Dear Church,

It is hard to believe that Lent is coming to an end and we will celebrate Easter this coming Sunday.

In many ways, this Lent was especially hard for our community. We are still without a pastor after many months. There are major questions regarding the future of the community and what things will look like moving forward. We are in need of so many things - money, prayer, participation, and encouragement to name a few. And while some of this has always been true about Hot Metal, it's also true that in some ways, we have never experienced this before. Never before have such pressing issues about the life of the community been so prevalent, and so concurrent.

We celebrated Palm Sunday last week to acknowledge Jesus' triumphal entry. Jesus fulfilled a prophecy by riding into town on a donkey, as a king. Yet, it was in a way that no one expected: instead of riding in on a war horse like Pilate, Jesus showed a different way. He presents two stories: one of Rome, and empire, and conquest; and one of humility, humbleness, and subversion. He asks us: what story will you choose? After the triumphal entry, Jesus wept because he knew what was to come. Yet still he followed God's will, even though it led to death on a cross.

At Hot Metal, we don't know what the future holds. We're not sure what's next, or what God has planned. But Hot Metal has always tried to embody the faith and love of Jesus. In this season of unknowing, we still want to do that: to follow God's call, wherever it may lead, even if it leads to dark and dangerous places - or even unto death. Still, we hold fast to our love and faith that God has us in the palm of his hands, and there is a purpose, a calling, a journey that is much bigger than us.

This Easter, may we have eyes to see and ears to hear what God is up to. As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus over death, may we believe that God is still in the resurrection business today. Even if - especially if - it's not what we expect.

We hope to see you on Sunday!