Lenten Musings

Lent is a time of individual restoration and strengthening our Faith Community. Some believe that the word “Lent” may derive from the Latin “lentare”, which means “to bend.” This understanding reinforces a sense of Lent as a time of preparation for personal and collective transformation. Having nurtured ourselves through Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Lent becomes the time to look truthfully at ourselves and make changes.  

What Lent means to me:

·       A time for looking at the things I may be doing throughout the year that may not be pleasing to God and asking for His forgiveness.

·       A time for changing my ways that keep me from being a kind, compassionate and loving person to others.

·       A time for doing extra things that will help me grow closer to God such as reaching out to those less fortunate within the community.

·       A time to be more aware of what it means to love as God loves us.

·       A time to worship with my church family during Holy Week and participate in related activities.  

·       A time to ask God to help me to be more loving, remembering that God is always ready to bless and strengthen us if we just ask.

May your Lenten season be everything that you

hope it to be.  - Joyce Reynolds

What Lent means to me:

A few years ago I decided to do something special for Lent instead of giving something up. I wanted to try to connect with people who touched my life, but had lost touch with. I reached about 30 people one each day. What a blessing it was! - Caryl Donovan

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What Lent means to me:

“As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.” - Mother Teresa 

Shalom,

Clint Dixon

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Sometimes, the period of Lent is when I feel the most like a fraud.  

Traditionally, Lent is a more somber time, yet I am excited and happy about Spring. 

Jesus made a big sacrifice, and my sacrifices seem insignificant. 

I just don’t feel like I am “doing Lent the right way.” 

Maybe you feel like that sometimes, too.

Then I remember that part of Lent is about letting go and trusting the Holy Spirit. It could be that the Holy Spirit has a path for you that does not look like the regular “right way.” 

So, what happens next? It is not doing nothing and it is not waiting around for The Spirit to show up. It means inviting The Holy Spirit in, even for 5 minutes. Don’t wait for that perfect, peaceful, idyllic setting. Try it in the car or on a walk or while you are doing dishes. HS makes a fine co-pilot…and may even dry the dishes for you, given enough time : )

It is never too late to reach out to The Holy Spirit and the two of you might just create your own “right way” to live into Lent.

Dan Aramini

What Lent means to me:

For me, one way to reflect on the themes of Lent is to study the Stations of the Cross, a series of images that provide a retelling of the final days of Christ on earth. A small but powerful meditative book that I love is titled "Everyone's Way of the Cross" by author Clarence Enzler. The author provides a dialogue between Christ and the reader for each station of the cross. The most powerful station in the book for me is Station 4 where Jesus meets his mother. In the dialogue, the author reminds me that I must stand with those who suffer, and allow others to share in my suffering too. May we all have a meaningful Lenten season and a joyous Easter. Gail Lebert

During this season of Lent, I have tried to be more intentional and thoughtful about both prayer & reflection, and finding ways to be helpful, bringing me closer to God and allowing me to give something of myself to others.  Although this doesn't cover the sacrificial part of Lent, I know that historically for me when making the promise of sacrifice, that promise has gone the same route as New Year's resolutions.  That route is paved with good intentions but gets swallowed up in the busy routine of daily life and commitments.  So I have focused on the things that are more naturally sustainable for me, and hopefully still achieve the purpose of Lent ~ to deepen my faith and renew my commitment to Jesus.  Lisa Gleason

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When I was growing up I always thought Lent was a time of giving up things, but I never thought that was enough .  I thought God wanted me to do something ….help others.  As a pediatric nurse for 48 years I enjoyed helping others. Now retired I could put that into action. A few years ago I thought I’d try to find friends I’d lost touch with. How are they doing ?  One little girl came to mind- Jenny, a 2 yr old who 25 yrs ago was treated for a brain tumor. I cared for her for 2 yrs. Miraculously she went thru surgery, treatments etc and was able to go home. No longer my patient. 

I looked on the internet,  found her dad’s name and phone number and called. Left a brief message.  No return call for 2 weeks then one day her dad called me. They were away on a trip and they were so glad I was checking in. Their little( now all grown up) girl was doing well, has a few residual concerns but was just as feisty overcoming them as she was at 2.  She graduated college with a teaching degree and was teaching in rural NC. Her parents wanted me to get in touch with her. Even though she wouldn’t remember me, I couldn’t forget her. Since that call Jenny and I have become great friends .  My bookclub (many. Teachers) adopted her. Sending monthly needed supplies for a few years and words of encouragement. Today she is head teacher in her rural school.  She and her boyfriend have a healthy 9 month old and God is good. 

All it took was listening to those whispers. 

Caryl Donovan

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With a few exceptions, daily life during this Holy season of Lent is just as busy and demanding as almost every other day of the year. But oh, the exceptions! Turning inward, as we are invited to do during these forty plus days before the happy feast of Easter, revealed to me a roomful of treasures, both literally and figuratively. Having moved to Glastonbury from Canandaigua, NY in the fall of 2022, so much had remained unpacked (again, both literally and figuratively). So
many books, mostly still in boxes! But as I prepared to offer a weekly Lenten Meditation at St.James and St. Luke’s, I started digging in (literally and…well, you get the picture), and reading, and writing, and remembering the inward journey I had been traveling. Having a deadline each Thursday created a discipline that reminded me of who I am…a beloved and forgiven child of
God with gifts to share. I had had an image of Lent being a nudge, or even an expectation to enter the Dark Night of the Soul, and frankly, who does that willingly. The self scrutiny, the owning up of our shortcomings, while necessary at times, can be painful.

But while walking through that darkness, I remembered what many spiritual mentors and guides have advised, that is, to be gentle with ourselves. We are loved, the Beloved Community actually, and as such are encouraged to come out of the darkness and into the light, to BE the light. How we
bring our light to the world is revealed in many ways, one of which is sitting quietly with an open heart and listening for the still, small voice within, as in meditation. Sometimes the message is obvious and the call is clear. Sometimes, it requires guided discernment to tease out the subtle hints that are already present in our lives. In all cases the invitation is the same…to be awake,
to be aware, to come to the Holy Well within in order to refresh and prepare ourselves for the work and joy of being Christ’s hands and feet on Earth at this time. Blessings and love to you.   Libby Campbell