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Dear Friends,

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First, a huge thank you to Marian Caldwell, Susan Fischer, and Megan Schwartz for organizing

the reception for my installation.  I am deeply grateful for the love, care, and attention that

went into such a joyful celebration.  And my thanks to all of you who contributed in so many

ways - whether you were cubing cheese, snipping clusters of grapes, setting up tables,

washing dishes, or offering words of welcome and prayer.  Your hospitality was a beautiful expression of Christ’s welcome.

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Lent comes upon us quietly, inviting us to slow down, reflect, and return to God.  It hardly

seems possible that Ash Wednesday is already just a few weeks away, on February 18.  This

year, as last year, there will be an opportunity to drop into the church during the day for the

imposition of ashes (11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.).  Our Ash Wednesday worship service at 6:00 p.m.

will include the imposition of ashes and Holy Communion.  Whether you come during the day

or in the evening - or both - you are invited into this sacred moment of confession, grace,

and renewal.

 

You will find a full listing of our Lenten and Easter services and activities in the weekly

worship order and on the church calendar.  I especially want to invite you to our Tuesday

evening Lenten series:  Faith, Repentance, and Creation  Care.  Lent is a season of reflection,

repentance, and renewal - not only of our hearts and lives, but of our relationships with one

another and with the earth God has entrusted to us.  Caring for creation invites us to confess

our complicity in ecological harm, to listen for God’s call to restoration, and to participate in 

God’s work of healing and renewal in the world.

 

During the season of Lent, we will gather on Tuesdays (2/24, 3/3, 3/11, 3/17,3/24) beginning

with a light supper at 5:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, followed by the topical series at 6:00

p.m. in the sanctuary.  Whether you are deeply engaged in environmental concerns or just

beginning to think about how faith connects with creation, you are warmly welcomed.

 

Lent reminds us that we are dust— but also that we are beloved dust, breathed into 

life by God’s spirit.  It is a season for honesty and tenderness, for reflection and 

repentance.  My prayer is that these weeks will be a time when we encounter God’s

grace in new and surprising ways, discover or deepen practices that nourish our

faith, and find ways to live more gently and faithfully in God’s world.

 

With much love,

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