February 27, 2020

“People say, ‘What is the sense of our small effort?’ They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.”

Dorothy Day

“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is se-cured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.”

Jane Addams

March is Women’s History Month and we also find ourselves in the midst of the season of Lent. One practice of spiritual discipline associated with this time is to give something up. For some it is a certain food, for others it may be a habit that we eventually want to break, or it could simply be a time to discard a practice so we can give more time and focus to our spiritual well-being. Taking a cue from the women quoted above, allow me to invite you into my Lenten practice for this year.

As we draw closer to election time, we find ourselves daily in the midst of the negativity that is in the press and all across social media. Add to this our own personal encounters with those who are in need, knowing that those in control in the government are trying to cut off access to what is available to them. Ra-ther than give in to despair and hopelessness, taking the words of Dorothy Day, whatever means I can find each day to bring hope and resolution, will be my focus. Rather than dwell on what is wrong, I will look for what is right or can be made right. It cannot happen all at once, but each day, one step at a time, at least in our corner of the world, we can make our way toward the common good, which also invokes the words of Jane Addams.

So as my life journey has taken me through uncharted territory and precarious circumstances, the Lenten season will find me focusing on ways, as opportuni-ties present themselves, to live out the words of II Corinthians 1:4: “He (Jesus) comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (NLT)

Growing Together in Christ,
Pastor Carolyn