Pastor’s Corner – February 27, 2025
Dear Beloved,
Even though Lent begins rather late this year, I can’t believe it is almost here! The season of Lent (the forty days, not counting Sundays, from Ash Wednesday through Holy Week that gives us space and time to prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus) is almost here. It begins on Wednesday March 5th. The Lifelong Spiritual Formation Ministry Team invites everyone to stay after the 10:30 a.m. worship (or to come back if you worship at the 8:30 a.m. worship service) the Sunday before Lent for a light lunch and an informal chat about the season of Lent.
If you’ve had a chance to catch any of my notes this winter, I have been inviting us to take a gratitude journey of prayer and reflection as inspired by Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Today I’d like to rejoice in the gift of holidays, seasons of honoring, and seasons of preparation. Epiphany and Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr Day are my favorite winter holidays. I’m also grateful for this coming season of Lent. I’m grateful for Black History Month, Disability Awareness Month, and Women’s History Month. I am grateful for special months set aside to be intentional about learning, growing, remembering, and honoring in order to be mindful and grateful all year around. I would invite you to rejoice with me in all the people and organizations who help us grow – all the people and organizations who share stories and enable us to listen and learn. I rejoice that we as a community have covenants that help us stay focused on and committed to Jesus’ ways of embracing and affirming one another in the splendid diversity in which the Maker of the heavens and the earth designed us. If you’ve been learning something new during this Black History Month, I’d be excited to hear what you’ve learned – it will help me to grow, too. I rejoice in the opportunity to worship and serve with you, to pray and ponder, to cry and laugh, to be still and to sing out. Thank you for being you! You are loved and cherished by your church family and by God.
With appreciation for the journey with you,
Sarah
