Jim Campbell’s short summary of Rev. Lorraine Dierick’s Ash Wednesday sermon:
Her message was to a worshipping group made up of a few of our St. Mark’s and St. Luke’s Episcopalians, and also people from the Montesano Church of God and First Methodist churches. She explained briefly the well-known but not so well understood concept of giving up something for Lent. The point is to do something that has real meaning and can even have value. Example: Lorraine said one year she gave up her occasional lattes for Lent and took the $3 not spent and gave it to some needy charity. She pointed out the interesting psychological aspects of selecting something to give that one really loves, especially like food items (ice cream, chocolate) and how one can realize how addicted to them one is. Lorraine also brought up other ways to look at Lent and what things can be done, other than just pray and reflect—like think about stewardship of the earth and use a daily calendar with something to think about and even do to save resources: (http://earthministry.org/files/waipl-carbon-free-lent-calendar).
Lorraine finished by saying that Lent can be a useful time to pray, reflect, and otherwise listen for what God can do in your life and help you to be a more connected Christian. So, use this Lenten season as a time to pick out something to do that is meaningful to you and may be important to others, too, and act on it—as we head toward Easter and Resurrection.