Dear Sisters and Brothers, Siblings of the Mountain Sky Conference,
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day of penitence as we enter the season of Lent. We stand before the altar on this day, receiving a smudge of ash on our forehead, a sign of our mortality and earthly impermanence.
In these days we are living, mortality has become especially real to us. The stench of death hangs in the air. We are mindful of loved ones we have lost, of empty places at our tables and in our pews. We are stunned at how quickly peace can turn to war and how far the violence of war can reach. We grieve the impact of nature’s destruction. Even within our denomination, once the bedrock that grounded our faith, we feel the instability of impermanence.
When death surrounds us, when we are so aware of the world’s brokenness and our own sinfulness, Lent beckons us to enter a journey that ultimately leads us to redemption, reconciliation, and resurrection.
I call on the people of the Mountain Sky Conference to journey together through this season of Lent. Take only what you need for the journey. Fast from those things that distract you from your vocation as a follower of Jesus. Through your fasting, may you make room for prayer, bible study, holy conferencing, and service. May you give space for an honest inventory of your life and your discipleship. May this Lent lead you to a fuller relationship with God, a closer walk with Jesus, and a way of life that is grounded in love.
The ashes we receive today are not just randomly smudged on our forehead. They are placed there in the form of a cross, a reminder that even while we are most acutely aware of our own mortality and sinfulness, we are forever being led to an empty cross, a symbol of God’s redeeming power through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Let us walk together this Lent, to be led by the Holy Spirit to Easter’s promise.
Blessings,
Bishop Karen Oliveto
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