Dear friends,
Welcome to the season of Lent, the forty-day season in the church’s year where we are invited to reconsider and reimagine our relationship with God. Shortly after Jesus is baptized, he is sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. During this time, he fasts from food and takes the time to strengthen his own heart for the ministry which is set before him. And even though he is tempted to turn away from his purpose on several occasions, he returns from the wilderness steadfast in the path of reconciliation and healing that is his. Thus begins his adult ministry, which culminates in his suffering and death, but then resurrection, which we of course celebrate at the great feast of Easter at the end of Holy Week and Lent.
For our adult education series, Devon and I will be inviting our congregation to be Journeying Together Through Lent as a community. As of today, Shrove Tuesday, there will be online copies available of a small study with which the congregation may engage. There will also be a small book for the children in our Sunday School and their families, Praying Through Lent, following the Godly Play Faces of Easter series, and “Why?” in Lent, a book study for middle and high school students. For all three studies, each week in Lent there will be scripture readings, prayers, and, for the adults, a fast which we can share in. For Journeying Together Through Lent, there will also be gatherings during Wednesday evenings where we will go deeper into the weekly themes. Central to this will be our reading of an essay by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, “On Being Creatures,” which explores the theme of new creation and dependence on God, and which is the underlying focus of our Lenten study. By studying and fasting together, we will be able to engage in one of the central elements of Lent, that is, to participate in this journey together. And even if you cannot make all the services or gatherings in this season, these study booklets and our prayerful responses might help us maintain our connection with one another nonetheless. If you wish to take part in the Lent adult study series on Wednesday evenings, please email me for more information and to sign up, and download “Journeying Together Through Lent” and the Rowan Williams essay, both linked here.
I hope to see as many of you as possible at our Shrove Tuesday celebration this evening! We will then come together for our Eucharist on Ash Wednesday at 12 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., as we begin the season.
Please also read here the introduction to our Lent study by Devon, with the links to the three booklets we’ve prepared, and to learn more about our music and liturgy during Lent, please read Brian’s letter to the parish!
With love and every blessing,
The Rev. Edward Thornley
Rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist