Rector’s Note: Put these programs on your calendar this Lent-2.12.26

Lent starts next week with Ash Wednesday. (See the Lent page for times and details.) Personally, I like that this holy season gives us six weeks to sink into the practices that prepare us for Easter. That’s much different than Advent, where we’re wrestling with Christmas the entire time and have only four weeks to play with. Lent gives us breathing room, and its practices are reflective, tangible and self-giving.

Ash Wednesday gets us on the right foot, with its grit and grayness. What is it about this ritual that packs churches with worshipers and prompts people to receive ashes at train stations, even when it’s not a mandatory worship day? Maybe it’s because it’s one of our most earthy and honest liturgies, one that really reflects who we are at our most human. In these dark days of civic chaos, a public anointing with ashes feels like an appropriate act of lament.

The smear of ashes on our foreheads also reminds us that our bodies are made of the stuff of earth and will eventually become part of the earth again. It’s blessed grit, to be sure, a reminder that all that comprises us was called forth by a Word from God and is holy. In Lent we also tend to the part of ourselves that is blessed with eternity, destined for full life with God because of what God makes happen at Easter. For 40 days we nurture them both, the dust and the soul, because they are united within us as long as we are alive.

Still, tending the holy that God has baked into us can take some planning as we stand on the threshold of Lent’s 40 days. Modern schedules don’t automatically slow down for church seasons. Here are a few things to put on your Lenten calendar now so they are waiting for you when you arrive.

Gathered, Cracked, and Made Whole, An Evening of Prayer, Presence, and Healing. Saturday, March 7, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sponsored by parish Nurse Kristina Marchuk and the Pastoral Care Team.

This prayerful evening invites us to bring our physical and emotional pain to God for care and healing. The program will begin with Eucharist and anointing. Self-guided stations will include opportunities to make art, walk a labyrinth, enjoy comforting food and practice mindfulness. The evening will end with healing song.

Watch the newsletter for registration information.

The Montgomery Deanery Lenten Series, For Such a Time as This, Stories that Strengthen Us for the Work at Hand. Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. from Feb. 25 through March 25 at Church of the Messiah in Gwynedd, 1001 DeKalb Pike.

For the last few years, Montco Deanery’s Episcopal parishes have planned a weekly supper and reflection series, hosted by one of our churches and led by local clergy. This year the gatherings draw their themes from five of the Scriptures that are part of the Easter Vigil, strengthening us to be witnesses and change agents in these chaotic times. The sessions will start with simple soup suppers followed by scripture study and discussion. Here are the themes that the planners have discussed.

• Feb. 25, The Story of Creation. How do we live into the fact that we were made to serve creation rather than the other way around?

• March 4. The Story of the Flood. What does it mean to weather and start over after catastrophe, knowing that God is with us?

• March 11, The Binding of Isaac. How do we protect children, especially those under threat from ICE raids, in these dark and violent times? How do we listen for God’s promptings to respond?

• March 18, Deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea. How do we follow God’s prompting to step into places that don’t seem unsafe, especially when it feels like the enemy is at our heels?

• March 25, The Dry Bones. How do we move from a time of dryness and death into a vision of life and strength that foresees Easter resurrection?

I will be leading the March 18 conversation. And Suzanne Teleha will be coordinating volunteers from St. Peter’s to make soup and bread for the evening’s meal. Contact Suzanne at steleha@gmail.com if you’d like to assist with the meal.

Lenten Taizé Service, Tuesday, March 24, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Peter’s.

If you are longing for something to orient yourself to the quiet beauty of God’s presence this Lent, the Taizé service on March 24 may just be what your soul is longing for.

The darkened church is filled with warm candlelight. Periods of silent prayer are interspersed with group singing of beautiful, repetitive chants, written by the interfaith community in Taizé, France. Scripture, prayer and intercession round out the experience.

St. Peter’s has offered this unique prayer form for decades following a youth pilgrimage to Taizé. Dave Mosteller and Rebecca Fellerman continue to organize and offer this seasonal service of prayer and light.

There are plenty of ways to mark this holy season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Even the simplest of acts done with intention can be meaningful Lenten practices: drop off items for the food cupboard and Community Fridge; replace a lunch period with prayer time; attend Sunday worship a little more regularly; or stop by the weekday liturgy at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays.

If you would like to weave prayer for those threatened by detention and ICE raids into this penitential season, consider attending weekly prayer for immigrant rights on the corner of George and Marshall Streets in Norristown on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. I am making this a weekly practice that will include Lent. Perhaps I’ll see you there.