Hard to believe that it’s Lent already!  Approximately 30 people of all ages came out on Wednesday evening to mark the beginning of Lent at our Ash Wednesday Worship.  We made our first exploration of this year’s Lenten Theme, which I’ve called ” Paying Attention”.  Traditionally Lent is a time for reflection on self, soul, and life in the world and with God.  In many traditions there is a strong emphasis on ‘repentance’, fasting, and ‘giving things up’, all of which – at their best – are tools to help ‘pay attention’ to our choices in life: do we choose the way of Life in Christ, or something else?  Until quite recently, denominations like the United Church tended to shy away from ‘all that Lent sadness’,  but in recent years we have begun to ‘pay attention’ to these ancient spiritual practices, and others like them, and are finding in them rich resources for people to ‘mark this time’ of Lent as a time to grow in faith.

For this reason we at Cedar Park this year, will ‘pay attention’ to various dimensions of the Lenten Season, and how these dimensions can add richness to our journey of faith.  We’ve created a “Lenten Activity Calendar”  and booklet, suitable for all ages, which we’ll be handing out to the KidZone at Church on Sunday. Each week of Lent ‘pays attention’ to a different theme: family, self, creation, others, our spiritual wellbeing, God’s Blessings, and finally to the journey of Jesus.  If you don’t want to be left out of this tool for paying attention, you can download a copy here.