As a child I remember having many neighborhood friends who went
to parochial school. They wore uniforms each day, their teachers
were nuns, they went to something called 'catechism' that none of
them liked, and one day a year they came home from school with a
black smudge on their foreheads. I wasn't sure what that meant but
as a child I remember it was connected to giving up something like
candy, or ice cream for several weeks.
It wasn't until I went to seminary that I learned about the wider
Church's practice of the Christian Year and the liturgical seasons.
As an adult I finally understood and appreciated some of the faith
practices of my Catholic childhood friends. Since then I have served
in congregations that observed some of the major seasons of the
church year, like Advent, Lent, and Pentecost.
This month we begin the season of Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday
(March 5) and continues for forty days (excluding Sundays) until
Easter. The word lent means springtime and refers to the lengthening
of the days that we notice at this time of year. For Christians
it is the season of the church year for penitence, fasting, and
focusing on the life, the teachings, and the death of Jesus. It
is a time for us to think about who Jesus was, and is, for us today.
To help us do that kind of reflection here at UBBC, I will be leading
a mid-week Lenten Bible Study. We will use the Good Ground series
called Turning Up the Heat: Studies on the Passion of Jesus.
Mennonite author of the study, Byron Rempel-Burkholder says, "A
passion is a strong and overwhelming emotion or commitment. As we
will see in this study, passion is also an appropriate word to describe
faith. The Bible is full of prophets and sages who are passionate
for peace, justice and the reign of God. In the life of Jesus, that
passion leads to his clash with political and religious authorities
of his day, and he is arrested, tried, and tortured to death on
the cross." This study will help us explore how the passion
and suffering of Jesus can inform some of the sufferings of our
own lives.
The Bible study will be a part of a Mid-week Lenten Gathering on
Wednesday evenings March 5, 19, 26, April 2 & 9, from 5:30-7:30
pm. The evening will begin with a simple soup and salad supper served
from 5:30- 6p. Supper will be followed by Children's Choir &
Activities for K-8th graders at 6:15-7:30p and the Bible study,
6:30-7:30p. A suggested donation for the meal is $3 for adults,
$2 for children, $8 maximum for a family.
I hope that this mid-week gathering will be a time of learning
and reflection for all who attend. I also see it as an opportunity
for us to deepen our ties with one another and welcome newcomers
as we share a meal and fellowship together. May God bless us with
this new opportunity for growth and fellowship during the season
of Lent.
Bonnie
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