Focusing on Prayer
Let me begin by saying I am so grateful for the blessings we received from this church family. It was indeed a Christmas blessing. Thanks to all who blessed us!
We are about to embark upon a new season in our Christian year. It begins as Ash Wednesday ushers us into the season of Lent. Normally we would have an Ash Wednesday service that would focus on the ritual of being marked with the ashes of last year’s palm branches as a witness to us being created by God and as a confession of our sinful nature against the God who created us. We would offer songs, prayers and confession that would lament our human nature and begin the work of repentance. It has occurred to me that we may or may not be physically together for Ash Wednesday. It has also occurred to me that the times in which we are living now offer us the opportunity to look, see, listen, hear, speak, say and simply do things differently. This brings me to the question of “What are we to do differently with Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent?
I am reminded that the pandemic has made us aware of how fragile human creation can be and the divisiveness in our country has made us aware of how sinful we can be. No matter what you believe if you are a person of some faith, I think we can all agree we need to pray. We may differ on what to pray about but we all agree we must pray. As I sit in this truth and think on how Ash Wednesday may present itself differently, I offer to lead us not in the ritual of Ash Wednesday but rather in taking a stance of prayer in Ash Wednesday. Psalm 51 will lead us in this stance of prayer. It begins by saying: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
Join me February 17, 2021 by zoom or Facebook live for our Ash Wednesday Worship as we set our stance for the season of Lent.
loving God heart, mind, soul, and strength
pastor latonya