Introduction: Making the Most of Lent
Lent calls us to deepen our awareness of the cost and the joys of following Christ. This year at St. Columba’s we are opening ourselves to the action of God’s Spirit in renewing our collective and individual commitment to be active in service to others. These Lent reflections have been put together by members of the clergy to provide a pattern of reflection and prayer to help us open our hearts and imaginations. Each week touches on a particular facet of the vocation to serve, providing three reflections on that theme to stimulate thought and prayer.
Our current program for renewing our call to service is called “Light the Fire!” and groups will meet this year to explore actual forms of service. They are called SPARK groups.
In creating this related Lenten resource we have turned that name into an acronym, to give us the five themes of Service, Prayer, Advocacy, Relationships and Koinonia (the scriptural word we translate as communion or fellowship, pronounced koyn-on-ee-a). We hope that you will find these varied reflections helpful in your Lenten pilgrimage. Each week's reflections will post to the website by Sunday morning of that week.
If we use Lent to deepen our awareness of the call to serve others, we will want to commit ourselves to celebrating Christ’s self-offering as the servant of all who gave his life on the cross. We hope that you will feel drawn to take part in the three great acts of worship that go to the very heart of the Christian way—Maundy Thursday, the Liturgy of Good Friday and the Great Vigil of Easter (April 5–7). Reserve these three evenings on your calendar now and make your participation and the sacrifice of time an offering to God.
This content was originally published in the 2012 Lent Reflections booklet "SPARK: A resource for exploring our call to be active in service." Copyright © St. Columba's Episcopal Church, 2012. Click here to download a PDF of the booklet.
