In mid February, there was a gathering after worship to talk about the season of Lent and to share ideas about how we could nourish our faith in this season. Lent begins March 6th and is the 40 days (not including Sundays) until Easter – April 21st. The dates of the season of Lent vary each year depending on the date of Easter. This year Easter is about as late as it can be. Lent is a time of intentional focus as we engage in the life and ministry of Jesus and as we reflect anew on the Holy Week story of faithfulness and denial, betrayal and discipleship, community and confrontation, death and resurrection.
Four different activities/opportunities will help to define Lent at Riverside this year:
1) Quiet Meditation/Prayer Room – Sundays from10:30 until 10:55. Room 8 will be open for quiet reflection time.
2) Lenten Challenge. A calendar for daily reflection will be available on Sunday, March 10th – or in the church office following the 10th. This activity will invite us to take a moment each day to be intentional about remembering the Lenten season and the invitation to live with a lens of faith and hope.
3) Weekly worship – The first five Sundays of Lent will include the Opening Liturgy based on the Morning Service from the Iona community. The scripture readings for these Sundays are parables from Matthew and Paul will be preaching a series entitled, “Moral Imagination”. Each week we will reflect on and wrestle with a concept of faithfulness:
- March 10th – Reconciliation – Matthew 18: 15-35
- March 17th – Equity – Matthew 20: 1-16
- March 24th – Hospitality – Matthew 22: 1-14
- March 31st – Engagement/Investment – Matthew 25:14-30
- April 7th – Compassion – Matthew 25: 31-46
4) “Life in all its Fullness – to the End” A Lenten series of workshops in partnership with Compassionate Ottawa. Each workshop will conclude with a pot-luck finger food supper. All are welcome to one or to all three of these workshops.
- Sunday, March 10th – 3:30pm – Introduction to Compassionate Ottawa. Motto – “Living as long as you can, as well as you can.”
- Sunday, March 24th – 3:30pm – Workshop on Conversations – creating times and places to have difficult conversations as families, friends, about the needs and realities of aging.
- Sunday, April 7th – 3:30pm – Creating Compassionate Communities of Faith – how do we support and care for one another-particularly those who are isolated.
