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.

Blessed Advent

Blessed Advent! And Happy New Year!
Today is the first Wednesday in Advent (the 4th day of Advent this year, which started this past Sunday), and here at CtK folks will gather for a simple supper of soup and bread, and then for a service of evening prayer. Advent marks the beginning of a new year in the church calendar, and begins four Sundays before Christmas. During this season, we are invited to prepare our hearts and homes not only for the celebration of Jesus' birth, but also for all the ways Christ comes to us, and for the day he comes again in glory. There's rather a lot going on - and that's before we factor in parties, Christmas cards, shopping, etc.
So, come and take some time to celebrate the season and God's work in and through you this Advent. Take some time to ponder what (or who) it is you're waiting for; what you hope and long for; what is yearning to be born in your life.
On Wednesday evenings this year, we'll think about the four tenets of the Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All. Since we only have 3 Wednesday services of Holden Evening Prayer, the second and third themes will be combined.
The service is beautiful - piano, flute, guitar, voice, candlelight, quiet.
Come.

CtK hosts New Year's Eve Labyrinth Walk

Once again we have the privilege of hosting the Gallatin Valley Interfaith Association New Year's Eve Labyrinth Walk. Families with young children are invited to walk tonight from 7:00-8:00pm, recognizing that it could be a little noisy. Adults and older children/youth are invited to walk the labyrinth any time between 8:00pm and midnight.
Labyrinths have been used as tools for meditation and prayer for hundreds of years, in a variety of cultures. There's a famous labyrinth mosaic in the floor of the Chartres Cathedral (upon which the labyrinth at CtK tonight is patterned), which in the middle ages people walked as a symbolic pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
There is only one path in the labyrinth, so you can't get lost. Come and check it out as we let go of 2013 and greet 2014 with faith and hope.

Nearing Mother's Day

Tomorrow is Mother's Day here in the U.S. - "Mothering Sunday" was celebrated on the 22nd of March in the UK this year. To be honest, I like the sound of "Mothering Sunday" better, because anyone can be "mothering," nurture happens regardless of age, gender, or reproductive status.
The older I get and the more stories I hear, the more I find that for everyone who just LOVES Mother's Day, there's someone for whom the day just plain HURTS. Some among us have lost their moms in the last year, and tomorrow will sharpen the point of piercing grief. Others among us have lost children in the last year, and finding the energy to celebrate amidst tears will be equally difficult.
Some among us long to be mothers and are not, or cannot be. Others have relationships with mothers so strained that tomorrow serves largely as a reminder of brokenness, not harmony and joy.
If you find yourself feeling a little ambivalent about Mother's Day this year, it's okay. Rachelle Mee-Chapman has a great post on her blog which includes a variety of resources for dealing with loss and grief on this day of the calendar, and any day.
If tomorrow will be a day of great gladness for you, rejoice! And be thankful.