With March comes Lent, 40 days that lead us from the solemnness of Ash
Wednesday to the joy of Easter. Lent is a time for reflection and prayer; Lent
is a time for preparation. Lent is not a time for giving things up; it is a
time for taking things on – taking on new practices and habits that will help
us grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
In lives that for most of us are too full, too busy, too hectic, how do we
find time for reflection, prayer or preparation? How do we find time to take on
new habits and practices that will help us to grow spiritually? The answer is,
of course, that we will never find time, so we’ll have to make time.
And the easiest way to make time is to participate each week in the
special offerings planned for Lent.
Begin by coming to the Ash Wednesday service on March 5. A simple soup
supper at 6:30 pm will precede the service at 7:30 pm. It is a solemn, somber
service in which we are called to reflect on our need to acknowledge our
waywardness so that we can know the joy of forgiveness.
Then come join Melissa Kirkpatrick and me for the five-part series we will
offer on Thursday evenings entitled, “Hungering and Thirsting for God”. Running
from March 13 through April 10, we’ll gather for a soup supper at 6:30 pm and
then have a time of learning and prayer from 7:30 till 9:00 pm.
It was the psalmist who wrote, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so
my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
We know we hunger and thirst for God, yet we try to satisfy our appetites with
spiritual junk food and empty calories, feeding on food that neither satisfies
nor nourishes. We’ll talk about spiritual practices that can help feed us in
ways that help us to know the “fullness that is God.”
We’ll end our Lenten season offerings on Maundy Thursday, April 17, with
our powerful, moving Tenebrae service. We’ll walk with Jesus as he and the
apostles gather for the Last Supper, and we will continue to walk with our Lord
through his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. There is no worship service that
is as powerful, as moving as our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service.
Give yourself the gift of time this Lenten season: time for reflection,
for learning, for prayer, for fellowship, for growing spiritually, for growing
as disciples. Make time and join us for these special offerings each week
throughout Lent. Come and participate: O taste and see that the Lord is
good. (Psalm 34)
Grace
& peace,
Pastor
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