MAUNDY THURSDAY
April 2, 2026
Year A, Revised Common Lectionary

Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the
land of Egypt, “This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it
shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of
Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each
family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole
lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be
divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall
be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from
the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the
whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They
shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel
of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night;
they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water but roasted over the fire,
with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the
morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn with fire.
This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and
your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of
the LORD. I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike
down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and on all
the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall
be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will
pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of
Egypt. “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate
it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it
as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

I love the LORD because he has heard my voice
and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call
on him as long as I live. What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to
me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD; I will
pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the
sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. O LORD, I am your
servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my
bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the
LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in
the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the
LORD!

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also handed
on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a
loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is
my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he
took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my
blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often
as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until
he comes.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus
knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The
devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray
Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all
things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God,
got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to
Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus
answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will
understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus
answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter
said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus
said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the
feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he
knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are
clean.” After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had
reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You
call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I
have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their
master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you
know these things, you are blessed if you do them. When he had gone out,
Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been
glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in
himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little
longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you,
‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that
you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one
another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another.”

WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK
April 1, 2026
Year A, Revised Common Lectionary

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God has given me a trained tongue, that I
may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning
he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The
Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn
backward. I gave my back to those who struck me and my cheeks to
those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and
spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be
put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with
me? Let us stand in court together. Who are my adversaries? Let
them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare
me guilty?

Psalm 70

Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to
help me! Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt
me. Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” turn back because of their shame.
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love
your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do
not delay!

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that
clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set
before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for
the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of
the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against
himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls or
lose heart.

John 13:21-32

After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit and
declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The
disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.
One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining close
to his heart; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of
whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked
him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give
this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he
had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon
Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him.
Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one
knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had
the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the
festival,” or that he should give something to the poor. So, after
receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was
night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has
been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been
glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him
at once.

TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK
March 31, 2026
Year A, Revised Common Lectionary

Isaiah 49:1-7

Listen to me, O coastlands; pay attention, you peoples
from far away! The LORD called me before I was born; while I was in my
mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in
the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his
quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in
whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my
strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the LORD and
my reward with my God.” And now the LORD says, who formed me in the
womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be
gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has
become my strength— he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the
end of the earth.” Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy
One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers,
“Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has
chosen you.”

Psalm 71:1-14

In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to
shame. In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to
me and save me. Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress. Rescue me, O my God, from the hand
of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. For you, O Lord, are
my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. From my birth I have leaned
upon you, my protector since my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of
you. I have been like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. My
mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all day long. Do not cast
me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life
consult together. They say, “Pursue and seize that person whom God has
forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.” O God, do not be far from me; O my
God, make haste to help me! Let my accusers be put to shame and
consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and
disgrace. But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

For the message about the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the
discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise?
Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made
foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world
did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of
the proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews ask for signs and
Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block
to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, but to those who are the called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s
foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger
than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not
many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not
many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to
shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to
abolish things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom
from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order
that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

John 12:20-36

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival
were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew,
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless
a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain,
but if it dies it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those
who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves
me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever
serves me, the Father will honor. “Now my soul is troubled. And what should
I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have
come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from
heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing
there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has
spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for
mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be
driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to
myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd
answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains
forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this
Son of Man?” Jesus said to them, “The light is in you for a little longer. Walk
while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you
walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have
the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.” After
Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them

MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK
March 22, 2027
Year B, Revised Common Lectionary

Isaiah 42:1-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in
whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring
forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or lift up his voice or
make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a
dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth
justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established
justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus
says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them
out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives
breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am
the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I have taken you by the
hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a
light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the
prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in
darkness. I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and
new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

Psalm 36:5-11

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the
heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like
the mighty mountains; your judgments are like the great deep; you
save humans and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your
steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of
your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give
them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain
of life; in your light we see light. O continue your steadfast love to
those who know you and your salvation to the upright of heart! Do not
let the foot of the arrogant tread on me or the hand of the wicked
drive me away.

Hebrews 9:11-15

But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more
perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he
entered once for all into the holy place, not with the blood of goats
and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of the ashes of a
heifer sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is
purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our
conscience from dead works to worship the living God! For this
reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a
death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions
under the first covenant.

John 12:1-11

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they
gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those
reclining with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure
nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house
was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one
of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why
was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money
given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to
steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought
it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have
the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” When the great
crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only
because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from
the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as
well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were
deserting and were believing in Jesus.

