithfulness
John 8:2-11 (Jesus refuses to condemn a woman caught in adultery)
Matthew 23:23 (“You have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”)
As we move toward Holy Week, we acknowledge the ways Jesus’ ministry was increasingly at odds with the religious leaders who prioritized loyalty to legality and perceived Jesus’ teachings as a threat. While Jesus is teaching in the temple, some scribes and Pharisees interrupt to put both him and a woman caught in adultery on trial. Their questioning intensifies as they cite Mosaic Law and put the woman’s fate in Jesus’ hands. Instead of focusing on punishment, Jesus flips the script and invites each person to consider their own sin; Jesus defuses the spectacle by condemning no one. Much of Jesus’ teachings were grounded in his understanding of the Torah; however, many of his actions called for reinterpreting the law. As we wrestle with our own rules, we should ask, “What is the most just, merciful, and faithful interpretation?”
Palm Sunday
Sunday - March 29th - 9:30AM - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... inspiring us to act
Mark 11:1-11 (Triumphal entry into Jerusalem)
Roman triumph usually occurred during the week of Passover as a show of Rome’s might. The governor would have been surrounded by the wealthiest and most powerful citizens. In contrast, Jesus’ march is for the people—all the people: the hungry, the poor, the afraid. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowd responds to Jesus’ authenticity and humility. Perhaps they can see past the pageantry of the Roman parade; in contrast, the goodness of Jesus’ leadership shines through, mobilizing the crowds to take action by throwing cloaks in the street and waving palm branches in the air. The energy is infectious, a climactic moment in the grassroots movement of Jesus’ ministry. This week’s subtheme intentionally places us in the crowd, inviting us to shout “Hosanna!,” to throw our coats down, and to wave branches. What will the good news inspire us to do? How will the gospel move us? As we head into Holy Week, how will we put Jesus’ teachings into practice?
Maundy Thursday
Thursday - April 2nd - 7:00pm - Fellowship Hall
*No childcare offered
We are so blessed to have so many creative ideas and meaningful services at Community, and Maundy Thursday will be no exception. This special service will take place in Fellowship Hall at a large communal table. Join us for this new and exciting experience — not a new service, but a new way of viewing our traditional Maundy Thursday worship.
The Good News is... even Judas gets his feet washed
John 13:1-35 (Jesus washes the disciples’ feet)
Knowing he is nearing the end, Jesus surrounds himself with his closest friends. Though he is very aware of who will betray him, he doesn’t exclude Judas or Peter from the table. In modern times, we might have canceled Judas, but Jesus chooses to care for him instead, offering him bread and cup and loving care. Jesus doesn’t define Judas by his worst act. If we put ourselves in Judas’ shoes, it really is good news that nothing can separate us from God’s love. We are not judged by our worst actions, which means we are called to extend grace to others too. The good news is that God’s radical, unstoppable love extends to all people—even to those who wrong us, even to us on our worst days.
Good Friday
Friday- April 3rd - 7:00pm - Sanctuary
*No childcare offered
The Good News is... revealed through nonviolence
Luke 22:47-53; Luke 23:33-38, 44-46 (Judas’ betrayal; Jesus heals the servant of the high priest’s ear after his disciples draw swords; Jesus forgives those crucifying him)
Where is the good news on Good Friday? Where do we see glimpses of goodness within an awful, brutal story? Jesus kisses the one who betrays him. He exclaims, “No more!” in the fury of drawn swords, offering healing instead. He uses his final breaths to plead for forgiveness for those who have crucified him. Jesus is stripped of all decency and humanity, yet his actions reveal the good news of a peaceful God. Meanwhile, the actions of others around him— the betrayals, the mocking, the derision, the mob mentality, and the violence— reveal who we are at our worst. The Passion narrative tears down any facade. Everything is revealed in this moment, for better and for worse. The good news is Jesus’ ministry is not defeated by death—it is only interrupted. More will be revealed on the third day.
Easter Sunday
Sunday - April 5th - 9:30am - Sanctuary
*Children’s Chapel and nursery offered
The Good News is... alive in the world
Matthew 28:1-10 (“Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”)
Death cannot stop the good news. It is alive, unbound, and wild in the world. Like the mustard seed, it grows without limit. Like water turned into wine, it surprises us with joy. Like loaves of bread, it multiplies to feed each hungry soul. And now, even in the face of death, it will not be buried or silenced. Just as the angels in Advent, the angel at the empty tomb delivers good news: “Do not be afraid.” On the way to Galilee, Jesus greets the women with this same message, but adds: “Go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” As we celebrate the good news of Easter, let us also go out seeking Christ in the faces of neighbors and strangers, and in the good works that are alive in this world
Waffle Church
Sunday - April 12th - 9:30am - Fellowship Hall
*No childcare offered
The Good News is... there’s a seat at the table (and yes, waffles).
Join us in Fellowship Hall for Waffle Church as we celebrate the close of the Lenten season together. This is a worship experience for all ages gathered in one space — there will be no nursery or Children’s Chapel that morning.
We’ll share prayer, song, conversation, and of course, waffles.
As part of our tradition, we invite everyone to bring new socks and underwear to support the Homeless Center.
If you would like to help with setup, cleanup, or bringing an item to share, please contact the church office — many hands make Waffle Church possible!
Join Community UMC in our new Well-Being Center for the Good News Collective — three meditative and creative evenings this March.
Each night will include a short devotional, hands-on craft, time for fellowship, and a guided moment of prayer and reflection. These gatherings are designed to help us slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with the good news of God’s presence in our lives.
The Good News Collective is an intergenerational experience open to all ages — children, youth, adults, and seniors are all welcome. Bring a friend, invite a neighbor, or make it a family faith night or a simple evening of connection and creativity.
