Volume 4 Issue 1

• May the beauty, joy and hope that is Easter be yours today and always. Growing in Christ enters into its fourth year of cyber-ministry with its original focus upon “Easter and beyond.” To those who continue to offer their encouragement and support, thank you! It is hard to imagine that the practical role of theology in our daily lives could be any more important than it is now.
  
• While we’re on that subject, Dad called me last night to express his urgent concern for the issue of living wills and powers of durable attorney. His years as a pastor and as a chaplain for General Rose Memorial Hospital in Denver in his retirement had already given him reason to be active in promoting everyone’s need for these documents, but the extraordinary events surrounding the Terry Schiavo tragedy have renewed the need for widespread public action. As I become aware of legitimate websites addressing this issue I will post them in future newsletters. If readers already have knowledge in this area, please share it with me at: RevMAH@aol.com and I’ll be sure to pass it along.
  
• Now that we’re passing things along, the invitation to make your opinion known remains at standing invitation at GiC. There was a good dialogue beginning to take place early in the Lenten series and then I made the mistake of saying something about it. I will try very hard to treat future ‘comments’ as unmentionable so that contributors will feel more comfortable with resuming the exchange of ideas that is at the heart of this of this ministry. Also, please take a moment to “sign” the Guestbook.
  
• Until next time………Shalom!
  

Volume 3 Issue 24

• Welcome to this final issue of Volume 3. Volume 4 will commence next Sunday, Easter, as Growing in Christ enters its fourth year of cyber-ministry. For Western Christianity, of course, today is observed as Passion/Palm Sunday which begins the Holy Week leading to the faith’s holiest day. When I was in the active pastorate, this day’s observance was almost as confused as Easter’s. I found it interesting that our Book of Worship had this to say:
  
• It is important not to let the celebration of Palm Sunday crowd out the observance of Passion Sunday. The passion narratives in Scripture are highly unified and dramatic, and we need to experience the story in its wholeness before we reflect at greater length on its various parts during the following weekdays. We need also to remember that many persons who attend on Passion/Palm Sunday will not be in church again until Easter Day. Going directly from the lesser joy of the entry into Jerusalem to the joy of Easter, without being addressed by the passion and the cross of our Lord, misrepresents the gospel. There is no triumph without suffering, no crown without a cross. (The United Methodist Book of Worship, copyright 1992, The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)
  
• That today is also the first day of spring seems so appropriate. For those who have been following the daily Lenten journey on the ‘Sermons’ page they know that there is finally “light at the end of the tunnel!” It is not by coincidence that Easter is scheduled around the vernal equinox, just as it is not by coincidence that Christmas occurs very near the winter solstice. The symbolism of darkness yielding to light, of seeming death returning to life is nature’s powerful metaphor for the significant movements that take place in our spiritual calendars. You are invited to make GiC a part of your daily pilgrimage to the Cross and the Resurrection this coming week.
  
• I have been reminded that going into the ‘Newsletter’ and ‘Sermons’ archives can be somewhat intimidating, especially for anyone who wants to get back to the ‘Home’ page. Following these steps will hopefully make it easier: 1) at the upper right column ‘About Me’ box, click on the ‘View my complete profile’ link; 2) that will take you to a page with the heading ‘Rev. Mark A. Hanna’ where a ‘Contact’ box in the upper left column has a ‘My Web Page’ link; 3) click on the ‘My Web Page’ link and voila! you will be taken to the GiC ‘Home’ page where you can do it all again. Readers capable of putting these instructions into a more comprehensible form are invited to do so (just e-mail them to me at: RevMAH@aol.com) and we’ll make them available in future newsletters. As always, any comments or suggestions you have regarding the GiC content and/or format are welcome.
  
• Until next time………Shalom!

Volume 3 Issue 23

• This Fifth Sunday of Lent in Las Vegas is perfection! Any of you who happened to watch Sunday Morning on CBS today saw the glorious desert in bloom at Death Valley that Mary and I were privileged to see firsthand two weeks ago. All of nature is rejoicing in the sun and the rain as life bursts forth from where there was seemingly none. Thank you for inviting this Growing in Christ experience into your life for the next few moments.
  
• The Lenten journey toward Easter continues on the ‘Sermons’ page. “Technical difficulties” of various sorts affected the time of day that several of the devotionals were posted, but the “deadline” was met each day regardless. Those comments that I was able have been restored, and I once again thank Rachel and Steve for the new user-friendly format that I think you will find more receptive to posting your own comments.
  
• The second anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq is upon us, and GiC invites a moment of silence to remember the thousands of lives that have been lost because violent aggression once again was regarded as more “realistic” than the way of peace and love prescribed by the Christ. May God have mercy upon us for succumbing to the evil belief that such was the “Christian” thing to do. In addition to those found on the ‘Links’ page, readers may find the following links to be of interest:
  http://costofwar.com/
  http://www.iraqbodycount.net/
  http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx
  
• As GiC approaches its third anniversary it is with the prayer that this ministry is in some small way fulfilling the stated mission of its ministry: to bring theology into the realm of Everyman. All visitors are invited to sign the ‘Guestbook’ and to post their comments to the ‘Newsletters’ and ‘Sermons’. If you have found your time spent at GiC to be worthwhile, please share this website with a friend or loved one. In this way the ministry shall continue to be Growing in Christ!
  
• Until next time.........Shalom!

Volume 3 Issue 22

• Last week’s newsletter fell victim to a drive through Death Valley National Park. A few weeks back we received an offer from Toyota to buy back our 2003 Prius, and I think the reason we got 90% of what we paid for it almost two years ago was because it didn’t have quite 15,000 miles on it yet. Naturally it seems necessary to put more miles on the 2005 we drove away with (and you probably already figured out that Mary will be monitoring my mail much more closely in the future). The entire area has received record rainfall this year, and the desert was in bloom in a magnificent way that I won’t be surprised if we never see again in our lifetime. We’ve averaged almost 50 miles per gallon on the first two tanks of gas, and we have zero emissions whenever we’re stopped for traffic—which in this town is most of the time. The newsletter is coming out today partly because the other thing Mary said is not going to happen is a drive somewhere every week.
  
• Progress always comes at a price. Rachel (GiC webmaster) and Steve (Rachel’s fiancé) installed a more user-friendly ‘comments’ link at the end of each sermon and newsletter. As a consequence, however, any comments entered prior to the installation were lost. Fortunately, due to my hording nature (see, Mary, even bad character traits sometimes have a benefit) I saved a number of the entries made the old way and believe that I will be able to reenter them to their original locations. You need to understand, however, that this is the thinking of someone who is, at best, semi-literate in the ways of cyber-technology. Incidentally, you have already been introduced to two of the contributors: Rachel (our oldest daughter) and Steve (the younger). Steve (the elder) is the younger’s father whose acquaintance via the impending nuptials is emerging into a valued friendship even though we have yet to meet in person. Finally, many of you already recognize Earl as my father, and I am so deeply grateful for the wisdom and insight of over a half-century in ministry that he is will to share with this cyber-ministry through his comments.
  
• As always, you are invited to join in the virtual conversation that is taking place at this website. Whether it is ‘signing’ the guestbook or logging a comment, your participation makes this site all the richer for future visitors. My sincere thanks for every time that our ‘regulars’ extend the invitation to someone they know to visit GiC. Your suggestions regarding format and content may be directed to Rachel or myself and will serve to make this the most meaningful ministry possible. As Easter approaches GiC will observe its third anniversary and is looking forward to enhancing the theological quest for many years to come.
  
• Until next time…….Shalom!