Lent is a struggle at the best of times - it's part of the deal.This year at St. Marks United Reformed Church we're sensing Lent - experiencing Lent with and through our senses - smell, sight, sound, imagination, taste, touch...each week in worship is different - the first week an elder was our 'artist in residence' for the hour of worship when she painted an expression on canvas of the music, gospel story and prayer. Week two we sat in a giant circle around tables with different smells and remembered different memories they prompted in us - cocoa beans in Jamaica, flowers in Springtime, composting our waste, fresh washing, DIY with paint and more. We were moved in song and sermon as we smelled our way through the story of the woman with the perfume from the jar of alabaster and Lazarus' stench of death in the tomb. Week 3 we shared in stories of welcome touch and touches of fear and violence in the news, our lives and through 4 freeze-frames of the story of Jesus getting arrested in the garden at nightime by soldiers and his friends steering clear. We also shared in touching prayer with a knitted prayer shawl as the prayers embraced us and we received Gods love and healing compassion to share with others and later gave out a flower to all to remember 'mother church' and mothering sunday - important in different ways.
We're embarking on tasting and hearing over the next two weeks - led by different people each week this is a fantastic way to weave together the lives of our world with good news stories of Lent - to mix them together and then share them through the week.
Blessings for Lent - to friends in Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Jamaica and Taiwan especially whom we remember in prayer because we hear of your lives in our church and community projects.
