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• Ash Wednesday—Feb. 17. A simple, soup & bread meal begins at 6 p.m.  A children’s encounter with this ancient holy day starts at 6:30 p.m.  At the same time, George Swank will play mandolin music as conversation continues among adults, youth and older children.  Worship in the sanctuary begins at 7 p.m.

• All-age hikes: Sundays, Feb. 21, March 7, March 21.  Meet at the church at 1:30 p.m.

• Kedren Crosby, a Manheim Township alumna and Lancaster resident, shares insight gained while writing her new book, Slowly: A Revolutionary Recipe for a Modern Lifestyle. Have you tried unitasking lately?  Luncheon & Talk, Wednesday, March 3, noon to 1 p.m.  Reservations required; tickets are $10. (see Lenten Speakers for more details)

• One Great Hour of Sharing—This is a day of celebration of the work of the United Methodist Committee of Relief, which connects us in a web of caring to people all over the world, including those affected by war, poverty, and natural disaster.  We’ll celebrate this on two Sundays this year.  First, on March 7, we commune together with an UMCOR leader who has many powerful stories to tell.  Then, on March 14, as part of one world-wide “great hour.”

• Shauna Niequist, author of Cold Tangerines, shares her often funny stories of learning (the hard way) to love Jesus and let Jesus love her.  Special event at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20.  Tickets are $10 in advance. (see Lenten Speakers for more details)

• Jan Groft, shares with us from As We Grieve, her recent book that shares her discoveries of grace in sorrow gleaned from her own life and stories shared by others.  Luncheon & Talk, Wednesday, March 24th, noon—1 p.m.  Reservations required;  tickets $10. (see Lenten Speakers for more details)

• Palm Sunday—March 28.  Special music helps us celebrate Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem.

• Holy Thursday, April 1.  A service of light at darkness begins at 7:30 p.m. as we remember the Last Supper and the passion story of Jesus.

• The Easter Egg Hunt—This event at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 27, anticipates the Resurrection and helps us to tell the Jesus story so that our littlest neighbors catch a glimpse of the good news.

• Easter Worship—at 8:15, 9:30, and 10:45, we celebrate this glorious day! Special brass music will be part of the celebration.

Our 2010 Lenten Speakers Series features three authors.

Shauna Niequist is the author of “Cold Tangerines.” She lives outside Chicago with her husband Aaron and their son Henry.  She studied English and French literature at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, and worked at Willow Creek Church for five years and at Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids for three years.  She’s currently working on her second book, “Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way.” Copies of “Cold Tangerines” have arrived. Copies at the discounted price of $12 are available  in the lobby. Shauna will be autographing copies on Saturday, March 20.

Lancaster author Jan Groft has written two books, “Riding the Dog: My Father’s Journey Home” and “As We Grieve: Discoveries of Grace in Sorrow.” The women’s prayer group is studying the second one.  For it, she collected a “generous outpouring of stories” that “affirmed the patterns of grace I had come to experience in my own times of loss. 'As We Grieve' was born of those recalled moments which revealed nine distinct possibilities for healing. I simply wove together the stories in an effort to pass along the gift of hope from my contributors to my readers.”

Kedren Crosby is Principal of Crosby Consulting, which helps nonprofits build capacity.  A Manheim Township alumna, Kedren has worked extensively in the arenas of urban revitalization, environmentalism, homelessness, affordable housing and HIV/AIDS.  She holds graduate degrees in Urban Policy from the University of Maryland and Nonprofit Studies from Johns Hopkins University.   Since skipping her Blackberry across Walden Pond in 2007, this Lancaster city resident has slowed down considerably.  In her new book, “Slowly: A Revolutionary Recipe for a Modern Lifestyle,” she tells, with good humor, about finding redemption in learning to Want Less.