Greetings Friends!
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, March 5th, a time of reflection on our sins, seeking forgiveness, and preparation for the events of Holy Week and Easter. You may give up something or add a spiritual discipline like daily devotions. You may engage in the Women of Zion's Lenten Challenge, which raises money for a good cause - this year Mary's Shelter.
Bishop Anne Edison-Albright, Bishop of the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin, writes in a reflection on Ash Wednesday:
The power of receiving the cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday is in the layering: there is a sign of sin and death traced and layered on top of the tracing in water and oil of the promise of life, rebirth, and liberation from sin and death. On Ash Wednesday, we feel the full weight of the ashy tracing. It is a suitably tangible reminder of the reality of grief, loss, and death. - Reflections on Ash Wednesday Worship in 2021 - ELCA Worship
We received the cross of water and oil at our baptism. Over these next 40 days (not including Sundays), we will journey together, exploring topics that touch the hardest part: to be human is to carry the weight of our mortality, and to be Christian means accepting Christ's mortality. We will celebrate the joy and triumph of Easter morning, though first, we must sit among one another in the Lord's Supper and sit with Good Friday. Jesus' pain is real; we cannot rush past it, just like our pain. God walks with us through the desert but does not leave us there. Each Sunday, we will explore the Hardest Part: the hurt we carry and the hope we find inspired by the Everything Project.
On Wednesday evenings, after enjoying a meager meal of soup and bread, we will engage in conversation on a chapter a week from Adam Hamilton's book Final Words from the Cross. Exploring Jesus' statements like "Father, Forgive them" will bring us to discuss music, forgiveness, and much more.
The book for the Wednesday evening program will be available for purchase by signing up on the Church Bulletin Board outside the sanctuary. The cost per book is $11.29 through Amazon. The Church office will order the books on March 1st to ensure delivery before our first Lenten Mid-week program on March 12th. Scholarships are available for the cost of the book. Everyone is welcome to the conversation; each week will be a new topic. If you can attend one or two, you will not need to read the book to participate in the conversation.
I look forward to spending this intentional time with you breaking bread and diving deeper into conversations preparing us for the feast of Easter and Christ’s Resurrection celebrated on Sunday, April 20th.
In Christian Love,
Pastor Melissa Burkhart
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, March 5th, a time of reflection on our sins, seeking forgiveness, and preparation for the events of Holy Week and Easter. You may give up something or add a spiritual discipline like daily devotions. You may engage in the Women of Zion's Lenten Challenge, which raises money for a good cause - this year Mary's Shelter.
Bishop Anne Edison-Albright, Bishop of the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin, writes in a reflection on Ash Wednesday:
The power of receiving the cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday is in the layering: there is a sign of sin and death traced and layered on top of the tracing in water and oil of the promise of life, rebirth, and liberation from sin and death. On Ash Wednesday, we feel the full weight of the ashy tracing. It is a suitably tangible reminder of the reality of grief, loss, and death. - Reflections on Ash Wednesday Worship in 2021 - ELCA Worship
We received the cross of water and oil at our baptism. Over these next 40 days (not including Sundays), we will journey together, exploring topics that touch the hardest part: to be human is to carry the weight of our mortality, and to be Christian means accepting Christ's mortality. We will celebrate the joy and triumph of Easter morning, though first, we must sit among one another in the Lord's Supper and sit with Good Friday. Jesus' pain is real; we cannot rush past it, just like our pain. God walks with us through the desert but does not leave us there. Each Sunday, we will explore the Hardest Part: the hurt we carry and the hope we find inspired by the Everything Project.
On Wednesday evenings, after enjoying a meager meal of soup and bread, we will engage in conversation on a chapter a week from Adam Hamilton's book Final Words from the Cross. Exploring Jesus' statements like "Father, Forgive them" will bring us to discuss music, forgiveness, and much more.
The book for the Wednesday evening program will be available for purchase by signing up on the Church Bulletin Board outside the sanctuary. The cost per book is $11.29 through Amazon. The Church office will order the books on March 1st to ensure delivery before our first Lenten Mid-week program on March 12th. Scholarships are available for the cost of the book. Everyone is welcome to the conversation; each week will be a new topic. If you can attend one or two, you will not need to read the book to participate in the conversation.
I look forward to spending this intentional time with you breaking bread and diving deeper into conversations preparing us for the feast of Easter and Christ’s Resurrection celebrated on Sunday, April 20th.
In Christian Love,
Pastor Melissa Burkhart