Maundy Friday Service - April 3rd @ 7PM

Join us on Friday at 7:00 PM for our Holy Week worship experience as we walk through the final hours of Jesus’ earthly life.

Our evening will begin with a Maundy Thursday–style service of remembrance, reflecting on the night Jesus was betrayed and sharing Holy Communion together.

From there, we will transition into a solemn and reflective service centered on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross, with readings, reflections, prayer, and hymns.

Come and prepare your heart for Easter by remembering the depth of Christ’s love and sacrifice.

We will sing these songs on Friday, April 3rd:

• “Glory Be to Jesus” LBW 95
  
• “Jesus, in Thy Dying Woes” - LBW 112
• “Were You There” - LBW 92
  

Thank you to the following people who are serving on Friday, April 3rd.

Greeters: & Ushers:  Wade & Dianne Freiboth

Keyboardist:  Kay Rossow

Reader:  Jan Rehberg

Communion Assistants:  Patty Brookman and Jan Rehberg

Stripping the Altar:  Shelley Bernhard, Randi Bloom, Dianne Freiboth, Chris Brookman, Stacy Hall, Fredricka Gilje, Mary Veis, and Jan Pedersen

Easter Sunday - April 5th @ 10AM

Easter isn’t about religion—it’s about hope. We will celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and relive the events of that day as we dig into the day’s events as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John on Sunday, April 5th at 10 AM.

Breakfast will be served starting at 8:30am, and our service will start at 10 AM in the main sanctuary.

We will also kick off a new series on Easter, “What’s a Christian, Anyway?”During this series, we will take a look at these questions,

• What does it actually mean to be a Christian?
• Is it about being a good person? Going to church? Holding certain political views? Something else entirely?
• How does the Nicene Creed guide us on the path of the faithful witnesses who have gone before us?

Long before Christianity became tangled up in power, politics, or cultural battles, early believers wrestled with this same question. In 325 A.D., Christian leaders gathered to clarify the core of the Christian faith. The result was a simple but powerful statement of belief that has united Christians across centuries and cultures: the Nicene Creed.

In this Easter season series, we’ll explore how this ancient confession tells the story of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and how that story shapes what it really means to be a Christian today.

Join us as we rediscover a faith that is rooted, hopeful, and bigger than our moment in history. If you are looking for a good book to read to accompany this series, pick up a copy of “What’s a Christian, Anyway?” by Glenn Packiam

We will sing these songs on Easter Sunday, April 5th:

• “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”
• ”I Know that My Redeemer Lives!”
  
• “Because He Lives”
  
• “Victory in Jesus”
  
• ”O Living Bread from Heaven“ 
• “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus”

 

Anthem: “Easter Joy” - Joy Adult Choir 

Thank you to the following people who are serving on Sunday, April 5th.

Easter Breakfast: Joy Members with last names A-G

Greeters: & Ushers:  Bud & Mary Veis, Lew & Karmen Hammermeister

Pianist:  Laura Haefer

Violinist: Trevor Ostenson

Reader:  Laura Riensche

Communion Assistants:  Laura Riensche and Jan Pedersen

Blessing our Community in 2026

• Adaptive Performance Center - $1000 
• Peace Lutheran Food Pantry - $1000
• Child Bridge - $1000 designated for work in Yellowstone County
• CLDI - $2000 (with half of that earmarked for women’s alcoholism)
• Trinity Lutheran School  - $1000 (scholarships)
• Luther’s Lodge  - $1429 for renovation of 1st English Lutheran Church.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities to Serve

There’s a Missional Community waiting for YOU -  We have Missional Communities for people who want to encourage each other and integrate faith and life. If you are interested or have questions, you can talk with our pastor.

We partner with Tumbleweed  to provide a hot lunch for 60-75 youth and young adults at least once a month. Tumbleweed provides safety, assistance, and hope to our community’s vulnerable and homeless youth, creating lasting life changes. If you are interested in this opportunity, let us know.

Here are some other ways we serve the Billings community:

• Cookie Drive for Tumbleweed (February)
• Mother's Day Diaper Drive for Family Promise (May)
• School Supplies for Ponderosa Elementary (August)
• Clothing Drive for Tumbleweed (October)
• Christmas Eve Offering is given to a local non-profit (December)

Prayer Requests? Joy has a team that gathers for prayer twice a month. Additionally, we pray for our prayer list regularly between those times. If you or someone you know needs prayers, please let us know. All prayer requests are kept confidential. You can either:

• Connect with a member of the prayer ministry team (Mary Ann Hall, Deb Lane, Diane Summers, Carol Wahl, Jan Wolf, Dave Hall),
• Call or email the church office
• Or submit a prayer and let us know  “How Can We Pray For You?”

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. - James 5:16