APRIL 2026 PASTOR’S CORNER — (EXTRA)ORDINARY
Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 154. What are the external ways Christ uses to bring us the benefits of his mediation? A. The ordinary external ways Christ uses to bring the benefits of his mediation to his church are his regulations, particularly the word, sacraments, and prayer, all of which are made effective for the salvation of his chosen ones.a
a.. Mt 28.19-20, Acts 2.42,46-47, 1Tm 4.16, 1 Cor 1.21, Eph 5.19-20, 6.17-18.
We are a culture that is obsessed with the extraordinary. As Michael Horton writes in his book, Ordinary, “We’ve become accustomed to looking around restlessly for something new, the latest and greatest, that idea or product or person or experience that will solve our problems, give us some purpose, and change the world… Who wants a bumper sticker that announces to the neighborhood, ‘My child is an ordinary student at Bubbling Brook Elementary’?”1 We chase after “mountaintop” spiritual experiences, launch mission and evangelism efforts that will “take this city for Jesus,” believing that the only way to actually make a “real difference” (whatever that means) is to do something, well, extraordinary on behalf of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. I have been wondering lately if we haven’t gotten the extraordinary ends that God is able to achieve mixed up with the ordinary means by which He goes about doing so.
In Reformed theology, the phrase, “the ordinary means of grace” refers to the proclamation of the Word of God, the right exercise of the Sacraments, and the regular practice of prayer. These are the “ordinary,” as in primary but not only, means by which God brings His transforming grace and power into our lives in order to make us into the new creations He intends and desires us to become. As Thomas Vincent explains, “the ordinances are the most usual way and means of conversion and salvation, without the use of which we cannot, upon good ground, expect that any benefit of redemption should be communicated to us.”2 They are also “ordinary” in the sense that there is nothing particularly outlandish or unique about them. The scriptures have existed in their current state for almost 2,000 years. The sacraments make use of everyday items — water, bread, and wine (or juice). Prayer is something we are able to do at any time, in any place; while formal and ritualized prayers have their place and benefit, we can also kneel down beside our bed at night. There is very little that is revolutionary, radical, or groundbreaking about them. And while God certainly works in other ways all the time, His most powerful, effective, and long-lasting works are done primarily through these simple, ordinary means.
What if the same is true for us — as individual followers of Christ, and as a community of people striving to be faithful together? What if our extraordinary God is calling us to ordinary faithfulness, day in and day out, through our regular getting-up-and-going-to-work-or-school lives? Tish Harrison Warren writes,
…what I’m slowly realizing is that, for me, being in the house all day with a baby and a two-year-old is a lot more scary and a lot harder than being in a war-torn African village. What I need courage for is the ordinary, the daily every-dayness of life. Caring for a homeless kid is a lot more thrilling to me than listening well to the people in my home. Giving away clothes and seeking out edgy Christian communities requires less of me than being kind to my husband on an average Wednesday morning or calling my mother back when I don’t feel like it.3
For the past several years, Northminster has not been able to do much that might qualify as “extraordinary.” We see and hear of churches around us doing lots of great things, which is great, but we’re left wondering if God is able to work through an ordinary church like ours. Perhaps striving to be faithfully ordinary is a calling that is equally extraordinary, and perhaps much harder, than anything else. Perhaps, through our ordinary but faithful worship, discipleship and service, our extraordinary God might do a work in us and our community that far exceeds anything we could ask or imagine. Through ordinary people, faithfully and purposefully practicing the ordinary means of grace, God is able to work extraordinary acts of transformation. And maybe, just maybe, that is a radical idea.
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. – Acts 4:23
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
1 Michael Scott Horton. (2014). Ordinary : sustainable faith in a radical, restless world. Zondervan. p.11.
2 Vincent, Thomas. A Family Instructional Guide. Electronic edition based on the first Banner of Truth ed., 1980., Christian Classics Foundation, 1996, p. 234.
3 Courage in the Ordinary. (2013, April 3). https://thewell.intervarsity.org/blog/courage-ordinary.html. Accessed 3/11/2026.
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APRIL 2026 MILLS’ MUSINGS — Grammar Schools
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News & Announcements for Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING – AFTER WORSHIP
The Session has called a congregational meeting for this morning, March 29 following the worship service for the sole purpose of correcting an error in the Pastor’s Terms of Call.
HELPING HANDS OFFERING – THIS MORNING
Each 5th Sunday, any undesignated offerings placed in the collection plates go to Helping Hands, a ministry of churches in the Madison Heights-Elon area of Amherst County to help residents in need. It is administered through Madison Heights Baptist Church.
