Lent.

Warning: Lengthy post ahead. 

Short version: Happy Valentine's Day! Lent starts today. I like observing Lent. You should listen to the song I link to at the bottom of this post.

Long version:

Happy Valentine's Day! I've always loved Valentine's Day...even those years when I didn't have a Brad. My parents always made it so fun that it never bothered me not to have a fella (thanks, parents!). However, I do really love Brad, so I like Valentine's Day even more now. My flowers from him came yesterday, so I can enjoy them all day today. Also, we had a restaurants.com gift certificate and were able to go out on a DATE yesterday. Woo hoo!

After dinner (which, incidentally, was really decent Mexican food), we walked over to our church for the Ash Wednesday service. I should blog about this part of our life sometime soon, but for the time being, know that we're currently part of an Anglican fellowship, meaning that our worship is very liturgical and adheres to the Church calendar. Our church in Jackson also followed the Church calendar, so this isn't new to us (or those of you who've been reading this blog for the past few years). I have to say, a very concentrated focus on Lent in preparation for Easter has been such an important part of my life the past couple of Easter seasons, and I have loved it. Don't hear me saying that I love the fasting, exactly...that would probably defeat the point if I did (and, for anyone concerned, I'm not fasting from any foods that would negatively affect the rest of this pregnancy. No worries.). However, I do love the careful intentionality and the communion that believers experience with one another and with God as we all participate together.

I did not grow up participating in Ash Wednesday services, especially not the kind complete with actual ashes. I know I've written about this in the past, but I truly love the emphasis on the beginning of Lent, including the imposition of ashes. I find a lot of value in reflecting on our mortality and the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. The 40 days of Lent, the focus on repentance and self-denial, the breaking of the fast on Sundays, all of that has been, for me, a huge part of reminding me of the overwhelmingly great joy and assurance that comes with Easter. Love it. 

Having grown up outside of the liturgical tradition (and thereby having lots of friends and family who also aren't as familiar with the practices of the Church calendar), I thought you might find it interesting to see what an Ash Wednesday service looks like for us. (If not, you can just skip this part, but be sure to check out the last paragraph of this post!)

The service begins with all participants entering the sanctuary in silence and remaining silent in order to pray and prepare their hearts before the service. The collective part of the service begins with an invitation to join in Lenten worship, as well as a responsive prayer for the season of Lent. (sidenote: As a younger Erin, I always kind of felt that "group" prayers took away the meaning of a prayer. As I've gotten older and taught myself to pay more attention to the actual words of the prayers and not just how awkward people can be when trying to read out loud together, I've learned that there's a lot for me to take away from responsive prayers. For Lent, in particular, I find it very helpful to have specific requests brought up that I probably would not have thought to include for myself.)

Following that prayer, we prayed the Lord's prayer and sang a few songs of worship. The first scripture reading was Isaiah 40:1-11, which we followed with a responsive reading of Psalm 103, leading into our New Testament reading, 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. This passage was then the basis for a brief sermon.

After the sermon, which was a call to reflect on our complete and utter dependence on God, we were invited forward (whenever we were ready) to receive ashes. This is the part of the service that is pretty out of sync with my evangelical upbringing. However, I really love it. We kneel at the front, and the pastor literally marks our foreheads with ashes in the shape of a cross. There's really something about the gravity of being exhorted to remember that we "come from dust and to dust we will return" while being marked in a time-honored tradition of the church. (Although, I do wonder where the ashes come from...).

We then responsively read Psalm 51, David's beloved psalm of repentance. We spent time in confession (not aloud...silently), were reminded of the forgiveness found in Jesus, greeted one another with the peace of Christ, and left in silence.

If you're interested in reading a little more about what our observance of Lent will look like, here is our church's blog, which includes our Lenten devotional guide. The devotional guide lists the suggestions for our weekly fasts (note: we're not required to do anything in particular, but the church leadership made suggestions of common fasts we could all participate in together if we want), as well as daily scripture readings to help focus our fasts. We start today. 

On a different note, a guy and a gal that I went to college with (who later married each other) are back working at Union currently, and Amiee (my sister) has been asked to work on some musical projects with them. They work at Union AND have a music ministry writing worship songs. Their site is http://www.psallos.com/ (no, they didn't ask me to promote them or anything...they don't even know I'm writing this. I just wanted to tell you about them.). What I most wanted to tell you about, though, is the most recent song that Amiee did with them. She sings the backup soprano part (the wife of the duo is doing the primary soprano part), and 3 of her friends are also part of the song. I think this song is a great one to ponder as we enter into the Lenten season, preparing for Easter. It's called "If Christ is Not Risen," and you can listen to it/read the lyrics here. It's about 3 minutes long; take a second and give it a listen! Also, bonus points if you can pick out Amiee's voice. :)