From the Pastor - February 2020
Do you sometimes yearn for a deeper or more meaningful relationship with God? Maybe life has gotten in the way or something has more or less gotten in the way of your connection with God lately?
Lent is the time in the Christian Year when disciples spend time examining their relationship with God, often in study and prayer and fasting. Beginning is about the 5th century, the church developed the season of Lent to both prepare candidates for Baptism into the faith and to prepare the Body of Christ to meet the Resurrected Jesus on Easter with deeper devotion and greater understanding. It is described as a penitential season, meaning that disciples take a deep inward journey, confessing our sin, seeking forgiveness, and opening ourselves to ever deeper spirituality.
Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life “…is a response to the question: “What does it mean to live a life in the Spirit of Jesus Christ?”…[It] doesn’t offer answers or solutions but is written in the conviction that the quest for an authentic Christian spirituality is worth the effort and the pain, since in the midst of this quest we can find signs offering hope, courage and confidence.” (from Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen)
I know it’s just the beginning of February, but Lent begins on February 26, and I hope that you will be looking toward how you will shape your devotional life during those important Forty Days. Worship will focus around the movements of the spiritual life described by Henri Nouwen in his book, which will be offered to each of you for your personal reading and meditation. (Please pick up a copy early in the month of February if you plan to read it. We are initially ordering 30 but will gladly order more if more are needed.)
I am praying that during this time worship will be somewhat different from our norm. Some of our worship will be experiential and deeply personal, allowing time for reflection and meditation and personal prayer.
I invite you into the observance of a Holy Lent and pray that your journey through this time will indeed draw you into a richer, deeper spirituality. No matter where you begin, may the journey take you to a new level of life with Jesus.
Blessings on you,
