With 1-2 feet of snow headed this way, we’ve canceled our Ash Wednesday service. While the service at Park Avenue Church will not take place, Ash Wednesday will still happen! Religious holidays are just like the postal service… they happen come rain, wind, or impending snowstorm!
With that in mind, thanks to our Children’s Minister Annie Taylor, we’re sending you a few activities you can do in your home to mark the beginning of Lent. These can be done with your family, your roommates, your neighbors, or just you! The activities below are an invitation – you are welcome to do all three, just one, or choose your way to begin the season of Lent.
This year our Ash Wednesday service will take place in our homes all around Twin Cities and beyond. While we won’t be physically together, we’ll join together in spirit on Wednesday to begin Lent with reflection and preparation.
But I’m looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Much love to you,
Pastor Gregg
Salt of the Earth:
When early Christians would pray, they would cross their arms and touch each shoulder with the opposite hand. They also fasted very strictly during Lent, making their bread with only water, flour, and salt. A monk shaped this in the form of praying arms for children, and the pretzel was born! Find a pretzel (or something else salty) in your house. Taste the saltiness. God said we are the salt of the earth! What do you think that means?
Try this prayer posture for yourself. Sit or stand with your arms crossed over your heart. As you pray like this ask God to give you some Godly saltiness to bring out the God flavors of the world.
Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
Take a Habit, Leave a Habit:
One way Christians can participate in Lent is choosing to give something up, or adding something that grows their relationship with God. Give two pieces of paper to each person in your house. Consider something that you could give up during Lent. Here are few ideas: – less tv/video games/phone time – less shopping – gossip Write the habit you’re going to give up on one piece of paper and release it into a receptacle (a jar, a box, the trash!). On the second paper, think about how you’ll replace the habit. If you’re stopping screen time at 8 pm, maybe that time could be used to connect with family or friends, or to pray. If you’re shopping less, you might invest that money into your community or a ministry. Take a few moments to pray and wonder how you can grow in your relationship with God during Lent. Write the habit you will practice during Lent on the second piece of paper, and place it somewhere in your home to remind you of the habit you left and the habit you took.
Ephesians 20-24 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.
Wailing Wall:
Lent is a time for lament and repentance. We can lament things that have happened in our lives, in our communities, and in the world. Take a slip of paper. Write down something you lament. Hold the paper in your hands and pray, asking God to give you God’s heart for yourself, for your community, and for the world. Find a place in your home to be your “wailing wall.” It might be a fireplace mantel, a kitchen counter, or a dresser. Roll the piece of paper and release it onto the wailing wall. You may choose to continue this practice during Lent, adding to the wall as you lament.
Psalm 130:1 “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!”
Pastor Gregg
