Mark Your Calendar
- Tuesday 7pm – Women’s Missionary Fellowship (WMF)
- Apr 5 – Church Workday 8:30am-noon
- Apr 19 – Spring Fling Outreach 11am-2pm
- May 3 – EBC & Lake Norman Orchestra Concert 6pm-7pm
- May 5 – Pregnancy Resource Center Banquet
- Jun 9-13 – Creative Arts Camp
- October 17-18 – Marriage Retreat
Church Workday
Next Saturday (April 5th), the entire church is invited to breakfast from 8:30-9:30am, and then we will work together until lunch around the church. So that we know how much food to prepare, this Sunday, be sure to SIGN UP in the lobby. We will have some yard tools, but feel free to bring any supplies that may be helpful (gloves, rakes, trimmers, shovels, etc.)
Spring Fling
April 19th is fast approaching. We are currently collecting candy donations, and if you are able to help during the event, there is a sign-up sheet in the lobby (we still need a few more people to help with games).
Lake Norman Orchestra
Guess what? The Lake Norman Orchestra is coming to perform on our campus. Our music team has been invited to join them on stage, making this concert even more special. We want everyone in our community to come and experience this beautiful music together. Bring your friends, family, and neighbors with you! Mark May 3rd on your calendar because that’s when the concert will be at the gym starting at 6 PM (doors open at 5:30 PM). After the concert, we’ll have a yummy dessert reception where we can talk about the amazing performances. Keep an eye out for flyers so you can help us spread the word and make it a night to remember!
Pregnancy Resource Center Banquet
We have the privilege of supporting the Pregnancy Resource Center at its yearly Banquet. This year’s banquet will be on Monday, May 5th, and we need volunteers to help make this event truly memorable. If you can serve or would like more information on how you can help, please reach out to Amy Horton. Together, let’s make a positive impact in our community.
Constitution Update #2
The updates can be found in the church lobby. Please take time to read over them and share any questions with Pastor and the deacons. This month, we reviewed the articles of Faith sections related to Scripture and the Godhead. We expanded the Godhead section to more effectively speak about our triune God. We believe in and follow one God, triune in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Our current constitution was also missing a section addressing the Person and Work of God the Father so we added that in.
Nursery Schedule
3/30 – Amy Horton & Gloria Minson
4/6 – Lisa Giles & Gerri Lawrence
From the Desk of Pastor Tom
This week, I have a powerful and needed reminder for many of us. Below I am sharing an excerpt from Jonathan Threfall’s website and hope that you will read the full article.
The Religion of Wellness
“For all the people who are spiritual but not religious, what’s replacing organized religion?”
The question itself is telling. Even as traditional religious participation declines (though recent research suggests Christianity’s decline is now leveling off) people can’t shake the sense that reality extends beyond the material world. Something is out there.
But beyond being a revealing question, it’s an important one. And the answer might surprise you.
What’s Replacing Organized Religion?
Ironically, it’s new forms of organized, quasi-religion. That’s the claim (one I find plausible) made by the guests in the conversation: Alyssa Bereznak of the LA Times and Rina Raphael, author of The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care (2022).
Raphael describes the phenomenon this way:
“There’s almost this secular salvation of: ‘I will make myself fit. I will make myself well. I will make sure that I have all these incredible values about tending to myself.’”
And so, she continues:
“Wellness acts like a deconstructed religion. It’s a regulated framework instructing us how to live our lives. It dangles this hope—almost this salvation—that if you work out enough, eat right, and meditate, you’ll feel good and manage whatever threatens you. It offers the illusion of control. And especially when it comes to gyms, we end up fetishizing health and, I’d say, worshiping the self or the body.”
To illustrate this, the podcast played a clip of Peloton founder John Foley suggesting that instead of wearing a cross or a Star of David, people could wear a SoulCycle tank top as their religious emblem: “That’s your identity. That’s your community. That’s your religion.”
The Problems with the Religion of Wellness
Of course, there are differences between wellness culture and traditional organized religion. Many wellness practices don’t explicitly take on religious or transcendent qualities. But the parallels are striking, revealing Americans’ deep hunger for the transcendent.
Raphael—rightly, I believe—has serious concerns about this new form of religion. “It’s a false certainty because you will age.”
