Blog:FOREST LAKE TALKS

This year the season of Lent begins early with Ash Wednesday on February 18th! Just as we prepare for the birth of Jesus at Christmas with four weeks of Advent, so also we also prepare for his death and resurrection at Easter with six weeks of Lent. This practice is very old and acknowledges how easy it is to drift away from the worship and love of God without practices that help us choose God on a daily basis.

This year, the staff has chosen, as our theme, Walking in the Way of Jesus: A New Way. Our hope is to help us think about following Jesus as a way of living, thinking, acting, speaking and doing. There was a song I once knew that had the lyric, “Jesus never said ‘Believe in me I’m the 2nd person of the Trinity.’ Instead, he said, ‘Follow Me!’” Following implies that we choose a path, a way to live, and a direction to walk. Following implies movement and change. That’s what I hope you embrace in these next six weeks.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, on Wednesday, February 18th. From 4 PM to 5:30 PM we offer a Drive-Thru Ash Imposition. The congregation and community are invited to drive through our covered drive (in the Rockbridge Parking Lot) for a brief prayer and imposition of ashes. Come as you are. Bring a friend. This practice has been very helpful to those on a tight schedule – especially parents getting children to practices, etc. – and for those who have mobility issues. Then, at 6:00 PM the Sanctuary will open. There will be 30 minutes for prayers, meditation and to participate in stations aimed at helping us remember the path Jesus walked. And at 6:30 PM there will be a brief (15 minutes) service of Ash Imposition. You can choose to come at 6, to allow time for prayer and reflection, or simply to come a bit before 6:30 for the joint service. Here also, come as you are. Parents, don’t forget to offer your children a chance to observe Ash Wednesday and to have conversations as a family about why we need to prepare, and what you might do as a family to walk in the way of Jesus.

Church staff are preparing a Lenten Guide that will offer ways to walk in the way of Jesus throughout Lent. Plan to download or pick one of those guides up when you are at church. On Youth Sunday I was struck by the passage that Smith Lea Lockwood choose; the wresting match between Jacob and God in Genesis 32. She reminded us that struggling with God is as much a sign of faith as the times that are easy and pleasant. After that encounter, God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. The name Israel means one who struggles with God (Genesis 32:28). May this season of Lent be, for all of us, a time to struggle with

God, and a time of intentionally choosing to walk in the world after the example of our Lord, Jesus.