This past Wednesday, February 18, at 5:00 pm, our congregation gathered at New Journey Lutheran Church for a contemplative Ash Wednesday worship service. Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of our journey into the season of Lent—a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal.

Blessings on your continued journey through Lent.

"Belonging: Five Keys to Unlocking Your Potential as a Disciple." Presenter: Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis, Professor and Marbury E. Anderson Chair of Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary. April 11, 1:00-4:00 p.m. at LIving Water Lutheran Church, Scottsdale.

Join us in Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters as we advocate for vital hunger‑relief programs; everyone is welcome to participate, and draft letters will be posted in the March 20 eNews and on New Journey’s Red Door.

Join the February 22 Pew Exchange as we welcome Living Water guests and connect with our NEVC partners, and mark your calendar for Maundy Thursday worship on April 2 at noon at Spirit of the Desert Retreat Center.

Join the 40‑40‑40 Lenten Challenge!
Hear Bishop Deborah Hutterer’s brief 2‑minute message inviting all of us into this meaningful Region 2 effort.

The Transition Team invites confirmed, year-round NJLC members who are interested in serving on the Call Committee for our next pastor to contact Kris Bartanen, kris.bartanen@gmail.com or Ron Bigley, bigleyone@aol.com. We seek to invite 2-3 additional persons to join transition team members in this important work. 

New Journey's transition report, approved by Council, has been transmitted to transition consultant, Pr. Dominic Palacios. Pr. Dominic will visit New Journey on Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, including Saturday workshops for council, transition team, and call committee; preaching on Sunday; and offering a presentation on the transition report and next steps to the congregation immediately following worship.

To read the approved February 2026 Congregation Council Meeting minutes, click here.

If you have questions, please contact any member of the Congregation Council.

On February 1, 2026, our congregation joyfully installed the newest officers of the Church Council. Please join us in celebrating and supporting them as they begin their year of service:

We have now officially entered into the season of Lent. It is a time or a season of our church year where we can ponder the significance of God’s love for us in this person of Jesus.

Did you know we have an online church calendar that makes it easy to keep up with what’s happening at New Journey? It includes our regular gatherings like Sunday worship, Coffee Hour, Pastor Tim’s Table Talk, and SewJourners, along with special services and events.

Welcome to New Journey, Nancy and Leif (pronounced Layf)!

We’re delighted to welcome Nancy and Leif to the New Journey Lutheran Church community.

Volunteers Needed: We are seeking one additional Council member and a few volunteers to help with Sunday worship livestreaming and PowerPoint. Even one Sunday a month would make a big difference. Please contact Cindi Brady if you’re interested.

There are lots of choices for accessing daily devotions, both in print and by email. For 2026, ELCA Region 2 (including the Grand Canyon Synod) Hunger Leaders have collaborated to write daily devotions from a wide range of voices, focused on Matthew 25:37–40, “Lord, When Did We See You?”, to arrive in your email inbox each Lenten morning.

We’d love to have 2–4 people join Kris Bartanen in visiting Ascension Lutheran for worship and fellowship at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 22.

Recently, Denny and Gwen Rubenow tackled the church landscaping, trimming back overgrown bushes, removing dead plants, and giving the area a much-needed cleanup.

The 2026 New Journey Lutheran Church Directory is now available! It’s a meaningful way to stay connected with our church family and strengthen the relationships that make our community so special.

We’d like to say a big thank you to all who participated in the listening circles or provided their responses via email. We held 11 listening circles and received 9 email responses. This is a total of 44 responses that we reviewed and summarized into common themes. This participation represents over 50% of our congregation members. Fantastic job!

As we approach the season of Lent, we are reminded of the importance of wondering—both personally and communally—what faith means to us.

Save the date:  Feast of the Ascension worship, followed by ice cream social, on Thursday, May 14. New Covenant Lutheran invites New Journeyans and other NEVC partners. Likely late afternoon time and details TBA.