Lent 2025

Lent is the season of reflection and preparation before the celebration of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days.

Scroll Down for Holy Week and Easter Services

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Lent 2025

March 5 ~ Ash Wednesday
March 9 ~ 1st Sunday in Lent
March 16 ~ 2nd Sunday in Lent
March 23 ~ 3rd Sunday in Lent
March 30~ 4th Sunday in Lent
April 6 ~ 5th Sunday in Lent
April 13 ~ Palm Sunday
April 17 ~ Maundy Thursday
April 18 ~ Good Friday
April 20 ~ Easter Sunday
April 21 ~ Easter Monday (church is closed)

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​Ash Wednesday Service ~ Wednesday, March 5th at
7:00 pm
The Ash Wednesday service is being led by our FISH Youth Group! The service will provide a time of reflection filled with poetry and music. Together, we will explore our cosmic significance and connection with all of God's creation. The imposition of ashes will be offered to all who attend.

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Lenten Devotional Resources
If you are looking for Lenten Devotionals, here are a few to consider ~

The Presbyterian Outlook offers a devotional guide for each week of Lent.  You can view or download each week's devotional or view or download the Lenten Devotional Booklet.

​Intro Week - Lent Begins
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
​Week 4
​Week 5
​Holy Week - Week 6

​Presbyterian Outlook Lent 2025 Devotional Booklet

PCUSA offers a list of daily readings for Lent - click here

Engaging with the Letter from a Birmingham Jail
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​Easter Flowers
Orders are being taken until Sunday, March 16th, for spring flowering plants to decorate the sanctuary on Easter morning. Each plant costs $9.50. Look for order forms on the back tables in the Sanctuary or submit it online here.
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You may take your plant with you following the service on Easter morning. 

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Adult Education Offerings for Lent

March 9, 16, & 23
“The Relevance of the Church in Modern Life" 
   in Westminster Hall
In this three-part series, we will be engaging in a discussion about the continuing importance of the church – our congregation, the Presbyterian Church, and the Church at large – in modern life. 

March 9 ~ Pastor Scott Hoffman will provide an overview and lead a discussion on the ways the church is changing.  How is membership and participation shifting? Which denominations are most impacted? Where does SCPC fit in all of this? 
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March 16 ~ Scott Kretchmar will put on his philosopher hat and lead a discussion about the limits of science and ways that the church and faith can help provide deeper meaning and direction in life.

March 23 ~ Bob Igo and Jenny Van Hook will lead a discussion about the basic human need for community, the rise in loneliness in the United States and across the globe, and how Christ calls us to gather as a body together. Now more than ever, what are we called to do and be as a congregation in the midst of these profound cultural transformations?

March 30 ~ “Fostering a Beloved Community“~ with Cam Richardson ~ Westminster Hall
This discussion continues the work of strengthening our commitment to our neighbors and our beloved community by encouraging a deeper understanding of how our political behavior can elevate and degrade.
 
April 6  ~ "Henszey Lecture Series Guest ~ Brian McLaren" ~ Westminster Hall
 Brian McLaren, our 2025 Henszey Lecture Series Guest Speaker will preach on April 6 and will offer a question and answer session during the Adult Education Hour.

April 13 ~ Palm Sunday Breakfast ~ Social Hall and Westminster Hall
Everyone is invited to join the Deacons for the annual Palm Sunday Breakfast!

“Connect"
March 9, 16, 23, 30 & April 6
Room 10 (we will not meet on April 13, Palm Sunday)
This ongoing weekly small group discussion is led by Zack Maser, Jamie Bauman and Laura Millard
Connect is an invitation to deepen your relationship with others and with God by contemplating scripture, lyrics, writing, poetry, and other topics of interest through small group discussions. This is meant to be a time to sit with questions without needing the answers, speak from the heart, pray meditate, reflect, and be changed by the stories and sharing of others. Anyone with a desire to Connect more deeply, whether you are a believer or unsure what you believe, is invited to join us. 
Come as you are to listen, share, grow and be!

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​LOGOS Musical 2025 ~ March 30
Mark your calendars for March 30th at 9:30 am. You won’t want to miss this Spring’s LOGOS musical, The Story-Tellin’ Man by Ken Medema. We’ll hear several of Jesus’ parables told through narration, music, and song.
 

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Palm Sunday Breakfast!
Once again, the Deacons will be hosting their annual Palm Sunday Breakfast on Sunday, April 13
Come to enjoy the free breakfast after the service from 10:30 - noon. The menu will feature the usual Palm Sunday favorites of French Toast with Apple Cider Syrup, Sausages, Fresh Fruits and Cinnamon Coffee Cake. The turnout was so great last year that we are adding an additional dining room and buffet line, so there will be plenty of seating for all - join us for breakfast and feel free to invite a friend to join the delicious tradition.

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Holy Week

Palm Sunday -
Sunday, April 13
Join your Church family for breakfast and worship!
With palms waving and voices raised, we will worship the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Come, bring your worship to the King!  Palm Sunday Breakfast follows worship.
 
​Worship is at 9:30 am.

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Maundy Thursday Shared Meal and Service Thursday, April 17 at 6:00 pm
​In-Person Only
Join us as we gather together to break bread, enjoy a simple supper, and then share the sacrament of communion at our dinner tables.  RSVPs to the church office are helpful, though not required.

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Good Friday Service - Friday, April 18 at 7:00 pm
On Good Friday we will hold a special Tenebrae service in the sanctuary. “Tenebrae” is Latin for “shadows” because the service involves a progressive darkening of the worship space as candles are successively snuffed out as the passion narrative is read. This is a contemplative service with multiple moments of silence built in for serious reflection. All are welcome.
 

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If you ordered Easter flowers, you may take them with you after the Easter Sunday Service

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 Easter Sunday Worship - Sunday, April 20
Celebration of the Resurrection

• 6:45 am ~ A Sunrise Service with Communion at Windswept Farm ~Bright and early on Easter Sunday morning we will gather outside at RE Farm Café at Windswept Farm to worship the Risen Son as the sun rises. All are welcome to join in this simple and powerful worship experience led by our youth. The service will be canceled in the event of inclement weather. Please come dressed for the weather—the farm does live up to its name!
• 9:30 am at SCPC ~  Come one, come all to worship on Easter Sunday morning when we will pull out all the stops to bring our worship to the Risen Lord! Come, add your voice to the millions gathered around the world to celebrate the blessed day as we unite our voices in song: Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia!
  
• 10:30 am ~ Exploration Hour with Coffee Hour, Pathways, Oasis and Adult  Education (TBD)

For the Sunrise Service at Windswept Farm
What to Bring: Please bring a folding chair for seating, and we suggest wearing warm clothing and appropriate footwear for walking in wet grass. We will be seated widely in a beautiful field below the gazebo. The walk to the field may be muddy if there has been rain. Please pray for good weather!

How to Get there: From State College, take Fox Hollow Road towards the airport. Prior to reaching the main entrance to the airport, take a left off of Fox Hollow onto S. Fillmore Rd. Go 1.1 miles on Fillmore and you will see the sign on the left for the ReFarm Café at Windswept Farm.

Parking: Parking is limited, but deacons will be in the parking lot to help direct you and squeeze all of the cars into the space

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