Lent 2023
From the North Texas Conference: “A garden is the space where creation and creator work together with humanity to bring new life out of the dust, where thriving and dying, harvesting and pruning, sowing and tending all point to God's hope for our lives. What a powerful metaphor for our spiritual lives! In this Lenten season we will look at the lessons we can learn from the garden. From the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane and finally to the Garden tomb of Jesus; burial and resurrection, our Lenten series will focus on finding God at work in these garden places and at work in our lives during this holy season. Let's dig in!”
And dig in we shall. This Lent we will intertwine three different things- all under this same theme of Garden to Garden.
First will be the love songs of lent. God loves us. That is abundantly clear in scripture. And as a certified city kid, I can tell you, gardens are often a labor of love (but can just as easily be a garden of necessity). I wonder how many of you grew a victory garden during WWII? Or had an older relative who did? Or maybe someone in your life grew a garden during the depression era to keep their family fed. Gardens take love, effort, time, care. As we examine some of this during worship, we will incorporate the love songs of Lent into the garden of worship we inhabit. Christ’s venturing forth from the garden and into the wilderness was an act of love too. The next in a long line of acts of love from Christ (including but not limited to being incarnate, dying on the cross, and weeping). Acts of love that speak across time and to all of humanity: past, present, and future.
Next will be the opportunity to add to your annual giving with a thought towards what are things you are hoping will grow, bloom, and be fruitful in ministry. Some of our giving supports the church and the local community, but some goes across the globe to help other ministries be fruitful (and provide us with grants, funds, training, and more too). Starting this next Sunday, check out the garden to garden giving display and prayerfully consider what you want to help bloom. Some additional details will be posted there and shared during worship Sunday (as I’m sure you’ve already got questions).
And the third and final intertwining vine will be… atonement theories. I realize that they aren’t necessarily something that are discussed as a group because many people find the one that fits best with their theology and live, witness, and understand God’s grace and salvation from within that theory, sometimes without even realizing it! Over the next few weeks the newsletter articles will be about some, but not all, of these theories. I hope they will add to your understanding or even help you articulate which one best fits with your faith journey.
So, let’s begin this journey from Garden to Garden together. Ready to explore our inward piety, our outward living, and the incredible abundance and value of God’s unending grace.
