We’re about to enter the season of Lent. Many people use this as a time to deepen their spiritual lives, to find ways to connect more closely to God and then, in the process, to connect with the women and men they encounter along the way. We’re going to be offering several ways you might consider to do that.
Sacred Spaces – One is to find the spaces in your life that seem sacred. It might be our sanctuary at Memorial, it might be a room in your home, in might be a place in the woods. Think of ways to use those spaces during this Lent to enrich your connection with God.
Prayer – We pray in many different ways, sometimes in sacred spaces, sometimes behind the wheel of a car, sometimes in a fleeting moment at work. We are going to be exploring prayer in several different ways during Lent:
Praying for each other: Consider committing praying each day for the people on our prayer lists in the weekly email or printed newsletter. Maybe pick one person for each day or pray for them all each day. Let your prayer not only hold them and their needs before God but also connect you with them. There will be a prayer wall in the gathering space where people can leave prayer requests and others can take them home for the week.
Meditation: One of the deeply–rooted forms of prayer in the Christian tradition as well as many other religious traditions is meditation. Ellen Reuter and Mary Ircink will be leading one-hour sessions on four Tuesday evenings exploring meditation, mindfulness, centering prayer and other methods for this. The series starts Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m.
Booklet – We have a Lenten devotional booklet from the UCC’s Still Speaking Writer’s Group in the niche at church. It’s called Heart Soul Mind Strength and we ask for a $5 donation for it.
Questions – Another theme for this Lent will be exploring our beliefs. Send questions about God, Jesus, Spirit, Church, life to Pastor Phil and he will look for ways to weave them into his reflections during Lent. You can write them on index cards at church or email them to him at pastorphil@memorialucc.org
Ash Wednesday services – Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
Night of the Lord’s Supper – Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.
Good Friday – Mar 25 at 7 p.m.