Pastor Kathi McShane 

The Season of Lent Begins Feb. 17 – Ash Wednesday. Lent is one of those seasons of the church year that has never had much appeal in popular culture.  The image is of Christians dragging themselves around in sackcloth and ashes, feeling hungry because they’re fasting, looking sad because they’re supposed to feel guilty and depressed.  But it doesn’t need to look like that. Lent is one of those seasons of the church year that has never had much appeal in popular culture. 

Lent is traditionally a season of focusing on spiritual disciplines.  It’s a period of forty days during which Christians are specifically invited to practice some ways of living more conscious of the presence of God, so that when Holy Week and Easter come, we’re ready for it, paying attention, listening better to the message of new life.  The traditional practice of “giving something up” for Lent is about shedding from our lives a habit or preoccupation that has been distracting us from what is more important.  When we leave something unnecessary behind, there is more room for God in our lives.

But we can also observe Lent by trying on a new spiritual discipline that can bring us closer to God.  There is power in doing this individually, but in my time at this church, I have found the season of Lent to be even more powerful than I knew before, because we have taken our Lenten journey together.

This year, I want to invite you to do this again, in a different way than we have done before: by adding to your weekly schedule the practice of coming, each week, to the Deep Well of renewal and refreshing, thirst-quenching water that will be in our Chapel each Friday night, at 6 pm. This worship service is being designed to meet us at the threshold between the work week and weekend, and to offer what we need to fill us up again for the work of service that our faith calls us to.

As we approach this quiet and thoughtful season, we will reflect together on where we can find true, thirst-quenching water, rather than the mirages that are so abundant and that we are so often drawn toward when we feel ourselves out in the desert.

To participate fully in this Lenten journey, here are the experiences you’ll want to put on your calendar now:

• Ash Wednesday worship - February 17, 7:00 pm in the Chapel·  
• Traditional worship each Sunday, 10:30 am in the Sanctuary·  
• Deep Well worship Fridays at 6:00 pm in the Chapel, beginning February 26  
• Maundy Thursday supper and worship – Thursday, April 1, 6:00 pm
• Good Friday worship – Friday, April 2, noon and 6 pm

(Please note that these Friday evenings are instead of the Wednesday evening suppers of the last few years.)

I am anticipating this season with hope and excitement.

Blessings and love, 

Kathi