A Lenten Journey
Lent is a holy season of the church year, beginning with Ash Wednesday (March 6, 2019) and ending on Easter (April 21, 2019). It is a time of preparation for Easter through prayer, reflection, silence, repentance, reading, and growing in the grace of God. Many people see these 40 days as a time to refresh and renew their relationship with God and each other. It is a time to bring “springtime” into the soul burdened by the hate and fear in our world, conflicting human relations, and the lack of world peace.
Here at Scarritt Bennett Center several opportunities to enrich your Lenten journey:
Tuesdays in the Chapel – Each Tuesday at 12:30-1:00 we have a worship service in Wightman Chapel. Preachers will include Gordon Johnson, Mission Volunteer; Marilyn Thornton of United Methodist Publishing House; Doug Ruffle and Rosanna Anderson of Discipleship Ministries; and Cherie White, a retired missionary. The Passion Story will be shared on April 16 during Holy Week. Come and take a “Sabbath Break” on a Tuesday.
Vespers & All that Jazz – On the Sunday evenings in Lenten at 6:30-7:15 the contemplative jazz worship service will be held. Each Sunday will have a different theme and scripture with music in the jazz format. On April 7 a special service will be held featuring the music of Charles Albert Tindley, an African-American pastor and hymn writer, sung by the choirs of Howard Congregational , Unity Missionary Baptist and Edgehill United Methodist churches. Come and encounter the Sacred through words and music.
Retreat: “Listen the Silence Speaks.” March 28 (dinner) – March 30 (2:00 pm) Melissa Tidwell will lead a silent retreat designed to provide space, resources, and content for enrichment, reenergizing and renewal during the season of Lent. The art of listening will be experienced through a variety of exercises and resouces. Each participant will have time for introspection and prayer, and time to gain strength and direction to continue the spiritual journey. Rev. Tidwell is a former editor of Alive Now and currently pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio. Registration is at https//bit.ly/silencespeaks2019 and available are commuter and residential rates. Come and experience silence in the midst of an urban setting.
I hope you will make some of these opportunities part of your Lenten Journey this year. May your journey be full of courage, hope, and the sense of God’s continued presence. May your soul be renewed and may you be prepared to celebrate once again the resurrection on Easter morn
Joyce D. Sohl, Laywoman-in-Residence
Joyce D. Sohl has been Laywoman-in-Residence since 2009 as a full-time volunteer. She retired as CEO of United Methodist Women in 2004. She is the author of 4 books, a teacher, retreat leader, writer and non-professional musician. Here at the Center her work is in the area of Spirituality & the Arts with such programs as Tuesdays in the Chapel, Vespers & All That Jazz, Poet’s Corner, quarterly retreats, and art exhibits.