Greetings Church Family!
I pray that you and yours are well these days.
Some of you may not realize that the season of Lent is upon us–a span of 40 days in the Christian tradition that commemorates the weeks Jesus spent in the desert before his: arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; subsequent death on Good Friday; and resurrection on Easter. This year, Palm Sunday falls on April 2nd, and Easter on April 9th. This is known as ‘Holy Week.’
I have, for years, worked to find personal meaning amid Lent and Holy Week. This came when I began to understand these biblical stories and rituals as rich in metaphor and symbolism drawn from our ancient Earth-based ancestors. You see, Holy Week is in step with the Spring Equinox, and any understanding of death and rebirth in Christian mythology must be looked at through the lens of Earth’s cycles, and the cycles of our own lives. For we, like Mother Earth, move through seasons of death and rebirth, or more practically stated, letting go and picking up, regularly. Lent is one of these invitational seasons.
In this community, the month of March is our time of Giving and Nominating–rightly placed in this season of Lent! As a church, we are working to let go of our orientation towards scarcity, and to invite in the spirit of abundance; release ourselves from ministries in this community that no longer feed our souls or that we have held on to for too long for fear of no one else doing them and, instead, invite in a time of soulful discernment that helps us to consider where we come alive here–and to bravely go do that!
This month I pray that you will find meaning in the symbolism of Lent, or in its pagan roots. And I also pray that you bring some slowed intention and spiritual fortitude into this season of Giving and Nominating here at First Parish. My door is open to you if you would like to explore this further or want to talk about some spiritual practices that might enrich and deepen these days for you.
May all that you release bless you and may all that you call in nourish you!
With love and in faith,
Rev. Sophia
Reverend Sophia Lyons
Rev. Sophia is committed to radical welcome and spreading the good news that is our bold Unitarian Universalist faith. Some of her areas of interest include interfaith partnerships, addictions ministry, spiritual direction, and working towards collective liberation for all. Rev. Sophia aspires to live her life and fulfill her ministry guided by spiritual seeking, big love, and the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism.