“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart,” Joel 2:12a
Time is marked. We mark time with watches, digital clocks, with electronic and paper calendars. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and special events help us to mark time. How do you mark time?
Christian seasonal traditions help us to mark time. Transfiguration Sunday, February 14, marks the end of Epiphany. Ash Wednesday, February 17, marks the beginning of Lent.
Epiphany celebrates Jesus, the light of the world. In Epiphany, we claim Jesus’ presence in our lives. We respond to God’s call to bear our lights into the world. In Lent we return our focus to Jesus himself, his life, his actions, his death and resurrection, to that which is the heart of our faith.
On Ash Wednesday, we mark time with dust and ash and claim again that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We mark time with intentionality as we seek to build a living faith through reflection, prayer, and acts of generosity.
This Lent, as we begin our 40-day journey toward Easter, we hope you will join us to mark time in worship, learning, and serving. Mark time by using one of the Lenten resources on our website at relcmedia.org/lent. Or participate in our Lent 2021 book read-along, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle. Mark time by visiting our new outdoor art installation, Prayers from the Heart, located outside the front main entrance. Use it to spend time in prayer. Mark time by engaging in community outreach. Serve when and where you can by joining others as we serve God’s people at The Well, The Life Center of Upper Darby, or with the Cards4Chester campaign.
This year as we begin Lent after an unprecedented year of change and uncertainty, let us return again, marking time with our hearts!
Deacon Beth Barkhau
Pastor Alina Gayeuski
Pastor Wayne-Matthias-Long