Faith features

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The 99 Experience: St. Gabriel Parish in Concord Township invites the entire community to pray, learn, reflect, and grow this Lenten season as we prepare our hearts for the Easter celebration. Please join for The 99 Experience, which features 31⁄2-hour videos that share the Gospel in a fresh new way, featuring nine of the most talented Catholic speakers in the country. Deacon Bob Grgic will present at St. Gabriel this Lenten Mission Series, The 99 Experience, on March 9, 16, 23 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the church. The community is also invited to join Fr. Josef Bozek for a Polish Lenten and Easter Traditions presentation on April 4 from 9 to 11a.m. in the Community Room. Please RSVP for Polish Lenten and Easter Traditions at St-Gabriel. org for planning purposes. St. Gabriel parish is also offering many Reconciliation opportunities: March 11, 5-8 p.m.; April 6, 7 p.m.; April 7, 11 a.m.; April 8, 8:45 p.m.; and Communal Penance, March 30, 7 p.m.; Sundays during Lent there is Night Prayer with Eucharistic Adoration at 8-8:30 p.m. in the church as well as Stations of the Cross on Mondays after 11a.m. Mass and Fridays at 7 p.m. Zimbabwe Mission leader featured speaker: The Zimbabwe Country Leader for the Zoe Empowers mission, Barbara Matsanga, will share this ministry at two Lake County churches on March 8. The vision of Zoe is to see a world where all orphans and vulnerable children become secure, healthy, connected, and able to care for themselves and their siblings. Zoe’s work is exciting, effective and it means that the children in the program will never need charity again. Matsanga will speak at Willoughby United Methodist Church, 15 Spaulding St., in downtown Willoughby; 440-942-9068) at the 8 a.m. service and at both the 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. services at Willoughby Hills United Methodist Church, 34201 Eddy Road, Willoughby Hills; 440-5859462). All are invited and welcome.

Walking Through Grief: Willoughby United Methodist Church will host a 10-week Walking Through Grief class beginning on March 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. The goal is to be the arms of Jesus to people who are grieving the death of a loved one and give them much needed tools, support, encouragement and hope in their grief journeys. Over 200 people have come through this program since it was started in 2014, and this will be the fourth class session to meet at WUMC. This class is open to anyone in the community. All materials are provided free of charge and there is no cost to attend. For more information or to register, contact group facilitator Cathy Schneithorst via cell at 440-477-2010 or email cathyapicello@ sbcglobal.net. Willoughby United Methodist Church is in downtown Willoughby, across from Point Park. More info is on its website at dtwchurch.org.

Lenten Mission Series: “Hearts on Fire; An Act of Faith, Hope & Love” will be presented by Rev. Thomas Dragga at St. Justin Martyr Church, 35781 Stevens Blvd., Eastlake, at 7p.m. March 8-10 with hospitality following. This mission focuses on connecting the

Call of Evangelization and Discipleship by focusing on the three basic virtues of faith, hope and love and what it means for us to find strength and nourishment in the context of Sunday Worship. For more information, go to www.stjustin. net.

Ashes to Go: Wearing ashes on your forehead is a traditional sign of penance worn by the faithful marking the beginning of the Christian season leading to Easter, known as Lent. When the only opportunity to receive ashes is in the evening, some of the impact of symbol is reduced since the time of wearing the ashes is shortened. So Kirtland’s Old South Church will offer ashes in the morning, and to make things convenient, in the parking lot. On Feb. 26, Pastor Ian Lynch will be in the parking lot along Route 306 from 7 to 10 a.m. He will spend a few moments with each person inviting reflection before marking the person’s forehead with ashes. This is the sixth year that the church has offered “Ashes to Go.” People who received ashes in previous years appreciated the opportunity that they might have otherwise missed. While some may feel that this demeans a sacred ritual, Lynch sees a different angle. “The church is not the building, or even the practices. The church is Christ’s love in action. This is a way that we can be church beyond the walls, bringing a blessing to people rather than waiting for them to come to us.” Sunday worship each week is at 10:30 a.m. All are welcome to participate in all the activities of Old South Church. Old South United Church of Christ is an Open and Affirming congregation in the United Church of Christ. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome here. Find out more at www.OldSouthChurch. org and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OldSouthUnitedChurchofChrist.

Football coach featured speaker: One of the area’s most successful high school football coaches is coming to St. John of the Cross Parish in Euclid for a conversation about faith and friendship — and perhaps a little bit about football. Coach Ted Ginn Sr. will share powerful and practical lessons on building relationships between cultures, within diverse communities, and how to be servant leaders. The free event will be at 3 p.m. Feb. 23, in the church, 140 Richmond Road, Euclid. Ginn is the founder and executive director of The Ginn Academy, as well as head football coach and head track coach of Glenville High School. He is also a member, deacon and trustee of The Historic Greater Friendship Baptist Church in the Glenville community. He will be joined in conversation by St. John of the Cross parishioner Matt Chinchar, who is an assistant football coach at Glenville and the college advisor at The Ginn Academy. The two will discuss their diverse backgrounds and friendship, built over 30 years of work on and off the football field, and their shared desire to save lives and souls, to help build strong young men physically, emotionally, academically and spiritually. This is an event where the journey of friendship is intended to spark a connection for all people of faith, regardless of denomination, race, creed or socioeconomic background. There are so many things that divide us but we are more alike than we are different and we are stronger together than we are apart. With candid dialogue, these men of faith will explore how all people can build bridges one step at a time.