| From the Desk of Pastor Lauren A. Gough |
Greetings to you all in the name of Jesus our Lord!
Pastors Message for Lent
Slogging towards Easter
In nearly all languages the word for Easter is the same word for Passover. I am not sure how you make the distinction between the Christian feast of the Resurrection and the Jewish holy day of the liberation of the Hebrew people in those languages. But it does remind us of how deeply rooted resurrection is in the event of God�s freeing of the Israelites.
As we begin this holy season of Lent, the preparation for Easter, we Christians begin a journey. It is first of all a communal journey. We as a member of the faithful gather as the Body of Christ as Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and his date with the Cross. It is easy to think of Lent as an intensely personal journey, a time to correct bad habits, a time to foster new spiritual disciplines, a time to learn. It is all of those. But most of all it is like the Zucchini Festival, or a pork dinner. It is a time when we as members combine together to know the freedom that comes when Christ touches all of our lives in ways that proclaim God�s liberation from those things that bind us or keep us fearful. There is much in our world to be fearful about these days. The news is rife with doom and gloom.
In the Ash Wednesday liturgy we are reminded to go about our spiritual disciplines in secret and yet we place ashes upon our foreheads. I am glad our service is at night so that we are not tempted to parade around all day with ashes on our faces. The ashes are for us, not for the world. It is one of those personal acts that remind us of our mortality and the nearness of God�s kingdom. It is one of those things that we do as a community of faith that help us get off our duffs and be about being resurrection people.
Sometimes Lent gets like our parking lot. We get stuck in it! But one of the things about getting stuck here at St. Luke�s, you become the object of much ribbing and laughter. Lent needs to be approached like the Zucchini Festival, a congregational dinner or the parking lot�with much laughter and a willingness to embrace our messiness knowing that we have all been washed clean by the love of Jesus on the Cross.
Lauren.
The Reverend Lauren A. Gough
[email protected]
607-341-0800
If you would like me to come on a date that is convenient to you, please call the office.
Faithfully in Christ,
Pastor Lauren A. Gough
The Reverend Lauren A. Gough
[email protected]
607-341-0800
Pastors Message for Lent
Slogging towards Easter
In nearly all languages the word for Easter is the same word for Passover. I am not sure how you make the distinction between the Christian feast of the Resurrection and the Jewish holy day of the liberation of the Hebrew people in those languages. But it does remind us of how deeply rooted resurrection is in the event of God�s freeing of the Israelites.
As we begin this holy season of Lent, the preparation for Easter, we Christians begin a journey. It is first of all a communal journey. We as a member of the faithful gather as the Body of Christ as Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and his date with the Cross. It is easy to think of Lent as an intensely personal journey, a time to correct bad habits, a time to foster new spiritual disciplines, a time to learn. It is all of those. But most of all it is like the Zucchini Festival, or a pork dinner. It is a time when we as members combine together to know the freedom that comes when Christ touches all of our lives in ways that proclaim God�s liberation from those things that bind us or keep us fearful. There is much in our world to be fearful about these days. The news is rife with doom and gloom.
In the Ash Wednesday liturgy we are reminded to go about our spiritual disciplines in secret and yet we place ashes upon our foreheads. I am glad our service is at night so that we are not tempted to parade around all day with ashes on our faces. The ashes are for us, not for the world. It is one of those personal acts that remind us of our mortality and the nearness of God�s kingdom. It is one of those things that we do as a community of faith that help us get off our duffs and be about being resurrection people.
Sometimes Lent gets like our parking lot. We get stuck in it! But one of the things about getting stuck here at St. Luke�s, you become the object of much ribbing and laughter. Lent needs to be approached like the Zucchini Festival, a congregational dinner or the parking lot�with much laughter and a willingness to embrace our messiness knowing that we have all been washed clean by the love of Jesus on the Cross.
Lauren.
The Reverend Lauren A. Gough [email protected] 607-341-0800 If you would like me to come on a date that is convenient to you, please call the office. Faithfully in Christ,
Pastor Lauren A. Gough
Please remember our shut-ins in your prayers. They are:
Steve Bryden
Evangeline Cuyle
Theresa Elliott
Dee Johnson
Ralph Johnson
Pastor is here at St. Luke's on Tuesday Afternoons, and all day Wednesdays and Thursdays
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