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I've heard that it's been a few years since West Side Church had it's own Good Friday worship service. So I was excited when Jacob approached me with the news that he is currently friends with a fellow UM student who had composed a musical piece intended for Good Friday! I have included Zan Huang's inspiration for his composition below. Our Good Friday service on March 29 at 6:30pm will also be unique because we will begin by sharing in Holy Communion. In lieu of holding a Maundy Thursday service, our Friday worship experience will follow Jesus and the disciples from their last supper, onto the Garden of Gethsemane, and then to Calvary and the Cross. Please join us!
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​The initial idea for this piece came to me when I was standing in the Detroit Institute of Art atrium containing the Diego Rivera Mural. The endless depth of workers layered like a renaissance painting, the birds juxtaposed next to planes, the hands growing from mountainous rock, the human child cradling in the earth whose roots grew into the industrial instilled this profound spiritual experience where technology and nature were, to me, finally unveiled as one being. Rivera says that we are natural, and thus the instruments of our own hand are natural processes. I was entirely awestruck by this work and I couldn't help but stand in the room for 45 minutes taking it in as much as I could.

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I feel that the story of creation, of crucifixion and redemption and the second coming are not linear events, but rather events that happen outside of time. It is at once the origin before time, the end of time, and also always present and happening. Every moment in time has its second coming that is always in the process of coming. If we, humans and the material reality around us, are necessarily vectors carrying out the divine will and the word (logos), then so is the second coming is wrought out of our own technology. In our technological process, we bring about both armageddon, salvation, and renewal simultaneously.

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What lies in our relationship to technology is something as ancient as our mythology. What we create and claim domain over have in fact already made a permanent claim on us beforehand. What we build is set in stone in the partitions and symbolic order of our souls and psyches. That also gives theology an axiomatic truth.

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And knowing this, what must have God felt when confronting the ordination that he must be sacrificed? What is on the mind of God when he enters Jerusalem? He must have sensed the past, future, and present at the same time. He must have seen Rivera's factory in the proto-original splendour. When Ecce Homo begins, the music must be both glimmering with beauty and terrifying. ~ Zan Huang

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On the way there,
Pastor Adam
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PS. AccessAbility Campaign Update: Over the next couple of weeks, you will be receiving a phone call from our AccessAbility Campaign Prayer Team. This call will not be asking for a pledge or financial commitment! It is a call seeking the prayer support of the entire congregation for God's provision and direction in making West Side accessible for all! We will also be asking if you have any personal prayer concerns that you would like prayed for by our team and pastoral staff. Thank you in advance for ungirding our AccessAbility vision with prayer and God's power!

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Please join me in praying for our Easter Egg Hunt to be a positive outreach for families with young kids. We have a solid elementary class, but we need babies and toddlers to find a church home here to keep the momentum going. You can help by...

1) Praying regularly for our kid's ministry and specifically asking for God to draw families with little ones to our church. Pray that volunteers will step up and help.

2) VOLUNTEER to hang out with little ones in the nursery during church.

3) Invite everyone you know with little ones to the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30th from 10am-12. Also, come to the Easter Egg Hunt even if you don't have kids and get to know the new families there.

4) When you see families visiting with young ones, get to know them. When I meet new people I try to ask the following...

* What drew you to our church this morning?

* What is your spiritual or religious background?

* What are you looking for in a church?
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Don't forget to tell your pastors who you met and what you learned about them. This will help us reach out to them as well. ​
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CHILDREN'S CHURCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We need your help making Sunday School happen! Please sign up here to help teach or assist with the elementary class or hang out in the nursery on Sunday. Preferably, volunteers help once a month, but if that's not an option for you, no worries! All volunteers are required to have a background check.
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SUMMER CAMP Did you know your kids can attend a Methodist summer camp for free? We have scholarships available and would love to help give students (elementary and high school) an opportunity to go to camp. Check out UMC Camps here! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want help registering your child.
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Samantha Tidball

Associate Pastor

Sermon Audio

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Our recent sermons are now available to stream on Podbean. Check them out if you missed them! They are also available on our website.

Easter Lily Donations

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Help celebrate loved ones by contributing toward the cost of Easter lilies that

decorate our sanctuary. Any funds raised beyond the cost of the plants will be

used for our Pastor’s Emergency Fund to help families and individuals with

food, transportation, shelter, and other issues.

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Please order here or on the forms in the welcome center and office.

If paying by check, please make your check payable to West Side UMC with

“Lilies” in the memo line. If you pay by check, each lily is $15.

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Deadline for payment and order is NOON on Monday, March 25, 2024.

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IHN at Alpha House News

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Spring is definitely a fresh, new season at Alpha House!

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Because of grants from MDHSS and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Alpha House was able to add 8 new rooms by renovating the administration wing at the Jackson Road location. The Ann Arbor News published a story about the renovations at Alpha House. You can read the article here . You are invited to an open house to be held on Thursday, April 4, from 2 – 7 pm so that you can have the opportunity to see the new wing before it is opened to new residents. We are also inviting all of our community partners and key supporters and will have refreshments available. We hope it will be a fun event for all!

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Also, in anticipation of more families moving in, Westside was able to donate $1,000 toward the purchase of a new industrial size refrigerator. Our congregation has been such a huge supporter of Alpha House through the years. And, thanks to you, Alpha House will be able to add more rooms to the only family shelter in Washtenaw County. Thank you for all you do!

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Westside’s Volunteer week is coming in May. Please watch for details in April on how you can help!

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Any questions, please call, text or email me, Ann Andraska at: yellowstonefun4@gmail.com or 734-751-7456.

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Get ready for another wild ride with some very interesting women of the Bible. We will begin this adventure on Wednesday, March 27th at 10:30 AM and finish the book on Wednesday, May 15th. We

gather around the fire place in the hospitality area and study a different woman each week. If you have to miss a session, that’s ok.

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This class is an 8 week class filled with laughter and discovery. It’s very informal and the discussions are lively. If you ever thought you might like to try a Bible study, but were afraid, thinking you didn’t know enough or you don’t have time for a lot of homework, this is the study for you!

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The book is available on Amazon for around $13 and I have found 4 used books that I have put in the office. They are free to the first 4 people who want one. Please call Betsy Doepken (317-437-0971) to have any questions answered.

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Prayer Concerns

If you would like to include a prayer concern to be listed in this section of our Weekly email, please email the church office with the name, and if you would like, you may add a brief description, eg. surgery, cancer diagnosis, death in the family, etc. This concern will be listed for 8 weeks. You can request the office to leave the name on the list for a longer period as well.

Andy Siddall (Tom Hams’ nephew)

Fay Cozadd​
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Church Calendar

To stay up to date on what is going on at West Side, check out our calendar.
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Please contact the church office to schedule a room for a meeting or event.

In Memoriam

Frank J. Siller​
April 30, 1930 - September 2, 2022
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​Nancy Brewer​
January 14, 1944 - September 2, 2022
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​Judith Oakes Fraleigh​
November 21, 1935 - January 18, 2023​
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​Edith Laura Semark​
August 18, 1934 - February 3, 2023
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​Trenna Elizabeth Garner​
January 8, 1935 - January 14, 2023
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​Carol Kreischer​
​December 28, 1930 - February 25, 2023
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​Joyce Weldon Clark​
​September 28, 1935 - February 27, 2023
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​Richard "Rip" Kinney​
​March 17, 1934 - April 21, 2023

Graham Robert Putnam​
​April 11, 1947 - October 31, 2023

Stephen Lacoe​
​February 10, 1936 - February 15, 2024

Marguerite Fisher​
​November 21, 1923 - February 16, 2024