​Dear People of Hope, 

I remember the first time I wore a mask into the grocery store. It was last March and it was not yet common practice. I felt anxious, uncertain, even silly. What a difference a year makes! Now I have multiple masks in different places and in various colors, and I wear it without much thought. The last year has brought so much change, and change again, and then change some more, but I have also settled into a routine of sorts and into this new normal (a normal that is difficult and painful nonetheless). 

As I compare last March to this March, I am reflecting on the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 43:19): “Look! I am doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you perceive it?”

My mind is turning to that “Look!” An exclamation, a shout, an imperative. Look! As we pass this anniversary, and as we find ourselves in routines and adapting to life in a pandemic, how is God calling us to look? 
We may be used to some things; we may have developed some ways to cope in this past year, but the invitation is there for us to look again. Look, because God is doing a new thing. Look around us for what God is doing every day. Look around us for the growth sprouting in the midst of death and decay. Look!

Look, because God is doing a new thing in your life and in the life of your family. Look, because God is doing a new thing in our church. Look! For the Lord says, “I am making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.” May the Holy Spirit help us to perceive it. 

Peace, 
Pastor Liz

Speak to my heart, Holy Spirit. Give me the words that will bring new life. 

These words are from one of my favorite gospel songs by Donnie McClurkin. I have often relied on this song when writing sermons or needing to center myself in prayer. They are words that resonate with me as I cast my eyes to the season of Lent we will be entering this month. I am feeling so many things…

As we near Ash Wednesday and hear the words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” I am feeling the sorrow of a year where so many have lost their lives. As we near the anniversary of one year since the pandemic began, and since we have had in-person worship, I am feeling grief for all that we have suffered. As we near a church season that beckons me to reflect and meditate on the cross, I am aware of all the many crosses we have had to bear this past year.

And I am praying, “Speak to my heart, Holy Spirit. Give me the words that will bring new life.” 

May this be an invitation to you to pray these or similar words in the midst of whatever you are feeling or experiencing. 

As a congregation, we will have opportunities to pray this prayer. In addition to our children’s faith kits, we will have Lent kits for every adult and household. (Please sign-up for one so that we know how many to make.) In these kits, you’ll find ashes for our Ash Wednesday service, as well as devotional materials to help you with a practice of prayer and reflection through Lent. We’ll also be starting a sermon series, “A Way in the Wilderness,” and our Wednesday night group will start a new series, “Praying our Way.” All of these will be opportunities to invite the Holy Spirit to speak. 

If you are like me, feeling weary or grieving, I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart. I pray that you will wait and hope for the words of the Spirit to come. And that when those words of new life are given to you, you will be renewed. 

Let us pray together.

Peace,
Pastor Liz