From the Pastor – March 2025

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
    it is fitting for the upright to praise him.   Psalm 33:1

              Lent is a funny thing. Since it is just around the corner, maybe we should chat about it for a bit.   Just like a snowball rolling down a hill on a warmer day, traditions in the church tend to pick up stuff and grow until they are unrecognizable from their beginning. Lent is meant to be a call to a time of intentional spiritual focus and growth as Good Friday and Easter approach.  We all agree that intentional work is the best way to bring about growth.  So, this Lent thing is probably a pretty good idea if we want to be serious about our walk with Jesus.

So, beginning with Ash Wednesday, the weeks leading up to Easter we call Lent.  It is meant to be reminiscent of the 40 days of fasting that Jesus participated in just before his public ministry began in earnest.  In the years since the middle ages when what we call lent came into thought, it has taken all kinds of forms.  Some congregations hold a midweek chapel
service and soup supper.  Some add a Bible Study or book study.  Some churches ignore it all together.

I am asked every year, what should we give up for Lent this year??  That is a fascinating question!  With a fascinating origin.  The practice of “giving something up for lent” started early in the middle ages.  The weeks of spring have always been the time of the greatest food insecurity for the world.  So, if feudal Europe, where everyday was a scrabble to secure food for yourself and your family. From that backdrop, “Our Daily Bread” takes on special significance.  Because starvation was a very real and ever present fear, community members and family members would choose to give up some category of food source as a way of making the food last longer.  The concept was, it I give up, say, red meat, then more members of my family and community will survive.  This quickly became a spiritual practice.  And, the practice of living more simply for the common good was born.

In the present day, this practice has morphed into more of a sacrifice for endurance.  I really don’t know how that factors into the worship of a God of grace.  But, what I think does make sense is committing to practices that bring new life to your spiritual journey or the others.  Attending a Bible study, daily prayer, serving the community  in a new way all seem to have similar echoes of the call to service for the wellbeing of others.

I will be leading a book study at noon Wednesday’s beginning at 12:15 on March 12th.  My thought is to have a brown bag lunch and share reflections from N.T Wright’s Lenten devotional, From Wilderness to Glory.  I would invite you to come and participate in a call to a closer walk with God.  Together we can lift praise.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Deters