Invitations for Lent

February 21, 2020 • by Gregg DeMey

The Season of Lent is almost upon us. It begins next week on “Ash Wednesday” and continues for 40 days through Holy Week in early April, all the way to Easter Sunday morning. The church has long observed this spiritual season in order to refocus our vision on Jesus himself, to remember his great love for us, and to renew our commitment to be all in as we follow him.

To help us refocus, remember and renew, you are invited to enter into Lent in the following ways:

• Come to an Ash Wednesday worship service on February 26.
  We will hold four short, 20-minute services throughout the day (6:30AM, 8:30AM, 12:30PM, 6:30PM) that will include music, a time for quiet prayer, and the imposition of ashes to symbolize our desire to turn back to God. Caryn Rivaneiera will guide us through a meditation on Scripture. Pastor Gregg will lead us in music. We’ll all leave marked with ash-drawn crosses on our foreheads to symbolically walk with Jesus into every corner of the world.

• Change up the way you eat for Lent as an act of prayer.
  Many of us consider "giving something up for Lent." This year, we're inviting 100 people to "give up" two of their three daily meals each Wednesday in Lent (March 4 through April 5) and substitute simple meals similar to what we'll be packing through Feed My Starving Children. Click HERE to sign up.
  
  If this sounds too easy, we’re also inviting 20 people to replace two of their three daily meals for six days a week (feast on Sunday!) through the entirety of Lent.
  
  A couple words of caution: This is not a diet plan. It’s a spiritual exercise! If you don’t readily know if this would work for you and want to participate, please consult your physician. We don’t score extra points with God by suffering physically. The goal of this spiritual exercise is twofold:
  - To allow the days of simple food preparation to inspire us to prayer and meditation on the work of Jesus.
  - To deepen our connection with the physically hungry of the world, and the spiritually hungry of the world whom God alone can satisfy.

Where will the food come from? We'll supply you with these simple meals (free of charge or by donation to FMSC) which will be available for pickup on Sunday, March 1st.

• Pray and discern God’s particular leading for you.
  The Holy Spirit is infinitely creative. In your personal walk with Jesus, you might benefit from something totally different from the invitation above. Please seek God and ask if there is some specific direction for you to follow this Lent. It’s all about following Jesus. Walking with him all the way through suffering, humiliation, even death on the cross. Waiting with him in silence. And, yes, rising up with him on Easter Sunday.

As Christians, our little lives are bound together with the life of our Leader and Lord. Letting this reality transform us is what Lent is all about. God’s peace to you on the Way,
~ Pastor Gregg