March 2025

Dear friends,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I remember the first time I heard about the season of Lent. I thought people were talking about lint. And, I wondered what all the fuss was about. Remember, I was raised unchurched. I thought it wasweird that people kept talking about lint in the days leading up to Easter. The only lint I knew aboutwas collected in the lint trap that I had to remember to clear out before I could dry my laundry.


Then it got weirder, people were talking about giving things up for Lent. What? What in the world are these folks talking about? It took quite a while before someone explained the church season of Lent to me and why some people, primarily Catholics, give something up for Lent. After I learned a little bit about it, I tried giving stuff up for Lent, just for fun. But, I was still missing the point.

As you may or may not know, Lent is a season that observes the forty (week)days and nights leading up to Holy Week. Sundays are excluded from the count. It begins on Ash Wednesday, wherewe are reminded that from dust we are born, and to dust we shall return. The final Sunday before Ash Wednesday is Transfiguration Sunday, where Jesus and the disciples encounter Moses and Elijah on a mountain and they heard the voice of their heavenly father once again claiming Jesus as His son. From there, Jesus sets his feet towards Jerusalem to meet his fate on the cross. Lent
concludes with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entrance into the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Lent is a season of penitence and repentance, during this time we are to realign our focus on our relationship with God. Consider the season of Lent to be a Revival of sorts. We are to examine the ways we are walking in our discipleship, how we are living out the teachings of Jesus, and how we are treating one another. As Jesus starts his path toward the cross, so too should we consider how we are daily taking up our cross and following him.


During this Lenten season, take some time to reflect on your relationship with God and how you follow Jesus on a daily basis. I’m not saying that you need to give up something for Lent, but as a faith practice, I would challenge you to try it. If you’ve never done it before, give it a shot. You might like it! And, don’t give up something trivial. I had a friend who said she gave up bungee jumping and sky diving every year for Lent. How clever… No, perhaps Lent could be a season for you to give up a bad habit, you could give up something unhealthy, you could give up something that separates you from God, you could give up something that distracts you from time with God. Do you see where I’m
going here? During this season of Lent, consider thinking less about yourself and more about your relationship with God and God’s people.

And, don’t forget, every Wednesday during Lent we’ll be gathering with our friends from HTLC, Grace Episcopal, First Pres, Saint Andrew, Community of Hope, and Hazelwood at various locations for lunch at 12:30pm with some book discussion and conversation afterwards. We will be reading Word by Word by Marilyn McEntyre. There’s an idea of something you could give up, your Wednesdays. Give up your usual Wednesday lunch time in exchange for spending time in prayer and fellowship with one another.


Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Robert