March 1, 2022
Beloved in Christ:
Lent begins right in time: in time for us to step back, recalibrate, reorganize our disciplines, prayer life, studies, work and sabbath time in order to live more fully into God’s time and God’s call to each of us to become the full person God imagines we could be. The arrival of Lent always somehow surprises me, but when I take a good deep breath and relax a little, I always realize it comes just at the right time. Each year our context is a little different – we’ve been living in a pandemic the past two Lents but even those two years were different in what we needed, in what God desired for us to know. This year, even more different, as we are able to gather in person and be with one another in relationship as we worship and study and learn, and listen to one another’s stories.
This Lent, we are invited to ponder how we as Christians respond to violence and war, as Ukraine remains embroiled in aggression with Russia. This question is not a new one for Christians as, in my lifetime at least, there has always been violence and wars somewhere in the world. With this war so new it seems right and proper that we begin Lent at Calvary with a Quiet Day, on Saturday, March 5, with the theme of peace, and a chance to explore through prayer, scripture study and response, journaling and discussion, where our hearts are and where we hear God speaking to us and calling us to be people of peace.
The day begins at 9:00am in the Church, and will continue until noon. There will be readings and time for quiet, reading responses and journaling but come when you are able to be here and you will be invited into whatever we are doing at the time. Or, stay for the whole morning and find a time of sabbath and rest in this holy space. Please bring your mask.
Lenten class offerings will also be available on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, as well as our usual online worship offerings and Sunday services. Let us journey through these 40 days together, discovering new things about ourselves and God’s love for us and the world.
In peace,
Beth+
