Disciple: Think Different: Lenten Foundations
By Christine McTaggart
Many consider Lent to be a time of sacrifice, as sweets and caffeine are given up for the duration of the season or old habits are kicked for good.
But for three churches in the Diocese of North Carolina, Lent has become a time for doing things a bit differently, for incorporating new or different practices with lasting impacts on the congregations and individuals who take part.
40 DAYS, 100 FAMILIES
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are member of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)
When an outreach project fell through in early 2016, the Rev. Dr. Robert Sawyer, rector at Good Shepherd, Raleigh, found an idea in this familiar passage. Five thousand dollars had been allotted for the initial project, and he wanted to see it used in the spirit in which it had been originally intended.
So on a Sunday shortly before Lent began, the first 100 people to leave following services were handed a $50 bill as they walked out of church and a card that read, “40 days, 100 families, $5,000. Let us know to whom and why you gave your money as you experienced Jesus at work in the world around you.”
Some were excited about the prospects the project offered and knew exactly where their money would go, while others were less excited as they did not have a particular cause in mind. But before the 40 days were out, almost all would find that something as simple as sharing the gift would be a profound experience.
As cards were returned to the Good Shepherd offices bearing the stories of giving, the variety of recipients reflected the many ways Christ was seen to work in the world. Some chose to support established organizations like the American Heart Association, or ministries such as Love Wins, Backpack Buddies and the Diaper Train. Others shared the gift with individual families with specific needs, including one family that was endeavoring to fulfill the wish of a relative who wanted to be laid to rest in her native El Salvador. Still others turned to community offerings like the Natural Science Museum. Of the 100 people who participated, all but one matched the $50 they were given.
“People told me it was much harder than they thought it would be,” said Darlene Netzer, parish administrator for Good Shepherd. “They thought they’d just get rid of their $50 and be done with it, but the more they thought about it and talked to people, it became more of a concerted effort to see Christ at work in their world.”
It is work they want to see happen again, and the congregation is looking forward to repeating the initiative when Lent returns.
A LENTEN HEAD SPACE
Todd Truffin is the first to admit he understands why folks might not immediately think of a book study – even one during Lent – as transformational. “What is so different about a book study?” he said. “People do book studies all the time.” But as a participant in the study that took place at Trinity, Fuquay-Varina, in 2016, he knows the answer.
“What happened in that book study was really an integral part of a year-long initiative happening at Trinity,” he said.
It began in early 2016 when Truffin and a few other members of the congregation attended “Seeing the Face of God,” the diocesan anti-racism training course offered by the Bishop’s Committee for Racial Justice and Reconciliation. That experience led directly into the choice to read and discuss during Lent The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone.
“It’s a challenging and frank metaphorical linking of those two images – the cross and the lynching tree,” said Truffin. “Cone makes a very compelling case for the similarities of those two images. Obviously when you start talking about lynching from a group of mainly white folks, we’re being called to account. A big part of the Lenten idea was that part of racial reconciliation is a certain amount of self-reflection.”
The group used the Lenten time frame to accept the challenge of self-examination as it related to something that can be uncomfortable and unpleasant. The book helped provide the framework of that examination. Said Truffin, “Part of reconciliation is understanding the perspective of another party, and [Cone] is an African-American theologian very interested in the ways being African American affects his understanding of God and Christ and taking great comfort from that connection between the cross and the lynching tree.”
The Lenten book study proved to be a powerful, challenging time. What set it apart, however, was that it didn’t end there.
“With a lot of book studies, you do the book study, say ‘yes, I’ve had a nice insight and it’s been great meeting with y’all’ and you go on with your day,” said Truffin. “But this book study infused us with this idea that we need to do something [more].” That something became a series of conversations and meetings with an African-American congregation across town throughout the year, culminating in invitations to share worship with each other. Both the Rev. Roxanne Gwyn, vicar at Trinity, and the partner church’s pastor participate in a “preaching exchange” of sorts, where each preaches at the other’s church on a given Sunday. And it won’t stop there.
“We’re really looking at this as a developing relationship,” said Truffin.
He credits the Lenten season as the foundation of what has blossomed into what Lent is ultimately supposed to be about: self-examination, renewal and changing yourself in some way. In the case of those who took part in Trinity’s book study, it also became about reaching out and dealing with a cultural sin.
“Could we have done this at any other time of year?,” said Truffin. “Sure. But I do think there was something special about Lent that gave us a head space created by the church calendar for doing exactly this kind of work. It allowed us to be very intentional about it. It wasn’t the bland, vague ‘oh yes, I must think about my sins’ – this was a very intentional let’s talk about this. Lent helped focus it.”
Trinity plans to do another Lenten book study in 2017, though the title is yet to be decided. Whatever it is, the goal will be the same as what was achieved in 2016: to create the spiritual head space that will carry through the rest of the year. “That should be the key to any Lenten exercise,” said Truffin. “You’ve done the self-examination, so now what? What are you going to do with it?”
FROM DUST TO GLORY
There are few among us who haven’t been affected – even momentarily – at one time or another by a well-turned phrase or saying. They can often lead our own thoughts into deeper recesses or down unexplored paths.
While we might expect to find these sources of inspiration in pulpits or on altars, the parishioners of St. Margaret’s, Waxhaw, find them in each other.
From Dust to Glory is an annual Lenten booklet produced by St. Margaret’s but written by the people who attend there. It’s the brainchild of the Rev. Susie Bruno, deacon and assistant to the rector for outreach and missions, who has been producing Lenten booklets in this manner at the different places she’s served over the last 25 years.
The booklet is designed to be a daily reflection for the 40 days of Lent. Each reflection is based on a verse from a Bible passage, chosen from the Lectionary readings. Parishioners at St. Margaret’s sign up to do a 250-word meditation on one of the passages, which are then collated and produced in a booklet and distributed before the start of Lent for use throughout the season.
“It’s proven to be a very meaningful connection amongst us as a parish family,” said Bruno. “On a given day we are reading a reflection of one of our fellow parishioners, and hopefully it spurs us to think about how we might have written about or considered it. To think however many hundreds of people are reading the same thing written by someone you sit next to in the pews has proven to be really meaningful.”
Participants are not limited to any particular group of people. Those who use the booklet will find reflections from vestry members and kindergartners alike.
“It’s taken on a life of its own,” said Bruno. “I used to have to call and ask folks to do it, and now there’s a waiting list. That really speaks to the impact it’s had. We try to encourage first-time writers, and it’s always neat to see folks unsure of whether they can do it try it and really enjoy it.”
The booklet is finding its way beyond St. Margaret’s doors, as parishioners now share the annual offering with other families and friends.
“A lot of people have enjoyed the experience, not just to be part of the project, but because it deepened their own Lenten journey and confidence to read Scripture and share their perspective. Because of the booklet, we see people delving deeper into Scripture, and it’s been a unifying tool that draws us into commonality.”
Christine McTaggart is the communications director for the Diocese of North Carolina.
Tags: North Carolina Disciple