…“And with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Lately we’ve been singing some spiritual songs along with our hymns. It’s been wonderful! Recently, as we read about the encounter Jesus had with the woman at the well, and offered her some kind of living water, we had the chance to sing this:

All who are thirsty, all who are weak, come to the fountain, dip your heart in the stream of life, let the pain and the sorrow be washed away in the waves of His mercy, as deep cries out to deep, we sing “come Lord Jesus come”, ‘Holy Spirit come”.

This followed a recent “band Sunday” when we worshiped and sang with guitars and piano instead of organ and choir. You likely won’t be surprised to hear that reactions came from different directions. Some of you shared how it feeds your spirit to sing new songs and be led by voices and other instruments. Others have shared how it is not your preference because it does not feed your spirit. This becomes a dim reflection and quiet echo of “worship wars” that have ravaged the American Church over the last fifty years.

The way it has played out for most congregations is that we have fought for power, and ended up choosing hymns, organ, and choir exclusively, or contemporary songs and praise bands exclusively. This leaves us as worshipers with the encouragement to become consumers who value personal preference over diverse community, and so we go find a new church that feeds that preference. The subtle sin is this, that worship becomes focused on US, it becomes for US rather than for God’s praise. It is possible for our own worship preferences to become an idol — that is, that we can “worship worship” rather than the God we come to encounter.

It’s a struggle for all of us, because we all have our preferences, we all have worship traditions that have formed us. That’s just natural, and as it should be.

What is unnatural for us is this New Life in Christ which causes us to love one another in ways that we just can’t without the Spirit’s help. In Christian community, when God’s Spirit is having its way with us, as we say in our behavioral covenant, “we value others above ourselves as Christ does” — and so my own preferences – though they remain – sit right along yours, which I understand are different than mine. Spiritual maturity helps us to grow into this space where we accept and even can celebrate a worship moment that isn’t what I would like or choose but that I see and sense is helping you to praise God, or find language with which to pray.

I’m thinking about this in terms of the high value we put on inter-generational life together. We celebrate all the moments we have together. Though we’re young and old, we tend to do everything possible not to separate off into our own age groups or experiences. We learn from each other, laugh together, and our kids have so many grandparents and our grandparents have so many grandchildren! This is just wonderful, and also somewhat unique in our current American church landscape. Most churches are “under 40” churches or “over 60” churches. Much of this has to do with a defined worship pattern (a good thing!) that has become closed to other, different, and wider expressions (a bad thing!)

Our vision as pastors is for us to continue to worship together with more and more new and varied expressions and experiences as our church family grows and changes. It’s not about leaving hymns behind, but allowing the spiritual songs to grow our worship of God right alongside of the hymns. This will be especially important in the seasons of transition ahead. And as you know, this word comes from a hymn geek!

What we are trying and hoping to do, and what we need to do as an inter-generational church family is see each other, and celebrate our different opinions about all manner of things, including the worship of the Church. And as a congregation that has a long and well-developed worship pattern and style that is on the more liturgical and traditional in nature, it is critical for us now to acknowledge the growing hunger in our church family for other worship expressions too! I. myself am learning to love and long for them.

Can we find the maturity and strength as we worship God to value and celebrate each other?

Love From Here

Peter Hawkinson

Recently I found myself harried and hurried with a bevy of “to-dos”. It was one of those days. I was in a mid-afternoon rush, and traffic was slowed by emergency vehicles and construction and delivery trucks and school busses and crossing guards. As I fell further behind on my plan to accomplish my errands, I could feel my blood pressure pulsing.

I decided a cup of coffee might sooth the strain, and so veered into Dunkin Donuts where of course the drive thru lane stretched all the way out into the side street. Uggh! “Quicker to just go in” I muttered, feeling sorry for myself, and as I got the door a woman on her way out held the door even with four coffees in a carrier bundled in her arms.

“Well, hello!” she said as I tried to scoot past without noticing. But she pushed through. “Hey, I hope you’re having a blessed day!” she said, kind of bending down a bit so that she could catch my eye and ask me to catch hers. What followed was just a couple of seconds of sharing life together, seemingly insignificant, as we looked into each other’s eyes and she smiled at me, as if to say, “Hey, it’s all going to be ok, we’ll get through this!” And that was that as she pushed on and I pushed into the line for my coffee and blueberry donut — my favorite Dunkin’ fare.

