This week the Season of Lent begins. This holy season offers us the opportunity to know God better. Traditionally, we explore the adult life of Jesus – his teachings, actions and passion. These weeks lead us to God’s most profound, self-giving act of love in crucifixion and resurrection. Our Sunday worship theme for this Lenten Season is—Meeting God Again. We will be exploring the Epistle Lessons in the lectionary and learning from the thoughts attributed to St. Peter and St. Paul. I look forward to sharing these texts with you in worship…
The Season of Lent and Easter will also be a time for us to ‘meet each other again.’ This week, on Ash Wednesday (February 17), you are invited to drive through the Narthex (Sanctuary entrance) parking circle, meet your ministers, and receive the imposition of ashes. Ministers will be there to greet and bless you at the following times: 8:00-9:00am, noon-1:00pm, and 5:00-6:00pm. Then, on Wednesday evening at 6:15pm, we will gather via the internet (Facebook and Vimeo) for an Ash Wednesday celebration service. We will also be able to meet in limited numbers in the Carpenter Chapel during the Lenten Season. Any family or ‘safe pod’ of friends can reserve the Chapel for thirty minutes via the church website. You may use this time to walk and meditate the Stations of the Cross (devotional guides provided in the chapel) or simply sit in private prayer. Please limit your time to 30 minutes giving our facilities personnel time to sanitize before the next worshipers and giving the air filtration system time to circulate. We will also get to meet each other again on Easter morning. Don’t forget to put our early morning Easter service on your calendar. We will gather—masked and safely distanced—at Fluor Field at 8:00am for an early service. Our regular 10:30am Easter service will be broadcast from the Sanctuary.
This Lenten Season affords us the opportunity to meet God again and meet each other again. One of the hallmarks of each season, however, is engaging our individual self again. Make this a holy season. Take the next 40 days and commit yourself to reading a particular book of the Bible—slowly and intentionally. Choose a devotional book that is meaningful to you. Pray daily. Engage in a new and nourishing habit or release an old and damaging one.
Welcome to the Season of Lent; a time to meet God, meet each other and meet ourselves again…
—Jim