One of the hardest things for a priest to do is to cancel a worship service. Even though it makes all kinds of sense to follow the weather warnings and Department of Transportation advice, it goes against my very nature to have to cancel the Ashes To Go and long-planned Ash Wednesday liturgies today. Safety, however, is key.

The positive side to this disappointment is that we will add the Imposition of Ashes to our two services on the First Sunday of Lent. We did this, as did many faith communities, two years ago when a huge storm put Rochester and southeast Minnesota in its bullseye, and when I remembered that, I also remembered what a positive worship experience that was, connecting far more of us with the Imposition of Ashes on a Sunday than normally can get to Calvary on a Wednesday. I even remembered wondering if we should always offer this liturgy of the Imposition of Ashes in some manner on Lent 1, not in place of Ash Wednesday, but as an offering of inclusiveness and hospitality to those for whom, whatever the reason, a Wednesday just doesn’t work.

And that line of thought has renewed a curiosity in me about how we at Calvary try to welcome anyone who comes through our doors, or visits virtually, with wholehearted hospitality and inclusive love. I invite us all, as we begin our own journey into a holy Lent, to be mindful of how we connect with those we know, but particularly those we don’t, here at Calvary and in our lives outside Calvary’s doors. God’s very nature, through the three-person Trinity, is one of loving relationship. How can we love like Jesus loves? That is one of the questions God has called me to live with, and act out in my life, this Lent. What is God calling you to examine this Lent?

With love,

Beth+