Finally back in the car, I laughed to myself a bit recalling the encounter — first kind of shaking my head at my own attempt to avoid, to ignore someone saying hello to me, and then finding myself grateful that she didn’t give up, but sensed in some way that I needed a little encouragement, a bit of hope, and stooped down to really see me and wish me a blessed day.

I’ve been thinking about it since, and trying to learn to become more intentional about greeting the people who I am passing throughout each day, trying to lift my head up and look at others I meet, and borrow that woman’s kind words….”Well, hello!” I realize that I have been conditioned behaviorally, culturally, in my lifetime of urban living to just kind of ignore the presence of others and stay in my lane. Someone might get nervous if I acknowledge them on the elevated train as I sit down next to them, let along go even further to say hello.

But I’m re-learning how much I need this human interaction, and the constant opportunities I have to see and acknowledge others who might be having a tough time, a hard day. I think about all these Jesus encounters in John’s gospel we’ve been reading through lent, and how each of them begins with Jesus own ability to essentially say to those he meets, “Hey, I see you. I see you.”

The invitation for me is two-fold. First of all, to lift up my head and my life and see others around me, always passing by. And second, seeing them, to bless them, to greet them, to say thanks for holding that door, and even more importantly, for seeing me.

Love From Here!

Peter Hawkinson

A year or two ago on a Wednesday night at church, I remember someone asking me some variation of the question: “what is one of the hardest parts about being a youth pastor today or at our church?” My answer was “helping kids understand that God doesn’t live at camp.” Growing up this was a struggle for me, and it took me into adulthood (really I’m still working on it) to incorporate God into every area of my life. Or, put another way, to understand that God is in and through all things– God is already there if only I’d have eyes to see. Beyond the example of camp, I think this is a constant tension in all of our lives and faiths. God doesn’t live at church, rather somehow we are supposed to be the Church! Perhaps God is actually most active in the places we least expect and our own presumption that God cannot possibly be found there a) limits God and b) is woefully arrogant to assume. 

In fact, God shows up in these unexpected ways throughout the biblical story. In the book of Ezekiel, when the people are experiencing exile, there is this image given of a divine throne on wheels which demonstrates God is not confined to his Temple and will go with the people wherever they go. In the person of Jesus, we come to understand that God is not even confined to his divinity or to the heavenly realm, but that God comes to earth as a human to be God with us. After Jesus ascends, again, God is not gone, but the Holy Spirit comes down and somehow God’s home and presence is within us, you and me. 

If these things are true, then we know that God cannot be confined, boxed in, or limited, and it is therefore an important part of our discipleship that we begin to invite God into every part of our lives, seeing how God is in and responds to the world around us. Our junior high students are embarking on such a journey in youth group for the rest of this year, and into next year. We are participating in the second cohort of Justice Journey– a Covenant curriculum designed for kids, that helps connect our faith to the world, and most specifically the injustice that we see around us. The program was primarily written and designed by Dominique Gilliard, director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation in the Covenant Church and Steve Burger, current children & youth ministries coordinator for our conference and general children’s ministry and curriculum writing giant in the denomination. 

This group of junior high students is ready for this journey! At the end of every youth group we share prayer requests together and their requests demonstrate their concern for their neighbors, for the political climate, for the environment, for the world. I am so eager to see how we will continue to grow in faith together, in doing justice together (Micah 6:8), and how our students might push us adults forward in our own discipleship. But perhaps we need not wait for that push, instead may we be ever asking ourselves– where do I need eyes to see God’s movement? How is God already at work in the world around me? How is God inviting me to join in?

With love, Pastor Lynnea

P.S As a part of our participation in this Justice Journey cohort, we have been sent many books that I will be putting into the Garden of Readen as resources, that I am encouraging all of you to check out and use, especially for the littlest ones of the church. You can see a picture

just some of the selection here: 

Our guest blogger is Melissa Kaat, who along with Kari Lindahl ministers to our children and families.

I often find myself caught between wanting to stay informed about the world and needing to step back for the sake of my own well-being. For most of my life, music has been the thing that has helped me find that balance. To me, music, has a way of lifting my spirits, grounding me, and offering comfort without asking anything in return. But recently, even my favorite artists weren’t giving me the reassurance they once did. After taking a quiet break from music altogether, I was introduced to a Christian artist whose songs reminded me of God’s never-ending love through his lyrics filled with hope and deep faith. That unexpected discovery shifted something for me. It made me realize that sometimes the things we’ve always relied on stop being enough, and this moment then becomes an invitation to look for something deeper, even in places we never thought of searching.

