Looking Ahead

Hello —

In this space I often give you a short preview of what’s in store for the coming weekend...but this week I want to jump ahead and highlight what’s being planned for Easter Weekend at Sherwood Park Alliance – Easter is just 3 weeks away!

Easter weekend will include 3 unique gatherings: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. On Sunday we’ll celebrate resurrection and hope. It’ll be a high energy experience where we mark the most significant event in religious history, the driving force for the birth of Christ’s church. It’s the worship apex of our year.

On Holy Saturday we acknowledge the ‘day in-between.’ As much as I love Easter Sunday, I personally identify with Holy Saturday quite well. It’s a day of looking ahead, while realizing what we hope for most...isn’t yet. On Holy Saturday you’re invited to an experience designed to connect you to that very real human emotion of...’It’s coming, just not yet.’

But what I want to tell you about most is what’s being planned for Good Friday morning. We’re going to cover the movement of Jesus toward Jerusalem and the cross in our current series, especially as we wrap it up on Palm Sunday. But on Good Friday we’re planning a service of lament. Every single one of us has experienced profound loss in the last couple of years. Some of us have experienced the ultimate loss - the lost loved ones. Others have lost businesses or opportunities. We’ve lost friends to relocation and to politics. Students lost graduations. Athletes lost seasons. The losses are many. Too many.

On Good Friday morning we’re going to grieve together, mark our losses and lament. Trust me, I don’t think it’ll be a downer, but rather, a service that’s about as honest as we can make it. I pray it’s a healing experience. Start thinking about how you’ll participate and who might benefit from an invitation.

Keep your eyes on Jesus and the hope He brings. God be with you everyone,

Greg Hochhalter | Lead Pastor

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Serving Opportunities at Easter Services

Help welcome guests to our Easter services. There are multiple roles, dates, and times to choose from. Sign up today and experience community through serving.

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As the crisis unfolds in the Ukraine, our hearts continue to break for the people fleeing their homes and country. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to Poland for refuge - most of which are women and children. In response to this crisis, the Alliance Canada has put in place a plan to partner with our partner churches in Poland to provide for these traumatized people. International Worker, Bill Finnemore, left for Poland on March 8 to assist in the refief efforts. To follow his journey and for ways to help and pray, please see spac.ca/Ukraine.

Pray for Ukraine

Join us as we gather togther to pray for Ukraine on March 30th. 

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Join Christians around the world in prayer for our Muslim neighbours April 2 – May 1, 2021. Follow together with believers around the globe using the Muslim World Prayer Guide that will inspire you as you discover and learn about the unique challenges faced by our Muslim friends. This prayer time coincides with Ramadan, which is a time of prayer and fasting for Muslims.

Prayer Guides will be available in digital copy and hard copy. Hard copies will be available in the south atrium starting the weekend of March 26/27 or you can register to receive a digital copy. 

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If you are new or feel new, join us to learn more about our church. Discover how to get connected and enjoy the opportunity to meet others.

Pizza with the Pastor is a regular event we hold, as a way for you to meet others who are new(er), as well as some of the pastoral team.

We are offering two options for Pizza with the Pastor. April 10 is in person following the 11 am service or April 12 at 6 pm online. If you attend online we'll have pizza delivered to your house. 

Registration is required for either event.

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Come and join us for the next Senior's Connect on April 12 at 1pm! Miriam Charter will be speaking about her book, reGeneration: Stories of Resilient Faith in Communist Romania. Miriam is a former Alliance International Worker and the book tells about how God was at work in Romania in her time there and the lessons God taught her.

She also served on the staff of Ambrose for some time. Recently retired, she has a unique perspective on Ukraine having served in the Eastern bloc before the Berlin Wall fell. She keeps in regular contact with her colleagues in Romania and is sharing fantastic and tragic stories of refugees fleeing Ukraine and being cared for by the church in Romania. Register to reserve your spot.

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The public weekend gathering is no longer the front door - the digital presence and online experience of church is overwhelmingly our first point of connection with the spiritually curious, and an essential method for initiating and fostering discipling relationships within our congregation. Streaming online is more than a broadcast - it's a platform with which to nuture meaningful connections with online viewers.

The hybrid church is the new normal.

To help support this new normal, we are launching an Online Ministry Enhancement campaign. For more information please see spac.ca/online.

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