Join us for our live zoom service for the second Sunday of Lent this Sunday, 28th February. The service will begin at 11am but the link will go live from 10.45am to allow the congregation to gather, chat and get ready to worship together.
Meeting ID: 895 9228 2252 Passcode: 365439 One tap mobile +12532158782,,89592282252#,,,,*365439# US (Tacoma) +13017158592,,89592282252#,,,,*365439# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 895 9228 2252 Passcode: 365439 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kjkhTcg8f
Psalm 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
A Reflection On Fasting (from Spill the Beans Worship) Okay God, first thoughts… sackcloth and ashes, giving up something… smoking… chocolate… booze? Trying to be extra kind instead of giving something up? Images of you as angry and wanting us to feel miserable, of you as not being very nice! So, the day’s lectionary readings… well, Matthew seems to be saying whatever we do on the fasting front we need to do it secretly and quietly, and that prayer, spending time talking with you and listening to you, is part of the picture. The psalmist is definitely into a heavy sin and guilt trip but he does ask you for wisdom and knows that you look for integrity and truth in our lives. Paul tells us that today is the day to act, rather than tomorrow. Joel tells us in urgent tones to stop in our tracks and come back to God. And then there’s Isaiah who has some very clear ideas as to what fasting is about: to take burdens off people, to work for justice, to share food with those who are hungry, to share hospitality, to give clothes to those who need them. So God, how am I going to keep Lent? By turning to face you? By praying? By sharing food and hospitality? By being active in organisations and movements that seek for justice? By keeping what I’m doing or not doing a secret? By thinking and reading and experiencing what you are really about?
It is Ash Wednesday. Time for fasting. Time to turn away from the bad stuff. Time to turn to God.
Today is the first day of Lent where many Christians take ashes (often made by burning last years Palm crosses) and make the sign of the cross with them on their foreheads. As the ashes are placed, usually by a Priest or Minister, the following phrase is spoken:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Today’sPrayer: From dust we come, to dust we will return, we belong to God. Bless us now at the beginning of Lent, hear our regrets, our prayers, our dreams. Keep us close to you, God. Keep us close to you. Amen.