February 2019

Dear Beloved Community,

Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a time of reflection, soul-searching and taking stock of our lives. For thousands of years, religious people have made journeys of the heart as a way of gaining perspective and insight, with pilgrimages of many different kinds. This year our Lenten Season has been inspired by passages in our Holy scriptures that talk about the journeys, roads, and pathways of life, and we will make our “way” together through this heart-rendering season. The movie “The Way” will accompany us as our modern-day inspiration to live the life we’ve been given to the fullest.

As your priest, I began my Lenten journey a little earlier than many of you in preparation for this beautiful and Holy season. My time of prayer, meditation and reflection with God took me deep into my relationship with all of you at Calvary. My mind was filled with images of your smiles, tears, laughter, worries, moments of celebration and moments of sorrow. I was reminded of how so many of you faithfully serve the church, one another and those in need week after week, doing so without wanting anything in return. My heart was overcome with love as I recalled the numerous prayer requests that many of you bring to the altar as you continuously intercede for those in need.

I was reminded why I love you and feel blessed to serve you all regardless of the workload. I’ve come to realize that love makes us do crazy things and this is precisely why I think God calls us to love one another. Love calls us outside of ourselves, outside of our preferences and outside of our comfort zone. Love throws us into uncharted territories and down roads that are often unfamiliar and scary. And love calls us to do one of the hardest things imaginable; it calls us to surrender. Surrender to God’s love, trusting that God is on this journey with us and working all things out as we faithfully live our lives together as Christ’s body in the world.

As we travel together this Lenten season and beyond, let us not forget that God’s love casts out fear. Therefore, we should not be afraid as we travel down unfamiliar roads together. We need only pray that God grants us the wisdom and strength to follow His will and not our own, regardless of the cost. Amen.

Sincerely grateful for you,

Mother Mo+