HOLY WEEK SERVICES
Maundy Thursday, April 2, 7:00 pm – @ Elon Presbyterian
Good Friday, April 3, 7:30 pm – @ Northminster Presbyterian
Easter Sunrise Service, April 5, 7:30 am – Bob Mills preaching
Easter Worship Celebration, April 5, 11 am – David Garrison preaching
EASTER LILIES FOR THE SANCTUARY
Northminster is continuing our tradition of placing Easter Lilies in the sanctuary on Easter morning. The lilies are $11.00 each. If you are interested in purchasing an Easter Lily, a sign-up sheet with information form and envelope are available on the hall bulletin board. Please place your order no later than Sunday March 29.
MISSION FOCUS FOR MARCH: BURUNDI HOPE PROJECT
Our mission ministry for the month of March is the Burundi Hope Project. You may make a donation to this important ministry by specifying Burundi on your check memo line.
“LAST THINGS” SEMINAR – TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 5:30PM
Whitten Funeral Home invites you to a seminar at NEPC covering “last things” (Will and Testaments, Living Wills, Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, etc.) on Tuesday, April 28, 5:30-7:30 pm. Dinner included. See flyer for more information.
SPRING COLLEGE CARE PACKAGES
Easter and final exams are coming up! For the first two Sundays in April (4/5 and 4/12), we will be collecting items to fill care packages for our seven college students. Please drop off non-perishable items on the table in the narthex. If you’d rather not bring items, we’d also welcome cash donations to cover the cost of shipping (roughly $10 per box for the four out of area students). We’ll also have cards available for you to sign. See the April newsletter for more information.
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News & Announcements for Sunday, March 22, 2026
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING – NEXT SUNDAY, MARCH 29
The Session has called a congregational meeting for next Sunday, March 29 following the worship service for the sole purpose of correcting an error in the Pastor’s Terms of Call.
POTLUCK LUNCH – NEXT SUNDAY, MARCH 29
We are excited to invite you to an Easter potluck luncheon next Sunday, March 29th which will include an “upside down” Easter Egg hunt. The church will provide meat, drinks and bread. Please bring a side and a dessert. We look forward to breaking bread with you!
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED. MARCH 25
The Community Lenten Services continue Wednesday, March 25. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Madison Heights Baptist Church, with Rev. George Harris (from Madison Heights Christian Church) preaching. Following the service, you are invited to stay for a community lunch.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 10:00 AM
Northminster’s Book Club has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 in the morning. We are reading The Miracles Among Us by Dr. Marc Siegel. Please bring a food item to share during our meeting.
EASTER LILIES FOR THE SANCTUARY
Northminster is continuing our tradition of placing Easter Lilies in the sanctuary on Easter morning. The lilies are $11.00 each. If you are interested in purchasing an Easter Lily, a sign-up sheet with information form and envelope are available on the hall bulletin board. Please place your order no later than Sunday March 29.
MISSION FOCUS FOR MARCH: BURUNDI HOPE PROJECT
Our mission ministry for the month of March will be the Burundi Hope Project. You may make a donation to this important ministry by specifying Burundi on your check memo line.
HELPING HANDS OFFERING – NEXT SUNDAY, MARCH 29
Each 5th Sunday, any undesignated offerings placed in the collection plates go to Helping Hands, a ministry of churches in the Madison Heights-Elon area of Amherst County to help residents in need. It is administered through Madison Heights Baptist Church.
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News & Announcements for Sunday, March 15, 2026
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED. MARCH 18
The Community Lenten Services continue Wednesday, March 18. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Randolph Memorial Baptist Church, with Rev. Josh Beeler (from Madison Heights Baptist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 10:00 AM
Northminster’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, March 19 at 10:00 in the morning. We are reading The Miracles Among Us by Dr. Marc Siegel. Again, we will ask you to bring a food item to share during our meeting. Looking forward to another lively discussion about our book and many other topics that randomly come up. Feel free to bring a friend!!
EASTER LILIES FOR THE SANCTUARY
Northminster is continuing our tradition of placing Easter Lilies in the sanctuary on Easter morning. Northminster members and friends may provide an Easter lily in honor of, or in memory of, a loved one. These lilies will be in the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 5 and you may take one home after the Easter service. The lilies will be $11.00each this year. If you are interested in purchasing an Easter Lily this year a sign-up sheet with information form and envelope are available on the hall bulletin board. Please place envelope with form and money in the offering plate or forward to the church office no later than Sunday March 29.
MISSION FOCUS FOR MARCH: BURUNDI HOPE PROJECT
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News & Announcements for Sunday, March 8, 2026
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED. MARCH 11
The Community Lenten Services continue Wednesday, March 4. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Rose Chapel Baptist Church, with Rev. Derik Hamby (from Randolph Memorial Baptist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 10:00 AM
Northminster’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, March 19 at 10:00 in the morning. We are reading The Miracles Among Us by Dr. Marc Siegel. Again, we will ask you to bring a food item to share during our meeting. Looking forward to another lively discussion about our book and many other topics that randomly come up. Feel free to bring a friend!!
