This Morning: Accountable Leadership

Good morning Sacred Place Family,

We are spending the heart of this Lenten series inside a single night in the Gospel of John—the long hours between the upper room and the cross.

This morning the story moves us from the courtyard, where Peter stood warming himself at the wrong fire, into the interrogation room, where Jesus stands before Pilate.

Pilate asks, “What is truth?”—not as a seeker, but as a propagandist who already knows he won't stay for the answer. He is, as John would have it, standing directly in front of the Answer.

And still he walks away.

Most of us have been Pilate more times than we’d like to admit. Lent is a good time to sit with that honestly.

This Sunday

Accountable Leadership

John 18:28–40 • Sunday, March 15 • 11:00 AM • In person and online

Coming Up

Mission Sunday — March 22

Our monthly gathering where the rhythm changes. We think together, discuss together, work together, and let the doing be the proclamation—centering our pillar of Inclusion.

We'll be sitting with a heavy text: John 19, where the crowd declares “We have no king but Caesar”—and Jesus stands condemned before the machinery of empire. We’ll be asking together what true allegiance looks like right now, who gets marked as “other” by the powers that be, and what it means to stand with the condemned rather than the crowd.

This is also Bryan’s last Mission Sunday with us. He’ll be with us through April 19, and we want to mark these final weeks with intention. Come ready.

Holy Week + Easter

Palm/Passion Sunday — March 29 · 11:00 AM

Jesus enters Jerusalem not on a warhorse but on a donkey, while a sign above his head names the truth empire tried to suppress. We ask what it means to march behind a crucified king.

Maundy Thursday — April 2 · 7:00 PM

We gather at the table for Jesus's final acts before the cross. Communion. Presence. The completion of something that began in the upper room.

Good Friday — April 3 · 7:00 PM

We stay. We sit with what empire's machinery does when it finishes its work—and trust that God's story does not end where empire says it does.

Easter Sunday — April 5 · 11:00 AM

The tomb is empty. Mary turns. Jesus calls her name. We begin again.

Peacemakers, Not Kingmakers

Illustrated Ministry has produced a protest flag—made for marches, demonstrations, and public witness, and for flying at home—that says exactly what we believe:

Blessed are the peacemakers, not the kingmakers.

If you'd like one, you can order them here. If the cost is prohibitive, see me after our gathering or reply to this email.

I hope to see you soon!
Pastor Matthew