Beloved of God,

This season Philadelphia has seen some of the heaviest snow in the history of the region. Through all of the digging out and the inconvenience, God has provided for our needs and kept us by his grace. The storms this winter have been severe, yet we have persevered!! I thank the members of Mt. Pisgah for their flexibility in making necessary adjustments. I expect that spring, which is just around the corner, will be greeted with a mighty shout of praise this year!

We have entered the season of Lent, a season during which we focus on prayer, self examination, repentance, and sacrifice as we make the forty-day journey with our Savior to Calvary. Many Christians observe Lent merely by deciding to “give up something” during this period that they enjoy. While this sort of sacrifice can be an aspect of one’s seasonal spiritual commitment, it cannot be the entire thrust, especially if one defeats the purpose by overdosing on that very thing before Ash Wednesday and after Resurrection Sunday! The most important thing that we can do during this season is to spend time reflecting, correcting and redirecting:

• We reflect by setting aside additional time to pray, study the Bible and meditate on what God has done for us through Jesus.
• We correct by reassessing our thoughts, attitudes, words, behaviors, and life situations in light of God’s principles and, where necessary, asking the Holy Spirit to help us to make adjustments that will put is more in line with God’s plan for us.
• We redirect by giving more of our time and energy to God-focused and other-focused activities than to self-benefiting behaviors.
  

Additionally we need to remember, as is the case with all seasons of the Christian year, that our Lenten priorities simply highlight attitudes and behaviors that we should be attempting to incorporate into our lives all year-round. We should not only think about hope during Advent, or giving at Christmas, or sacrifice during Lent. These are things that we should be striving to do all the time! Special seasons simply remind us of the things that we should be working on.

During February we kicked off our 2010 Capital Campaign, with the theme “Thinking BIG” (Believing in God’s Greater Glory), and we are off to a good start. Many have made faith commitments, and the income for our capital fund increased significantly. We are well on our way, but we still need more to embrace and invest in the vision. In the next month a page on our web site will be dedicated to the campaign, and we are working on developing the
capacity to receive online payments. We praise God for your dedication to seeing Mt. Pisgah become what God has intended it to be!

March also marks Women’s History Month, during which we commemorate the advancement and contributions of women throughout history. Remember that even though men have received greater recognition, strong and courageous women were often the “wind beneath the wings” that enabled organizations, movements, ministries, families, and communities to rise. Where would the Civil Rights movement have been without the likes of Fannie Lou Hamer and Rosa Parks? Let’s continue to work diligently to ensure the equal standing, recognition, and compensation of women in every place in society.

Finally, the week of March 7-13 is the Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of HIV/AIDS. Let us continue to pray diligently for new treatments and a cure, and let us have ever increasing compassion for those infected and affected with this dreaded virus. God is able! Especially during Lent, let us be reminded that:

“if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sins, and HEAL their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Continue to walk in the favor that is yours through the grace and glory that belong to God!
Pastor Jay