EASTER LILIES FOR THE SANCTUARY
Northminster is continuing our tradition of placing Easter Lilies in the sanctuary on Easter morning. Northminster members and friends may provide an Easter lily in honor of, or in memory of, a loved one. These lilies will be in the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 5 and you may take one home after the Easter service. The lilies will be $11.00each this year. If you are interested in purchasing an Easter Lily this year a sign-up sheet with information form and envelope are available on the hall bulletin board. Please place envelope with form and money in the offering plate or forward to the church office no later than Sunday March 29.
MISSION FOCUS FOR MARCH: BURUNDI HOPE PROJECT
Our mission ministry for the month of March will be the Burundi Hope Project established by Mark and Susan May. The work of Burundi Hope includes schools for deaf and blind students, a fish farm, sewing center, chicken business, church support, and training for pastors and teachers. You may make a donation to this important ministry by specifying Burundi on your check memo line.
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News & Announcements for Sunday, March 1, 2026
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED. MARCH 4
The Community Lenten Services continue Wednesday, March 4. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Northminster EPC, with Rev. Matthew Heckman (from Amelon United Methodist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.
WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY – TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 3:30 PM
Women’s Bible Study will be meeting on Tuesday, March 3 from 3:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon. We are using the book, “Sermon on the Mount” by Jan Wilkin. Homework is to read and answer questions for week 5, “You Have Heard That it Was Said” – pgs. 62 – 73. Grab your book, your Bible and a snack that you can share with the group and come on over for an amazing Bible study. Come, even if you don’t get your homework completed. As always, bring a friend. Any questions, talk to Karey or Sharon.
MISSION FOCUS FOR MARCH: BURUNDI HOPE PROJECT
Our mission ministry for the month of March will be the Burundi Hope Project established by Mark and Susan May. The work of Burundi Hope includes schools for deaf and blind students, a fish farm, sewing center, chicken business, church support, and training for pastors and teachers. You may make a donation to this important ministry by specifying Burundi on your check memo line.
EASTER LILIES FOR THE SANCTUARY
Northminster is continuing our tradition of placing Easter Lilies in the sanctuary on Easter morning. Northminster members and friends may provide an Easter lily in honor of, or in memory of, a loved one. These lilies will be in the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, April 5 and you may take one home after the Easter service. The lilies will be $11.00each this year. If you are interested in purchasing an Easter Lily this year a sign-up sheet with information form and envelope are available on the hall bulletin board. Please place envelope with form and money in the offering plate or forward to the church office no later than Sunday March 29.
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MARCH 2026 PASTOR’S CORNER — SPIRITUAL PATHWAYS
“This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
— Jer. 6:16
We just wrapped up our Epiphany series on the Aaronic Blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. Through that series, we found that many of our presumptions about how blessing works were turned upside down. We view blessing as transactional — drop your quarter of obedience or good behavior into the vending machine, and God will dispense blessing in your life. Yet God gives the blessing before the people earn it (in fact, He gives it to them while they are rejecting Him!). If we want to keep God’s face turned toward us, we have to make sure we don’t mess up and disappoint Him. But we saw that what God wants from us is for us to rest in Him, to turn our faces toward His face, to listen to what He has to say to us. It seems that God is much more interested in our “being” rather than our “doing.”
I’ve often thought it somewhat ironic how hard it is for us to “be” in Christ. It is just so much easier to “do” for Jesus rather than “be” in or with Him. And yet, we are human beings, not human doings. Back to blessings for a moment, as an example: God blesses us not because of what we have done, but because of who we are. We haven’t earned His blessings, rather He has chosen us as His children and turned His face toward us in grace. We are His children, and so He has chosen to bless us. In the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ, what we do is meant to flow out of who we are, which presents another irony. It is quite possible to spend your life doing things for Jesus without ever being in Him, but when we focus on being in Christ, the doing will naturally and almost automatically flow out of it. Our primary focus as Christians should be, as we said at the end of the ‘Blessed to be a Blessing’ series, on keeping our eyes on Jesus and listening to Him. Simple, but not easy.
Of all the seasons of the Christian calendar, the season of Lent is most associated with the disciplines of the faith, particularly fasting. For many of us, we see Lent as a season of deprivation. Coming at the tail end of winter, when most of us have gotten sick and tired of the dark and cold, the church comes along and says, “Since you’re already miserable, you should give up something that brings you joy (like, say, chocolate) so you can be a little bit more miserable, so you can learn to love God more.” That’s weird, right? But that’s not the intent of Lent at all. Lent comes from an old English word that means “springtime.” When spring comes around, we get about “spring cleaning” — cleaning up the cruft and detritus that’s built up in our homes and yards over the long cold of winter so the new spring growth can burst forth. Lent is an opportunity for spring cleaning of the soul. It’s not about giving up things that bring us joy, but looking for habits that might have taken root that keep us from being with Jesus and getting rid of those things. In their place we learn new ways, new disciplines, that bring us into the presence of our Savior.
