Dear Grace Church,
Lent is upon us—and perhaps it feels as if Lent has been here for a long time. Many of us have experienced this pandemic as a wilderness.
But we have the chance, in this season, to be not alone in the desert but instead walking together towards God’s promise. Thanks to our new livestream, we can worship together in real time, not only on Sundays but also with our new service of Compline on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and our traditional Stations of the Cross Friday at noon.
And we have the chance to grow in faith together. One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that geography no longer limits us, and so on Monday nights we welcome Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He will be speaking on the particular challenges of the Old Testament. He taught in my doctoral program last fall, and I can promise you that your time with him will be well spent. He is accessible, insightful, and a lot of fun.
You can start the evening with Evening Prayer at 5:30 or join for the class at 6:00. (Although Candler would like you to register, you can still join us even if you haven’t signed up yet.). And you can stay for a shared time of fellowship at 7:15 (even if you have to bring your own pimiento cheese this year).
Of course, there are many other opportunities for growth and connection: volunteering at the Food Pantry, coming to the Wednesday night or Saturday morning bible study, or simply praying for the individuals on the prayer list.
Whatever you choose, we do not have to go this alone. We are in the wilderness together.
In Christ,
Anne+