Music has touched every part of my life. Growing up in a small rural town in Wisconsin, music on the radio was one thing we always had. I remember listening to the large bulky room stereo in our living room constantly. In elementary school years, I often had morning karaoke sessions with my mom, using the vacuum handle as our microphone, of course! After school my dad would always have music blaring from the garage while he worked on projects and my siblings and I played outside. As a child, we had the radio on for each family dinner at night and it was always on in the car no matter how short the ride was. As an adult, with my own family now, music continues to be a part of my daily life. I often listen to my favorite bands on the daily walk with our dog. We love to stream the best sing-along musicals on our long car rides together. And during family game nights, there is often music playing in our house over someone’s streaming service. Music is a part of me, but recently I have felt like the music I love no longer seems to give me the comfort I crave, and have grown to know and trust.

A few months ago is when I really started to realize that I needed more from music. 80s and 90s country music has some amazing songs that bring me right back to the simplicity of my childhood. But right now, amid the constant stream of notifications and the unen my kids ding rush of daily news, I need something that does not just tell me a folksy story that rhymes or has a catchy tune. I am craving a deeper connection from music, something that touches my soul and fills me with the same comfort and reassurance that a child feels when their mom kisses their bandaged scraped knee. So, in my struggles, I found I just stopped listening to music completely. I experienced my days feeling longer, and I tried to fill the new empty space with highly recommended audio books and crime podcasts, but I still felt lost. This wasn’t working either and missing music, I felt I needed to try again. Over the following weeks, I tried different styles of music, different artists, and then over hearing my kids music, I tried completely different generations of music.

A young Christian contemporary artist writes lyrics that hit me, like “I’ve been sick and tired of being sick and tired” and “I gave him nothing, and He gave it all”, and when I find my prayers feel hopeless the lines “It’s hard to get up out of bed, I look up to the sky and say, ‘I’m done, I’m done’, and He says ‘Watch your mouth boy, don;t talk like that.'”Josiah Queen sings about having the newest i-phone, yet our bibles are dusty and the unconditional love God gives us all is on blood stains on two wooden beams. His songs are written with a deep love of God and he sings them with so much passion and in a relatable way. His music was exactly what I was looking for , what I was missing. His songs offer me comfort and real meaning that go beyond my old favorites. I am sure I am very late to discover him since his first song was released in 2020, but before now I have needed to look beyond my music comfort bubble. Now, more than ever for me, listening to music isn’t just about filling background noise; it’s a way I can find moments of peace and seek out words of reassurance I really need to hear even if it’s only for three to five minutes at a a time.

This experience taught me something I didn’t expect: sometimes the things we’ve relied on for years stop fitting the version of ourselves we’re becoming. And that isn’t necessarily a loss but instead it could be an invitation to be more. When I finally stepped outside of my familiar playlists, I discovered new music that spoke to parts of me I hadn’t realized were aching for attention. It reminded me that comfort can evolve, and meaning can show up in places we never thought to look.

So here’s my challenge to you: choose one thing in your life that you’ve always accepted as “just the way it is” whether that be a routine, a hobby, a habit, or a source of comfort, and ask yourself whether there might be more waiting beneath the surface. You might be surprised by what you find when you give yourself permission to look beyond the familiar.

Melissa Kaat

For the past several years it has become my habit each Lent to create a temporary labyrinth for the season. It has become a spiritual discipline that I enjoy, especially when I am not doing it alone. Peter Strom was my partner this year and I am grateful for his company as well as his knees!

To walk the completed labyrinth, to warm it up and ready it for the pilgrims who will travel it this season is a gift. I forget that I am in a gym and feel the path open up to me in the quiet. This meandering path that leads to the center reminds me that, even when I may feel lost, I never truly am. With God as my center, I am never lost.

This week I am participating in the Advanced labyrinth Facilitator Training program through Veriditas. Veriditas trains and supports labyrinth facilitators globally and offers programs and events to introduce and engage people with labyrinth walking as a pathway to personal and community enrichment, healing, and growth. I became involved with them in 2015 when I began a contemplative leadership program after seminary.

It is truly a global organization. Participating in this training are facilitators from China, South Korea, Ireland, and across the United States. I have met people from New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and Sweden at events or workshops I have attended. A large majority of these folks are pastors and faithful lay people. The labyrinth is a spiritual discipline used in the church from the Middle Ages to today.

