Lenten and Leadership

 Friends, 

We are now in the Season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday of this week. Thanks to those of you who joined us for a very tactile service of remembering our baptism and then remembering our mortality with the words, “From dust you have come, to dust you will return.” 

I did not grow up in a church that observed Lent, much less Ash Wednesday. Any idea I had about Lenten disciplines was a vague sense that my Catholic friends ate fish on Fridays, and some people suffered through giving up dessert for a time. Even now, after almost 40 years of being Presbyterian, I feel like I’m still a bit behind the curve. If you feel that way also, just know this wisdom that someone shared with me once: There’s no right way or wrong way to observe Lent. Many saints have come and gone without even knowing about it, so Lenten observance is not essential to the Christian life. 

That said, I find the observance of Lent to be a wonderful way of tapping into both my own needs and the call to follow Christ. It taps into my needs because life is rhythmic – a blend of cyclical, year-after-year rotations around the sun as well as new things that our creative God is always doing among us. And the observance of Lent invites us into a deeper sense of Jesus’ words, “If anyone will be my disciple, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.” 

Earlier this week I reached out to many of the leaders that we have at St. Mark – the staff, our elders, and our deacons – to inquire if they were undertaking any Lenten disciplines that they would be willing to share with the rest of us. Because Lenten journeys are personal, I will not connect any names with the disciplines that others shared, but will give you an overview of the kinds of ways that we can drink deeply during this season. 

Some are being attentive to what they eat or drink: 

- Giving up a weekly stop after worship at a local restaurant for carnitas nachos (“they are the best!”); giving up chocolate; giving up meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, or completely; and avoiding junk foods like snack chips and French fries. 

- Avoiding tobacco, alcohol, or regular events where alcohol is the central focus. 

Some are taking on commitments: 

- Reading daily from the book Turning over Tables, by Kathy Escobar, and joining our weekly discussion on Wednesday evenings. 

- Watching our weekly Text Studies that are posted every Monday and joining the discussion on Wednesday mornings. 

- Reading Lenten devotionals online, such as the Presbyterians for Earth Care devotional found here.

-  Using the Lenten devotional within the Bible app, “Grow and Believe.” 

Some are tending an attending to their personal interactions: 

- intentionally avoiding or walking away from conversations that are “judgmental, critical, unkind, untrue, and unnecessary.

- being less hurried in my thoughts and physical presence.

Some are committing to daily or weekly routines:

- Exercising daily or a set number of times weekly

- Keeping a daily Lenten journal.

- Budgeting in order to make extra donations to our Deacon-supported organizations.

Some are trying to avoid conveniences that can have cumulative negative effects, such as: 

- Ordering food that comes in plastic containers

- Using Paypal or credit cards for online purchases.  

I remain impressed by the spiritual maturity and thoughtfulness that our leaders. And if any of these ideas inspire you, it’s not too late to step into either letting something go or taking something on for Lent. The point is not to see how heroic are sacrificial we can be, but to interrupt routines in order to live more intentionally as followers of Christ. May God bless you on that journey.

Mark of St. Mark