✨ This event is completely free and open to the community.
🗓 Mondays: March 2, 9, and 16
🕕 6:00 p.m.
📍 Community UMC Well-Being Center
Come as you are — no experience needed, just an open heart and a willingness to gather together.
Prayer Beads
Monday - March 2nd
This week we’ll be making prayer beads. Step by step, you’ll be guided in creating a beautiful, tangible tool for prayer — something to hold, carry, and return to throughout the season. No experience necessary; curiosity is enough.
String Cross
Monday - March 9th
This week we’ll be making a string cross. With pre-cut wood, a template, nails, and thread, we’ll work step by step to create a piece that is both hands-on and reflective — a simple symbol of love and hope to display during Lent or throughout the year.
Three Crosses Frame
Monday - March 16th
This week we’ll be making a three-crosses frame. Using a wooden shadow box, simple twigs, stones, and a printed background, we’ll create a meaningful display that recalls the hill of the crucifixion — a quiet reminder of love that stayed.
Lent Study
Why did Jesus Have to Die?
with Pastor Tim O'Brien
“Why Jesus had to Die”
by Adam Hamilton
Despite the crucifixion’s central place in Christian faith, the New Testament offers few clear
answers about how Jesus’ death saves, or why, exactly, he had to die. The New Testament writers
use a host of metaphors—ransom, sacrifice, reconciliation, victory—but never explain exactly
how it works or why it had to happen this way.
What if that’s because we’ve been asking the wrong question? What if the cross isn’t a
transaction to be explained, but a living Word from God meant to transform who we are and
how we live? How, then, shall we respond to that Word?
CLASS MEETINGS: Sunday mornings (following Service)
10:45am to 12:15pm - February 22nd to March 29th
Weekly Study Dates and Topics:
February 22nd - Chapter 1 - Lift High the Cross
March 1st - Chapter 2 - O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done?
March 8th - Chapter 3 - Agnus Dei
March 15th - Chapter 4 - Were You There?
March 22nd - Chapter 5 - What Wondrous Love is This?
March 29th - Chapter 6 - Christ the Lord is Risen Today
This study will include a book, which is $20. Join us for this six-week study as we come to insist on hope and work for peace. If you would like to attend please let Jeff Turmel know at: jaturmel14@gmail.com or contact the church office at: chriss.stump@cumceg.org
Easter Offering
The good news is… faith moves us to act.
The Community UMC Easter offering is going to SOFIA, a member of WISDOM.
Mission: SOFIA is a network of faith communities called to advocate for justice, equity, and dignity for all residents of Waukesha County.
Vision: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. — Martin Luther King Jr.
We envision a compassionate and just community where every person—regardless of faith, race, immigration status, economic circumstance, or background—has the opportunity to thrive and participate fully in community life. We see a future where diverse faith communities, organizations, and individuals stand together as powerful voices for justice, equity, and systemic change. Our vision is a society where public policies reflect respect for human dignity, where housing is affordable and accessible, the criminal justice system is fair and humane, and immigrant families can live in safety and security. We strive to build communities where relationships are nurtured, leadership is developed, and collective action transforms the structures that marginalize or exclude. United in faith and purpose, we work toward a world where justice truly is for all.
Easter offering recipient
please mark all donations “Easter”, use the easter offering envelopes, or donate online thru vanco
Waffle Church
Waffle Church
Sunday - April 12th - 9:30am - Fellowship Hall
*No childcare offered
The Good News is... there’s a seat at the table (and yes, waffles).
Join us in Fellowship Hall for Waffle Church as we celebrate the close of the Lenten season together. This is a worship experience for all ages gathered in one space — there will be no nursery or Children’s Chapel that morning.
We’ll share prayer, song, conversation, and of course, waffles.
As part of our tradition, we invite everyone to bring new socks and underwear to support the Homeless Center.
If you would like to help with setup, cleanup, or bringing an item to share, please contact the church office — many hands make Waffle Church possible!
Easter Flower Orders
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Easter Flower Orders Due
Sunday, March 8th
Help adorn the sanctuary this Christmas season by ordering a poinsettia in memory or honor of a loved one.
If you would like to email Chriss your order you can do that to Chriss.Stump@cumceg.org and pay online with Vanco.
You may also mail in or place your order form in the offering plate and mark that you are paying online and pay online with Vanco.
Devotionals
The good news is… Devotionals have been ordered
As soon as the devotionals are received we will have them available! Beginning with Ash Wednesday, this weekly devotional follows the scriptures of the Tell Me Something Good series through Easter Sunday. Each week offers: commentary, poetry, visual art, written reflections, hymns, and reflection prompts.
Online Devotional
Children's Chapel
The good news is… faith grows at every age.
We are so excited to bring our Lent series, Tell Me Something Good, to Children’s Chapel! At Children’s Chapel will explore the same scriptures and themes as the congregation in ways designed just for them.
Each week, children will dive into the stories through hands-on activities, creative crafts, coloring, conversation, prayer — and plenty of fun. Our goal is simple: to create a space where kids feel welcomed, engaged, and excited to learn, laugh, and grow together.
Children’s Chapel is for ages 4–12. Our Nursery is available for our littlest friends, age 3 and under.
Children’s Chapel is open to everyone — whether you’ve been part of Community UMC for years or are visiting for the very first time. If this is your first visit, please stop by the Welcome Desk before worship to check in your child and share a little information with us so we can care for them well.
This special Lent experience is meant to enrich the season, helping children connect with the Good News in meaningful, age-appropriate, and joy-filled ways. We can’t wait to share this journey with your children — and we promise they’ll leave with happy hearts and big smiles.
