Lenten Reflection for Monday, March 2 from Pastor Wes

Yesterday in worship we began our Lenten journey by exploring prayer through the lens of Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Throughout the rest of this week, we will continue this conversation on prayer and explore ways that we can find moments for prayer in our everyday lives.

As we begin today, I want to start off very simply. Because not all of us have a regular practice of actually stopping to pray throughout the day, that is all I’d like to ask you to do today. Even if you aren’t sure what to pray, just start talking to God. Talk about your day, or the things that are worrying you, or pray for the people you love. In a week focused on prayer, I ask you to begin by praying now...

Lenten Reflection for Friday, February 28 from Pastor Wes

Having grown up in a “Baptist-ish” church, Ash Wednesday was not something I was familiar with in my youth. I can remember seeing a few people in my small country town in Tennessee with ashes on their foreheads and thinking that they must practice some crazy, ancient version of Christianity. Looking back now, my reaction seems pretty funny to me!

And yet, it wasn’t entirely wrong. As we enter into this season of Lent, if we take this deeply spiritual, sacred time seriously, we are participating in a wonderfully ancient practice of Christianity. For literally thousands of years, followers of Jesus have taken these 40 days each year to slow down and more mindfully reflect on things like our mortality, our mutual need for forgiveness, and the model of grace and mercy found in the one we call the Christ.

As you move through the end of this week and the first Sunday of Lent, I encourage you to consider all those who have walked this Lenten journey before you. From the famous travellers, like Martin Luther or Mother Theresa, to those who are not famous but are still precious to us, like our parents or grandparents, remember these saints who now walk with you. We travel on holy ground, and we do not travel alone. In walking this ancient road, we can reconnect with centuries of Christians.

Throughout the day and weekend, take note of who “shows up.” That random memory of your Mom may not be so random. In that Scripture Reading, maybe Matthew or Mark or Paul came and paid you a visit. Not to mention all the people you will just bump into as you go throughout your days. Let the spirit of all the from the past and present join you as you bow in prayer and stand in worship.

Lenten Reflection for Thursday, February 27 from Pastor Brad

Since I’ve been a pastor at Carondelet United Church of Christ, it’s been a privilege to be one who offers ashes to those who wish to hold that sign upon their bodies each Ash Wednesday. I’ve shared that moment for 10 Ash Wednesdays now, but each year, that role becomes alive for me with a new tenderness as we remember together our vulnerability and our call to turn again to God’s love.

I’ve tried to be careful in my imposition of ashes on foreheads or palms or wrists. I’ve tried not to be too messy; not to let flecks of ash drop into eyelashes or eyes; not to be too out of proportion with how a symbol of our faith is sized up on the forehead of one who comes to receive it; not to press my finger too hard upon someone else.

It was the same last year. After these tender moments of sharing the ashes with other disciples, I gave myself the sign of the cross on my forehead with the ashes; like I’ve often done. After that, we prayed together, shared the peace of Christ with one another; we sang and then blessed each other for our Lenten journey and we were on our way for the evening. The service ended, and I went downstairs and caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror and...oh my goodness! The cross on my forehead was gigantic! I smeared two lines of ash that were well above my eyebrows and coming down almost onto the bridge of my nose. It seemed so outsized to me, and I thought about standing in front of the congregation minutes earlier with that on my forehead. I felt so embarrassed.

But then I did a double take in the mirror a moment or two later with this sign still on my face, and I had a different sensibility coming up inside of me; one that was warm and humorful and good and thankful. “This is who I am,” I thought. “This is who we all are. God’s love is so gigantic, so bold, so full, so good that it just slathers itself on us and claims us in such an outsized way simply because of the beloved children we are to God. We are all so loved by God.”

As you begin your Lenten walk, may there be moments in your journey when you encounter the surprising and wonderful love of the One who loves you with all abandon.

Lenten Reflection for Ash Wednesday, February 26 from Pastor Lauren

“From ashes you were created and to ashes you will return.”

The first Ash Wednesday service I ever went to was in Juarez, Mexico. My dad and I were building houses with a local organization in Juarez and they invited us to church after a long day in the sun. The service was in Spanish, a language I do not speak with any fluency, so I really didn’t understand what was being said. Before long, we went up to the priest and had ashes put on our foreheads, specs of ash falling onto the tip of my nose and lips. Someone translated the words of the priest for me and my dad “from ashes you were created and to ashes you will return.”