Over the course of the 2,000 or so years since Jesus ascended into Heaven, the Church has struggled with this and so developed a series of disciplines, of tools, to help faithful followers of Christ learn how to do those very things. Yes, there’s a third irony: being is more important than doing, so here are some thing to do to help you be. As Richard Foster explains in his classic work, Celebration of Discipline, “God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving His grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us… By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.” These disciplines provide something of a path toward spiritual growth, of teaching us how to keep our eyes on Jesus so we can listen to Him.
Through the season of Lent, we’ll focus on six particular disciplines: fasting — the pathway to spiritual nourishment; simplicity — the pathway to spiritual riches; fellowship — the pathway to love; worship — the pathway to God’s presence; meditation — the pathway to Scripture; and prayer — the pathway to spiritual intimacy. In addition to the Sunday messages, we’ll provide a study guide for you to use through the week to learn more and provide opportunity to being practicing that week’s discipline. It is our hope and prayer that as we intentionally spend time being with Jesus over the season of Lent, we will find ourselves living more of a life that reflects His love and grace into the lives of those around us.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” — John 15:5-8
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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MARCH 2026 MILLS’ MUSINGS — MARCHING ON
According to the weather-wise, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Or, to rephrase that well worn saying, admittedly with less poetry but with much more alliteration, March musters much meteorological mayhem.
At least in the parts of the country where I have lived, March usually starts out cold and blustery. As the month unfolds, it is not surprising to encounter snowstorms, thunderstorms, or even both in the same week. But, roughly coinciding with the arrival of April, the weather patterns generally become less contentious as we again make our way out of Winter into Spring.
This year, the month of March contains a couple regularly scheduled changes. On March 8, we solemnly set our clocks ahead one hour to enter into the mysteries of Daylight Savings Time. In 2026, each of March’s five Sundays falls within Lent, the liturgical season that leads Christians to the festive celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday morning. And if we turn the civil calendar ahead a few more pages, we will see that this July 4 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States of America declaring that it is not a collection of colonies ruled from abroad, but an independent nation.
Such temporal transitions bring to mind another cliché: Time marches on. Winter is followed by Spring. The seasons continue their cycle. Current calendars will run out of months and be replaced by new calendars with the same months and most of the same events. And as time marches on, everything changes. Well, almost everything.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, ESV).
The italicized phrase translates a technical term used in ancient Greek astronomy. It describes the shifting shadows caused by the movement of the sun, moon, and clouds across the earth each day. As James reminds us, God is “the Father of lights,” that is, God is the creator of the planets, moons, and stars, all of which have long been used to help us keep track of time. Time – the minutes and hours, days and seasons, years, millennia, and ages – is also part of God’s good creation. And all that God creates is under God’s control.
So God is not surprised when things on earth change. Changes in the weather or in a people’s form of government do not catch God off guard. Neither do changes in our churches or our families. At some idyllic moments in our lives, you and I might wish time would stand still. But we know it won’t. We know it can’t. Only God never changes. God’s nature and will do not shift like the shadows. The God who himself is light remains our one constant in this life, and in the life to come.
All of us know that some things will change for us this year. We may even know the date of the upcoming change: a graduation or perhaps a wedding. But there also will be changes we will not see coming. Some may be welcome, others troubling.
As we move into March and on through the rest of this year, let’s encourage one another to keep our focus on our God, “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
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News & Announcements for Sunday, February 22, 2026
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED. FEB 25
The Community Lenten Services continue Wednesday, February 25. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Madison Heights Christian Church, with Rev. James Braxton (from Rose Chapel Baptist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 10:00 AM
Northminster’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, February 26th at 10:00 a.m. at the church. We are reading “Twice” by Mitch Albom. Please join us on February 26th to discuss the book! Also, bring a snack to share with the group. Come, even if you have not read or finished the book. And, as always, bring a friend.
Coming Soon…
INQUIRERS CLASS
Would you like to know more about our church? Are you interested in the possibility of becoming a member? This class will give you the opportunity to hear about our church, the denomination we belong to, and where we see God leading us. If interested, tell Pastor David or sign up in the Church Center app.
MISSION FOCUS FOR NEXT MONTH: BURUNDI HOPE PROJECT
Our mission ministry for the month of March will be the Burundi Hope Project established by Mark and Susan May. The work of Burundi Hope includes schools for deaf and blind students, a fish farm, sewing center, chicken business, church support, and training for pastors and teachers. You may make a donation to this important ministry by specifying Burundi on your check memo line.
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