Dear Friends in Christ,
Lent is commonly described as time of spiritual journeying, and Lenten worship experiences invite us into physical, as well as metaphorical movement. On Ash Wednesday we began the holy pilgrimage of Lent with a somber walk forward to receive the ashes of mortality and repentance. Palm Sunday worship opens with a joyful procession of children. During the Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service, we progress from light to darkness as a way of marking the disciples’ desertion of Jesus.
This Lent, Good Friday will present a new opportunity to weave movement of body and spirit into a tapestry of contemplative worship. The sanctuary will be open that day from noon until 6:00 PM for a self-paced series of reflections on Jesus’ Seven Last Words from the cross. As you enter the narthex, you will be greeted by a placard containing words of introduction and guidelines. You will also find a bowl of rocks. You are invited to choose a rock to carry with you into the sanctuary and as you make your way from one reflection to the next. The rock is meant to symbolize, a burden, a sin, or a worry that you are carrying at this time. Along the length of the center aisle of the sanctuary will be a series of placards, each bearing a reflection on one of the Seven Last Words. Feel free to pause, or sit, at each station to reflect, journal or pray, as the Spirit moves you. Before departing, you may leave your rock at the foot of the large wooden cross by the chancel, and pick up a rough nail to take as a reminder of the price Jesus paid to remove our burdens.
There will also be a labyrinth (provided in loving memory of Bob Lombard) set up in Covenant Hall for anyone who chooses to continuing to “pray with their feet” as a way of entering more fully into the Passion of Christ in preparation for the joyous resurrection celebrations of Easter morning.
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