Dear friends,
On February 18, a dozen members and friends gathered in a circle in the sanctuary for our Ash Wednesday service. We reflected on the biblical story of the prophet Elijah and the unnamed widow of Zarepheth – two people from different contexts who were hungry, tired, and despairing. We named the reality of times when we too are hungry, tired and despairing. We also named the promise of our faith, lifted up in that story: when we come together, seeking nourishment, helping one another, we are blessed by the miracle of God’s abundance. We are nourished. We become a community, however small, that nourishes.
Our Ash Wednesday service set the tone for our Lenten season, with our theme, “Nourishing Community: Body, Mind, and Spirit.” Our theme emerges from our awareness of all that is happening in our lives, our communities and our world that leaves us hungry, thirsty, and depleted. We are called to live out the biblical promise, to come together to experience the miracle of God’s abundance. Our Lenten season is an opportunity to explore what that means and, even more, to practice it.
During this season, we will reflect on what it means to be a community that nourishes bodies, minds, and spirits. How do we share meals and ensure that our neighbors have enough to eat? How do we think more deeply about our faith in today’s world? How do we refresh our weary spirits?
We will also reflect on how we nourish our community life. How do we strengthen the web of connections that bind us together? What does it mean to extend an extravagant welcome and to value each person’s gifts?
We will live into this theme in a variety of ways:
- Through worship reflections, including dialog sermons with members of our congregation.
- Through music, including new choral anthems and special music.
- Through our Lenten Daily Devotional.
- Through opportunities to eat together, including a community soup dinner to nourish our neighbors.
- Through cooking together, including our soup group, which just made over 40 containers of delicious soup!
- Through an intergenerational project to make Easter bags for kids whose families come to A Place to Turn.
- With an Easter lunch for those who seek community on this holiday.
- As we challenge ourselves to collect 1,000 boxes of pasta!
I look forward to the nourishment we will offer one another in this upcoming season.
Peace, Debbie