Pastor’s Report : March
Lent began on Ash Wednesday, an awkward collision this year with our very secular celebration of St. Valentine. Our final weeks together will follow this season of introspection
and preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus. These weeks are a time to give attention to how you understand Jesus, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection.
- How does your understanding shape your faith?
- How does your faith influence the way you live?
- How does the spectrum of understandings among the people of this congregation and your individual faiths flow together and influence the life of this congregation?
For a few centuries early in the history of the church Lent was a season of final preparation for new Believers. To become a Christian as an extreme, counter-cultural, and anti-government commitment. The soon-to-be baptized people withdrew from life. They were immersed in scripture and faith formation. Their relationships with family and community would change, likely be lost, when they were immersed in the baptismal water. At dawn on Easter the old self that died with Jesus on the cross and was resurrected with Christ.
Each year Lent invites us to prepare for some old ways to die. Individually that is marked by giving up something, often chocolate, coffee, or some other simple small pleasure. This year the invitation has added layers of meaning as you, the people of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Rhinelander, must consider what you may need to give up, what may need to die with Jesus on the cross, that you may be raised into new life in Christ.
These are questions I ask myself with appropriate fear and anticipation as I approach my first experiment in retirement on Monday 8 April. I pray we all sense the Holy Spirit’s guidance and trust that God intends the best for us all – individually and for First Congregational United Church of Christ in Rhinelander.
Submitted by Rev. Myles Alexander