Lent Haiku

Last night, after enjoying their soup supper (and mac & cheese - there's mac & cheese every week for the picky-eaters club), CtK youth wrote some haiku for the season.
I got the idea from a colleague in Oregon, who writes a haiku, instead of taking a photo, but uses a Photo-a-Day challenge for his themes. If you're inclined to do something similar, post in the comments. And please use #ctkbozeman on any social media posts, so we can find you!

I just asked our youth to think about Lent and Ash Wednesday. Here's what they gave me:

Sin infects our souls
Dark ashes upon our heads
Death will not conquer
...

+ + +
I gave something up
Ashes are on our faces
We are all sinners
+ + +
We are forgiven
It's the beginning of Lent
Ashes to ashes

Lent begins - Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10th

Lent, the season lasting 40 days leading up to Easter, begins tomorrow. CtK will gather for a simple supper of soup and bread at 6:00pm, and for worship, with the imposition of ashes, at 7:00pm.
Let us pray for a holy Lent.

It's Lent

It's Lent. We're three days in already, having observed Ash Wednesday two days ago, with the solemn reminders that we are all, indeed, going to die; that sin is real; and that neither of those two realities is the last word on us. Thanks be to God.

 

While Lent may not be the happiest of seasons, I need it. I need the raw honesty, the reminder that I do indeed need saving from "weak resignation to the evils we deplore" as the old hymn puts it, and that I frequently need saving from myself. I need a fresh start. Again.

One of the downsides of Lent is how "do-able" it can seem - the invitation to embrace a discipline, or to undertake a "40 ___ for the 40 Days of Lent" challenge can make someone like me feel like maybe if I just try hard enough, and buckle down, and build up that will-power, I could keep a "Holy Lent." While I tend not to enjoy failure, I need that, too, especially during Lent, otherwise I'm tempted to make a god of my own good intentions and small successes.

 

It's a paradoxical season: Struggle with sin, and don't resign yourself to it; "return to God," to paraphrase the reading from the prophet Joel on Ash Wednesday. At the same time, recognize that you have, and always will, fail in that struggle. And that's precisely why returning to God (who never left us, by the way) is such good news. In Lent we are invited again to acknowledge that God always comes down to us, to our world, to the messiness of our hearts. And loves us. And takes up residence right in the middle of the broken, and weary, and otherwise hopeless.

So - pick a discipline (prayer, fasting, almsgiving, 40 ___ for 40 days) and embrace it with all you've got. When you follow through, give thanks. And when you falter, give thanks. You are human. You will die. And you are held, and loved, by a God who raises the dead to life.

A short explanation of the day and the church season upon us

Looking for a quick way to explain Ash Wednesday to your friends? Look no further than Busted Halo’s® two-minute video that describes the day which begins the season of Lent, and why Catholics and many other Christians(like us Lutherans) receive ashes on their foreheads.

Lent begins with a solemn call to fasting and repentance as we begin our journey to the baptismal waters of Easter. Now is the acceptable time to return to the Lord. During Lent we as a community of faith will reflect the meaning of our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. On Ash Wednesday, we receive ashes traced on our foreheads, to remind us that in our baptism, we were marked with the sign of the cross forever. The ashes suggest our human mortality and frailty. What seems like an ending is really an invitation to make each day a new beginning, in which we are washed in God’s mercy and forgiveness. With the cross on our brow, we long for the spiritual renewal that flows from the springtime Easter feast to come.

Let us pray,
Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!

You are invited

Our Lenten journey begins tomorrow evening, starting with a soup supper to be held in the social hall at 6 p.m. At 7 p.m. we will gather in the worship space for Ash Wednesday.

Come with an open heart and an open mind, as we are reminded of our common humanity and mortality through the Imposition of Ashes. Hear how we are called to be a community of faith, the body of Christ, through proclamation of the Word and the breaking of the bread.

I’ll see you at supper and in worship.

In Christ, Pastor Grant