Dear Glen Mar friends,

Lent starts on Wednesday of next week! Let’s get ready to party on Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras, on 2/21 from 5-7 pm at the church! It’s breakfast for dinner, with pancakes, eggs, sausage, applesauce and more! It comes from the tradition of cleaning out one’s pantry of sugar and other goodies leading into the season of Lent. Y’all come!

On Wednesday, February 22, aka, Ash Wednesday, we want to invite you to join us in celebrating a Holy Lent.  We will have “Ashes to Go” (you can receive ashes in your car) from noon-2 pm, and a regular worship service that evening at 7:30 pm. Lent is from the Anglo Saxon word for “spring” (the season, not the coil). It is the season of the church year where we have the express invitation to repent of sin, and ways that we miss the mark as Christians, and make a new beginning with God on Easter. This season was used as a time of preparation for Easter baptisms, and a time to embrace intentionally some Christian disciplines that are designed to help heal and grow our relationship with God and with each other. (Notice, at no time did I say that you have to give up chocolate!)

Start the season off right by coming to church on Wednesday to receive ashes as a sign of our need for a savior, and take 40 days in the “wilderness” with Christ, where you will find God to be present in new and deeper ways. You might ask, “How do I observe a holy Lent?” Here are some suggestions that parallel our mission statement:

Praising God:

• Commit to attending worship with us each week during Lent, (see the Lenten Sermon Series). When you want to hit the snooze bar, come to church instead. And if you are traveling or live far away, join us online. I think you will be blessed!

Growing Disciples and Growing as Disciples:

• Start each day with prayer, a devotion with scripture, and a song or hymn of praise to God. If you need a devotional book, I suggest The Upper Room Disciplines 2023, A Book of Daily Devotions  (which will cover the whole year!) or Kate Bowler’s book of devotions for Lent called Good Enough: 40(ish) Devotions for a Life of Imperfection, which will have a similar theme to our Lenten worship series.
• If you’re praying once a day, strive for 5 – waking, each meal, and before bed. Try silence to hear God speaking to your heart. Light a candle. Try music.
• Find a friend, or a small group at church, to go through the devotion together or to engage in intentional Bible study. Read through the Gospel of Matthew (which is the lectionary gospel for this year)

Serving the World:

• Decrease your expenses and give what you would have spent to the church as an extra act of offering. Maybe you would “give up” a coffee or eating out and create extra to give. (John Wesley would approve). Your sacrificial giving means our church can serve others, and do all the work of praising, growing and serving God calls us to do.
• Give of time to serve others—visit a local food pantry, soup kitchen, thrift shop, and see how you can help. Visit your school and ask what they need. Tell them you are from Glen Mar church and we want to be a blessing to them.
• Gather a canned good each day of Lent and take it to the food pantry.
• Check out our website for other ways to serve and reach out for more info.

See you in Church,

Pastor Mandy

PS Thanks to you, and your giving, both to the church and to UMCOR, we were able to send nearly $6,000 to UMCOR for earthquake relief! Thank you! To God be the Glory!

For more information on what’s going on at Glen Mar, check out our blog “This Just In.”