Ash Wednesday Service - This Wednesday at 7:00pm
Hi Everyone!
Ash Wednesday is a day in the church calendar to begin the season of Lent. Lent traditionally has been a time for Christians to prepare their hearts for Easter. Ash Wednesday is traditionally observed as a reflection on mortality, the temporary nature of life, in order to reprioritize our lives and it also makes the miracle of the resurrection that much more incredible! Then for the following 40 days a fast of some kind takes place.
I'm admittedly new to observing Ash Wednesday and Lent, but over the past decade or so I've found this practice incredibly freeing in my relationship with Jesus. It gives me a chance to take stock on the health of my heart, and allows me to carve away harmful or neutral habits in order to create space for more of God's voice in my life.
So, I invite you all to join me in preparing our hearts for Easter by entering into Lent this Wednesday evening from 7:00pm-8:00pm (MST). The service is being held online, will be interactive, and involve worship, prayers, reflections and a virtual walk through Jesus' 3 temptations in the desert.
You can join the Ash Wednesday Service on Zoom here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87189050456
Ash Wednesday is just the beginning. We also have daily readings throughout Lent. We're reading through the Psalms together with short devotionals. You can access the readings online here:
https://www.faithward.org/daily-lent-devotions-based-on-the-psalms/
We also encourage you to find one or two (or three or four) others to do weekly check ins with. You can do this via a phone call, zoom call, email, Facebook, or on a walk together outside. During these check ins you can structure them around 3 simple questions:
What has God been illuminating to you through the readings or in general?
Is there anything you need prayer for?
Is God calling you to reach out to anyone right now?
It's simple and informal, just reach out to someone you'd like to walk through lent with and go for it! Feel free to send any praise reports or stories to the church office so we can all be encouraged by them.
My hope is by the end of these 40 days we feel better connected to God, to our church, to our neighbours around us, and to ourselves. Looking forward to walking through Lent with you all!
Justin