Beloved Friends-
In less than two weeks we will begin another season of Lent. Lent has been described as a 40-day wilderness journey in which we are invited to engage in the serious spiritual practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer. It is also a church season that so well matches the season we find when we step outside into the once again cold air and see the barrenness of the landscape; both inside and out these parallel seasons can easily be equated with emptiness, loneliness, and an aching or yearning of the soul. For some Lent is an invitation of disciplined purging if you will, a time to rid ourselves of all the things we have let get in the way of our relationship to and with God. And while I see and have experienced the value for that type of discipline, I am going to also ask us to consider another invitation. This year I am asking that we remember we are made in the image of God and therefore good; in fact, very good. Let me explain.
This year’s theme for Lent will be “Made for Goodness.” I will be preaching a sermon series using the gospel texts assigned for each week alongside a beautiful book of the same name written by Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu. Written over a decade ago, I still find the words and stories they use to convey this theme so necessary for our journey as Followers of the Way.
During this season of thoughtful reflection I will be encouraging us to “repent” as it were in the truest sense of the word; to “turn” and face into a time of deep noticing our belovedness and the invitation to reframe old patterns of guilt and shame. To move into the heart of God requires a truth-telling which, as we will hear Archbishop Tutu say, starts by realizing we are made for something more- and that something more is indeed goodness.
Together we will journey into this time, asking for the courage to embrace the lessons God will surely offer as we make our way through the desert and towards the foot of the cross. As we start to return to in-person worship beginning with Ash Wednesday (while also continuing to offer Trinity@Home through our digital presence) we will surely find goodness in each other and in the God who loves us beyond measure.
Please explore all the Lenten experiences we are excited to offer this year including:
Ash Wednesday– 11:30-1:00 Drop-in to receive prayers and ashes
7:00pm Trinity@Home
7:00pm Trinity@316 Eucharist
Sunday services: 9:00 Trinity@Home, 10:00 Trinity@316
Episcopal 101 Series: 3 Sunday 1:00-2:00 conversations (March 6, 13 & 20)
Wednesday Lenten Concert Series: Wednesdays at 7:30 we will welcome different artists
Seeing is Believing Photography Workshops: 5 Saturdays March 5- April 2 (in-person or zoom)
May you never forget that you are loved.
Lisa