Bible Reading: Luke 9:28-36
Dear Friends
Lenten season starts on this coming Ash Wednesday, a day in which we will come to church Sea Point 13h00pm and Observatory 19h00 to receive ashes on the forehead to signify “we are dust and to dust we return.” The practice of receiving ashes dates back to the fifth century and became a universal Christian practice by the 11th century.
As an important religious observance in the Christian world, Lent is the season to observe and commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God, our Savior and Redeemer. It is an opportune time to reflect on what it means to be a follower of Christ. Likewise, it’s an opportunity to repent for our misdeeds and misgivings and to increase the intensity of our prayer, fasting, almsgiving, practice of our faith and welcoming others as our brothers and sisters in our faith community.
Moreover, Lent is a time to grow in and strengthen our faith, which binds us together and makes all things possible because of our love and devotion to Jesus. I believe that, when we pray together, when we pray for others who need our prayers, things and people change for the better. We become interconnected, and we get closer to God.
Followers of Christ also practice almsgiving and fasting. We give of ourselves and of our time, talents and treasures. We love to share what we have, because we believe that giving is caring.
We give up something or deprive ourselves of something so that others can have it. That’s a sacrifice for others, for God. We just let others have it, instead of ourselves. That’s giving; that’s fasting, caring and loving. That’s an act of love for others and for God because we see Christ in them. We believe in giving, because it is in giving that we receive more blessings and graces from our Almighty God. To share is to give, and to give is to love, and to let others experience our faith.
We will therefore have an Ash Wednesday services both in Sea Point (13h00 pm) and Observatory (19h00 pm) on Wednesday 6th of March 2019. Thursdays evenings we will have reflections from 19h00 and on Fridays mornings we will have Communion at 06h00 am. Please consider setting aside time to honour some of these activities as your spiritual discipline.
Doing these things can help us grow in faith, especially this Lenten season.
Solomzi