From The Vicar: Countdown to Lent

From The Vicar: Countdown to Lent

From The Vicar: Countdown to Lent

# From The... - Letters to the Congregation

From The Vicar: Countdown to Lent

Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

I didn't grow up with a Lenten tradition, and I will admit I held some pretty weird ideas about what Lent was or how to do it by the time I landed in the Episcopal Church. I had heard it was about punishing ourselves (maybe because of the word "penitential" that is associated with it), or giving up sugar (probably because that's how Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday is often explained - eat all the sugar before lent!!), and none of that sounded all that compelling to me. I don't think God is punishing, and giving up chocolate or sugar or wine felt a little self serving to me in our culture of dieting and showy food restrictions. So how has Lent become a season I look forward to with deep joy each year? 

I used to hate hiking, too. Every year my dad would get two weeks of vacation and we would go camping somewhere, usually along the misty Northern California coast, and my parents would drag me and my sibling on a couple hikes. I hated it. So much walking and sweating and there were bugs everywhere and the chairs weren't comfortable and the only really good thing about it was that after the hiking was over I got to sit around and read books for as long as I wanted. 

Now I love hiking, and one of the highlights of my year is my annual backpacking trip with a bunch of clergy colleagues. I've come to see this backpacking trip as one of the few real rests life has to offer me - a chance to be challenged and held and away from the regular pressures of life. 

Lent is like that too, for me, now. I usually take on a new spiritual discipline or practice (one year it was cleaning my kitchen, another year yoga, this year tbd), instead of giving something up. Last year I worked on embracing solitude - allowing myself longer stretches of time truly alone with myself without reaching for social media, checking my phone for texts or to check email, and even forgoing some of my favorite tv shows for a time. It was restful and challenging. In my solitude I discovered that I felt held by God, not actually alone. 

As we count down to Lent (two more weeks!) this year, dear friends, I invite you to consider what sort of hike you need to go on during these 40 days*. It might be that there is a substance or habit you need to rest from. It might also be that there is a new practice or prayer waiting for you to explore, a hike you haven't been on before. The point of this season is to seek God. Full stop. To make a little more room for the holy, to open your eyes a little wider to what is sacred, as we follow Jesus toward the cross and beyond. 

Starting this Sunday you can pick up Lent bags with some resources to help you and your family prepare, discern and engage in communal prayer and worship all week long during the season of Lent. I hope the invitations within these bags will strengthen whatever journey God is calling you into this Lent. I am, as always, honored to walk beside you. 

with care and gratitude,

Alissa

*fun nerdy Lent fact - the Sundays of Lent are not counted in the 40 days of fasting. So if you look at the calendar and count ALL the days there are more than 40. But if you take out Sundays, then you will find the 40 days of Lent, which are meant to remind us of the 40 days Jesus spends in the wilderness after his temptation. This also means that whatever you are doing/not doing during Lent on Sundays it's optional! Sunday is always a feast day, even during Lent.

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