The temporary labyrinth that is taped to the floor in the gym (we used blue painter’s tape so as not to impact the floor,) is a classical style labyrinth. Unlike a maze in which you can get lost and is created to confuse, the labyrinth has a single path that leads to a center. A maze is designed for you to lose your way while the labyrinth is designed for you to find your way.

The labyrinth path is to be walked slowly, at your natural pace. A labyrinth walk often consists of the three R’s. As you walk into the labyrinth and move towards the center Release whatever is weighing you down. When you arrive in the center, stop and Receive, listening for God’s message to you. As you travel back out on the path, Return to the world giving thanks for God’s presence.

There is no single right way to walk the labyrinth, each journey is uniquely your own. Since reaching the center is assured, walking the labyrinth is more about the journey than the destination, about being rather than doing, integrating body, mind, and spirit. 

Taking on the practice of walking the labyrinth during Lent allows us to spend intentional time with God as we reflect on how we can listen more closely to where God is calling us in this time.

I invite you to journey to the center, our center which is God, with a prayer by the Rev. Lauren Artress, the founder of Veriditas.

Invocation for Centering

Pause.

Let the outer world loosen its hold.

Beneath the noise and motion,

there is a still point holding you

together-

not ridged, not closed,

but centered and alive.

Centration is the power that gathers,

that gives form without force,

that holds complexity without collapse.

May we return to our inner ground,

rooted enough to remain present, 

open enough to respond wisely.

Step gently.

You are being drawn towards your center.

Peace,

Pastor Kristie Finley

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:42)

It’s Tuesday early afternoon, and I am working on an Asian Chicken Salad at Panera. Not the popular choice on Fat Tuesday, but I’m trying to be healthy, and it’s delicious! Here’s what I see, hear, smell, and notice…

Folks are drawn to the gas fireplace in the center of the room, where seats are filled up around the warmth, and never vacant for long. Even on a mild February day, the chill of winter will remain for awhile. What a blessing warmth is.

The sky to the south out the window has an opaque orange tone near the horizon, while looking right to the west it’s much more dark and gloomy. I wonder about those around me, which sky pattern reflects their spirit just now.

Three women next to me chatter away in happy tones. They seem to be about my age. There’s smiles and laughter. I hear remnants of high school stories from decades ago. How precious time is, how quickly it passes, and what power is held in memories!

On the other side of the clear waist length window is a table overflowing with delicious sweets. Orange frosted scones, cookies, breads, muffins, cakes, and yes, those irresistible cinnamon crunch bagels. How close temptation is always lurking!

Eighty percent of the people I can see are looking at their phones. Me too! Are they getting the newest breaking news? Playing games? Checking the stock market? Working? Face-timing, one of them. I put my phone down. Four seconds later it beeps, thanking me for my recent blood donation. And I hear for all of us Jesus’ invitation to “come away and rest with me for awhile.”

A smiling employee asks if he can take my empty salad bowl away for me. Thanking him, he looks right at me and says, “It is my pleasure.” I watch him do the same, table by table. I can tell who the regulars are, because he knows them by name and they pick up conversations from yesterday. I pray silently the old prayer of a saint from centuries ago: “You have given me so much, Lord, give me one more thing, a grateful heart.” (George Herbert)

Meanwhile, folks are grumbling at the big coffee vats. There is plenty of the decaf, mild blend, and Hazelnut, but the Columbian Supremo is out! And everyone is drinking coffee in the early afternoon, and wants the strong stuff. No doubt about it, that we need some more rest than we get. Finally it comes, and I watch people fill up as George Harrison sings/prays over my airpods, “Give me love, give me love, give me peace on earth, give me life, give me life keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me cope with this heavy load, trying to touch and reach you with heart and soul. Please take hold my hand, that I might understand you, won’t you please, O won’t you…”

A woman walks past me with a scarf covering her head and a hospital ID bracelet on her wrist. My first guess is that she is fighting against the cancer treatments. I take a few moments to pray for her health and strength as she gets in her car and drives away. I realize how much more aware I could/should be of those around me and the burdens they carry if only I’d stop long enough to see them.

So much to see, so many souls to encounter, so many stories unfolding. So much joy, so much sorrow, and all of this in every sacred day. I wonder what they think as they see me.

Life is a gift. What do you notice where you are as you read this? I’d love to meet you at Panera and talk about it!

Love from here

Peter Hawkinson