A Word from Our Pastor
I’m glad I can share a word with you today. It is my honor to serve as pastor of this alive and growing church. I invite you to take an active part in our church family, and I will pray that you can become a vital part of our body of Christ here at First UMC, Cleburne. The more you participate and the more friendships you form at First Church, the more meaningful your church experience will be.
Please take the time to browse through our website and see what ministries can best fit you. Take the time to search the calendar of events or check out our most recent newsletter.
My Vision Statement As your pastor, I will practice a ministry style of servanthood and caring that will equip us to be better disciples of Jesus Christ through preaching, teaching, and pastoral care.
My current goals to accomplish this vision are—
--to lead in creating a vision for the future for our church
--to lead our congregation in long-range planning for ministry
--to reach up in worship by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ
--to reach in through teaching and make disciples
--to reach out by inviting as many as possible to share in our worship and ministry
--to be a servant leader and pray and care for those who are hurting
Again, I want you to know how important you are to this church. I pray that First UMC, Cleburne becomes a place that feels like home to you - a place where you can grow in your faith and find a deep, lasting friendship, not only with the fellow members, but also with Jesus Christ. I am proud and honored to be your pastor.
Dr. Robert H Herzig
Senior Pastor
Robert's "Reflexions"
(under Res Ministry) (and can you please put on Website so those links will be available from there?)
What is the Season of Lent?
Find the day for Easter on the calendar;
This year that will be April 8.
Count backwards 40 days from Easter,
But skip every Sunday.
Why?
Because every Sunday is a celebration
of Easter.
When you get to 40, if you’ve counted correctly, it will always be a Wednesday.
This year, that’s February 22.
Every year’s different because every year Easter is different.
Lent is 40 days;
40 days to prepare for Easter.
There are many ‘40s’ in the Bible.
It rained for forty days and nights
on Noah in the ark.
Moses was on the mountain for forty days receiving the Ten Commandments.
The children of Israel wandered
for forty years in the wilderness
before they entered the Promised Land.
Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days in preparation for his public ministry.
There are others, but all of the ‘40s’ have suggested a time of spiritual preparation.
Lent is 40 days;
40 days to prepare for Easter.
Down through the centuries, Christians have done something intentional during Lent to prepare themselves spiritually -
Reading of Scripture,
intentional times of prayer and worship.
What will you do during Lent
to prepare for Easter?
This newsletter makes a number of suggestions. During Lent, I will be preaching about Jesus’ walk to the Cross, “The Cross: A Journey of Hope.”
Lent is 40 days;
40 days to prepare for Easter.
The worst thing you can do is nothing,
And wind up wasting these 40 days!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Robert