As the service continued, I sat there listening to the organ play, smelling the incense as it filled my lungs, and hung on these words. I thought about the ashes that collect at a campfire and in the devastating remnants of a house fire. I thought about the certainty of death that all living creation faces--the ways we are bound together with a common destination. I thought about the fleeting nature of life and the short time we really all have on earth, in this body, in this place, with these people. I was struck by the sacredness of Ash Wednesday: a day to remember our mortality, our fragility, our connectedness to all of creation.

In your personal time of reflection today, I invite you to think about the connection you inherently have with all of creation. The very fibers of your being are made up from the cells of other beings no longer living. Your body’s final destination is the same as every other living thing. While our uniqueness is something to celebrate, our commonality is something to behold. How does the notion, “From ashes you were created and to ashes you will return” inform your daily life?

A Deeper Lent

Engage with a Powerful Lenten Spiritual Journey

Our lives are often busy as we run from one thing to another and are bombarded with news all around us. This Lent, we invite you to slow down, reflect, and breathe with us.

In preparation for “A Deeper Lent,” we encourage you to sign up or make plans now for the main components of this year's Lenten journey in which we will explore spiritual practices related to big topics like prayer, food, worship, service, and more.

First, be sure to put Ash Wednesday, February 23rd on your calendar. We will hold a joint service with MCC, Carondelet UCC, and Peace UCC at 7pm in MCC's sanctuary.

Secondly, we strongly encourage everyone to sign-up for our weekly Lenten study groups together with CUCC and Peace UCC members, drawing on topics discussed in worship. In class, we will watch a video and discuss a spiritual practice. Throughout the week, we will be invited to think more deeply through guided journaling prompts between sessions. Groups will be held on Monday and Wednesday nights at our church building, and there will also be an offering on Monday night at Rumors on Ice in Jefferson County. Throughout Lent, you can attend any of these groups and do not need to commit to any one group.

Finally, join us for short Lenten devotionals for the weekdays during Lent. Sign-up for these daily emails if you would like to have some specific ideas for your daily devotional time. These devotions will be written by Pastors Wes and Lauren from MCC and Pastor Brad from CUCC/Peace UCC.

Moms Demand Action Advocacy Day

Working to End Gun Violence

In the book of James, we learn that "faith without works is dead." James, the brother of Jesus, urges us to ensure that we live out the teachings of Jesus in the way we interact with those around us.

In the coming weeks, we have two opportunities to engage the matter of the increasing gun violence in our city and world. These are excellent ways for each of us to put our faith into action.

The first opportunity is to join Moms Demand Action for Advocacy Day in Jefferson City on Tuesday, February 18th. We'll be meeting with legislators to show them that Missourians want them to act to save lives. If you would like to join us for the day, register with with us (and we will ensure you are registered with Moms Demand Action). We will then help coordinate rides for our volunteers.

The second opportunity is to simply stay after church on Sunday, February 23rd to hear from some of the leaders of Moms Demand Action. They will share what they are currently working on and offer some ways you can lift your voice to help reduce (and one day bring an end to) gun violence.

Our church has such a rich history of social justice work on behalf of our community, and for that and so many more reasons, we are proud to serve you as your pastors.

A Prayer for a New Year Adapted from W. Nicolas Abraham

Holy and Immortal One,

• As I begin this new year, I ask that I may become more attentive to your ways and not those of fear and shame:

• Release me from the chains of past betrayals and create within me a new heart--a heart that is once again vulnerable to hurt and rejection, yet mighty and invincible;

• Cleanse me from the temporary fragrance of material fortune that I may savor the timeless gifts of your spirit;

• Ease my burdens and worries, relaxing my every bone and muscle with your peace;

• Stabilize my sense of self that I may avoid all quest for approval;

• Rid me of all self-righteousness and self-made purity codes that I may accept my flaws and imperfections without condoning behaviors that endanger the dignity of others;

• Be merciful to me when I speak words that disrespect both myself and others but embolden me to challenge the selfish spirit that can so easily take possession of one’s soul;

• Take me wherever someone is in need of love and salvation from despair;

• With each sunrise, help me renew my pledge to fulfill my calling as a witness to your love;

• With each sunset help me detach and release all that was and has been into the arms of night;

• All this I pray in Your Name, Amen.