Beloved Friends-
Welcome to our Lenten journey. Lent is our season in the church that began two days ago on Ash Wednesday, leads us over the course of a 40-day pilgrimage of sorts, takes us to Holy Week and then, eventually, to the celebration at the empty tomb on Easter morning when we will offer a blessed baptism as well as welcome new friends to Trinity and this branch of the Jesus movement.
During this Lenten journey we are invited to look inward, to find the places in our lives and our community calling out to be exposed and wrestled with in order to realign our lives with our best intentions and commitments as followers of Christ. It is sometimes a hard sell if you have spent your life feeling “beaten up” by some of the church’s teachings. I get it- as a woman, as a lesbian, as a mother of a child of color, as a doubter and a seeker, as one who lives to question and push the boundaries- I have felt that hurt harshly and directly in many ways over my lifetime.
Many of us, from various walks of life understandably wrestle with messages rooted in shame and blame; members of historically marginalized communities of all sorts have had their share of weaponized words like sin, guilt, repentance and judgment jettisoned at them with dire results and have the spiritual scars to prove it. The burden of emotional labor placed on those who have been hurt by the church is real and cannot nor should not go unaddressed. As an institution, the church must itself repent, acknowledging the damage done, seeking repentance and moving forward towards reconciliation and healing.
So, this Lent- I am going to ask two things of us.
First, to suspend our disbelief of what this has stirred in you in the past if it has been hard to approach. May we all embrace this time trusting there is indeed ancient wisdom and deep worth in submitting our humanity to this time of introspection. I ask knowing full well the depth of what this may require of some, and I do not ask it unaware of the courage it may take. For so long many us have been hurt by words and actions in the church grounded in the language that is deeply baked into this particular church season. But I promise you will not be alone over these next 5 weeks. We will journey together. Second, I ask that you pay particular attention to an alternate message we will offer this year- a message underscoring our goodness rather than a season of denial and shame.
I pray we will give ourselves the gift of showing up fully and wholeheartedly this season either in person (Trinity@316) at 10:00 on Sundays, or through our digital connection (Trinity@Home) at 9:00 on Sundays – and then time after that. What we discover together will be dependent on our ability to stay open, unguarded, humble and willing to be changed for the better. I have so much to learn, to unlearn, to surrender, to ask, to hear and to experience. None of us will travel the same path- but we will, if we trust, find our way to and through the cross with God’s help.
Traveling mercies dear ones.
And may you never forget that you are loved,
Lisa