A pastor’s Lenten reflection for challenging times

By the Rev. Brad Leight, Pastor of St. John's Ivyland UMC

As the return of sunny days and moderating temperatures slowly yet surely melt away our piles of snow, we can see that spring is finally on its way. I sense this winter was a bit of a reality check for us; after relatively little snowfall for a few years, we were reminded how much “fun” consecutive snowstorms can be. Still, our inconveniences pale in comparison to the disaster and suffering experienced by our neighbors in the south this past February.

I still find it hard to process the magnitude of suffering experienced by so many in Texas during the recent deep freeze. Images of waterfalls in living rooms due to burst pipes, miles-long lines of cars waiting for a case of bottled water, and families burning furniture and wooden toys to stay warm defy comprehension. The fallout and investigation into who is responsible is already underway, with plenty of finger-pointing and excuses quickly following. We can only hope that meaningful changes will occur that will drastically limit the probability of a repeat disaster… yet I am skeptical. Why? One of the major issues identified so far was the lack of winterization measures taken by utility providers to prepare... Read More

Church teaches Lent is for caring, sharing

The Christian Education ministries at Fritz UMC Bethlehem is observing Lent in special ways, including these activities among our children and youth:

• Lenten Care Packages have been sent home to families, complete with snap pea seeds, soil, newspaper, the Lord’s Prayer broken into 6 graphics, and several different sized labyrinths. These are all tools to help us measure our personal prayer growth throughout the season of Lent, as well as helping us make connections to the New Testament lectionary readings throughout the 6 weeks leading to Easter.
• ClearView Masks is a project aimed at getting face masks with clear middles onto as many faces as possible. The children in our Sunday School are concerned about those with hearing impairments, those who are deaf, and those who have a hard time interpreting social cues when mouths are obstructed from view. In early March, a Zoom meeting will be recorded to teach people how to sew a ‘clearview’ mask and how to retrofit an existing mask. The children invited everyone to join them in this project!
• Centering in Prayer is a Lenten-long focus on prayer. Each week, we will examine a different part of the Lord’s Prayer, connecting our personal and corporate prayer lives with the use of labyrinths. This will all be happening for the children and families over Zoom, with the hopes of the snow melting long enough to enjoy a giant chalk labyrinth in our parking lot by the time Holy Week arrives.

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UMC bishops offer Lenten Season Devotions

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church will offer a weekly devotion during the Lenten season which begins this week. Each Wednesday during Lent and every day during Holy Week, the council will release a 15-minute recorded devotion, led by a bishop and leaders from their episcopal areas.

“We are offering this Lenten Devotion Series on Dismantling Racism in the hope that the church can engage in honest reflection about the realities of racism, colonialism and tribalism,” noted Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the North Carolina Annual Conference, who chairs the Council’s Task Force to End Racism. “All of these sins persist in the church, our local communities and the world. Lent is the time to humbly acknowledge this reality, to pray, to learn and ultimately work to reshape our world as it is in heaven.”

The devotions are part of the larger Dismantling Racism Initiative launched by the Council in June of 2020. The purpose of the Initiative is to cultivate sustained and coordinated effort to dismantle racism and to promote collective action for racial justice in the church and world.  Learn more…  

Forty days of apostleship: Six soulful steps to believe like Jesus

by Rebekah Simon-Peter

Do you believe like Jesus?

As Jesus journeyed to the cross and beyond, he had to be sure of one thing. Everything—his life, his ministry, his sacrifices—rested on this one thing. Jesus had to be sure that his twelve disciples were ready to step up their spiritual game.

To live into their true calling as apostles – first students of the gospel and now agents of the gospel—The Twelve would need to make a fundamental shift. They would need to move from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus.  Read More

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"Turning: An Ash Wednesday Sermon"

One of the most moving gestures of ministry is marking the foreheads of congregants with ashes on Ash Wednesday, beginning the season of Lent. “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return” are not easy words to utter. Dust making is not the aim of life. This + marking seems contrary to Christian life.

But the Christian community prepares for Easter by entering into this holy season of Lent with these words and this mark. We begin the season by remembering our need for reflection and repentance (turning) in order that Lent may be a time of renewal and transformation.

In a year of a world-wide pandemic when 2.4 million people have died and unfathomable sorrow and immeasurable disparities have been uncovered, we come to this Lenten season of self-examination, prayer and fasting and turning (repentance)... Read More