Pentecost is my favorite day of the Christian Year, but Ash Wednesday is a close second. Laying claim to a day of great darkness, one which commemorates mortality, may appear odd. Odd, but true, for Ash Wednesday reminds me that I am not alone in the blackness.
I’m not quite sure why Ash Wednesday became a favorite. I think it was in part because of the solemn drama it enacts. Dimmed lights, quiet, candles, ashes, hushed tones. A procession of people shuffling forward to receive ashes on their forehead and words that remind them of their place in creation. Every worship service should be a reminder that it’s not about us, but Ash Wednesday puts it rather bluntly: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
But I think Ash Wednesday also became especially meaningful to me because there have been moments in my life that have been very dark. Not because I am not loved, but because I have experienced profound loneliness and uncertainty and fear and inexplicable darkness even in the midst of all of that love. Ash Wednesday reminds me that darkness, though disconcerting, disorienting, and scary, bears purpose.
Ash Wednesday is a day of great gloom that leads into a season of still thicker fog: lives are to be examined through prayer and fasting. While the darkness invites the important disciplines of reflection and repentance, Ash Wednesday realizes its full beauty when Lenten discipline moves us beyond ourselves. Lent shows the world how Christians respond to darkness. In Lent, we take on darkness. Following our Lord, Lent offers Christians the opportunity to enter into the darkness of others and remind them they are not alone, that God is there.
We live in a world full of darkness. Pain, suffering, loneliness. Divorce, sickness, violence. Death. This darkness suffocates. This darkness suffocates.
Thus, at the beginning of Lent, we may be overwhelmed by the suffering of the world around us, unsure of how to proceed. The pain seems too much to bear, the darkness too great to endure. Why attend an Ash Wednesday service to sit in darkness and be reminded? Why bring our children? Put simply, because we are called to remember. But also, so that they – and we – might know that we are not alone.
My husband and I choose to bring our children to these services so that they will grow up with a different rhythm. Not the days of the week and the months of the year, but the seasons of the Church. We want their time to be marked by these reminders that their lives are not their own, that their lives are ordered not by the activities that they choose but by sacred events that happened on their behalf. Christianity is a faith that requires hard things. But it is also a faith that will never leave them alone in their darkness.
We are in the dark world together, friends, and we need one another. Won’t you sit with us on Ash Wednesday and be reminded of that fact?
2/26 6:00p - Ash Wednesday Service 7:00p - Intergenerational Choir
Birthdays
02/20- Ralph Burnett
02/21 - Mark Hobbs
02/25 - Fred Stanley
02/26 - John Low
02/26 - Christa Chapelle
Worship on February 23rd Message Instructions for Living a Life: “Because I Live, You Also Will Live”
John 14:1-3, 18-20
Mary Alice Birdwhistell
4th Sunday Lunch – Fajita Fiesta
On Sunday, February 23rd, following worship the entire Calvary Family and visitors are encouraged to join our fellowship lunch! The church will provide chicken and steak.
Young Adult & Intergenerational classesare asked to provide tortillas, cheese, and sour cream.
The Adult Blend, SALT, & Unique Blend classes are asked to provide chips, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce and tortillas.
The Adult All Stars class is asked to assist with clean up at the end of the meal.
Ash Wednesday Service
Join us next Wednesday night for our Ash Wednesday service at 6 PM in the Sanctuary, for a time of worship, confession, reflection, and receiving of ashes. This is always a meaningful service for people of all ages and an important way that we begin the season of Lent together. All are welcome, and childcare is available. There will be no other regular activities that night other than the choir, who will rehearse following the service at 7:00.
"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return, but the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.”
Lebanon in July
For almost ten years, Calvary has had a special relationship with the Dar El Awlad, a residential program in Lebanon for boys who come from at-risk situations all across the Middle East.
To this day, boys who live at Dar El Awlad have pictures in their dorm lockers of the Calvarians who have visited them, sent them shoes, and made a difference in their lives, but the truth is that they have made a difference within us, too. We are excited about the opportunity to go back to Dar El Awlad this summer.
Our tentative dates for this summer are July 10-18th. For more info, contact John Hunt.
Special Business Meeting Regarding Licensing
On Sunday, February 9, the deacon body voted to recommend Dakota Farquhar-Caddell to the congregation to be licensed as a minister. Licensing is a practice in the Baptist tradition that happens before ordination, at the beginning stages of someone’s call to ministry.
We invite you to a special called business meeting before Sunday School on Sunday, February 23 at 9 AM in the chapel for more discussion about licensing Dakota. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided. Dakota has been serving as the leader of Calvary’s college students for a year and a half. A statement of his call to ministry can be found here. We will vote on licensing Dakota at the beginning of worship on Sunday.
Office Manager Position
Calvary Baptist Church is opening a search for a part-time (15 hour/week) Office Manager. Applicants must be available weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m, Monday through Friday.
Strong candidates will have administrative experience, be proficient in Microsoft Office and able to learn other software programs, demonstrate strong people skills, and exhibit a commitment to supporting the ministry of the church. To apply or for more information, please send your resume to cbcinfo@cbcwaco.net by March 1.
Instructions for Living a Life – February Worship Series
By Mary Alice
Wendell Berry once wrote,
“You mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this: ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.’ I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.”
And likewise, Mary Oliver wrote the following: “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”
So, like these poets, if you and I were asked to write out the instructions for living our lives, what would we say? (Spoiler alert: we will be doing this in worship!) When all is said and done, what do we want people to say that our lives have been about?
This month, we will be looking at various words that Jesus shared with us about a life well-lived. And in so doing, perhaps all of us can become a bit more intentional not only in what we say we want our lives to be about, but in actually living these ways, too.
February 2: Instructions for Living a Life: “Do This, And You Will Live” Matthew 16:24-28
February 9: Instructions for Living a Life: “Those Who Lose Their Life Will Find It” Luke 9:21-27
February 16: Instructions for Living a Life: “Do Not Worry About Your Life” Matthew 6:25-34
February 23: Instructions for Living a Life: “Because I Live, You Also Will Live” John 14:1-3, 18-20
In a few weeks we are launching our spring small group series based on our Lenten worship series: Learning to Walk in the Dark. Groups will meet for five weeks total, from the week of February 23rd through the week of March 31st (excluding Spring Break) in the homes of various Calvary members. Small groups are also a great way for us to dig further into the content of worship and to get to know other folks at Calvary. They have been an especially meaningful way to welcome new people into the life of the Calvary family, and this year's theme will be particularly rich to explore in the community of small groups.
If you would like to participate, click on the link below where you can sign up for a group based on day of the week and time that is best for you. There is a physical sign-up sheet posted in the hall behind the sanctuary if you'd like to sign up on a Sunday.
CBF General Assembly
Every year, the CBF family gathers together from around the world for our General Assembly, and this year, Mary Alice has been asked to be the preacher for the closing worship session on Friday night!
You might consider joining us for this year’s Assembly at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, June 24-26. It’s always a great week to connect with the larger Calvary family, too, many of whom are serving as ministers and CBF field personnel. For more information, visit https://cbf.net/general-assembly-2020.
Save the Dates: Spring 2020
February 23: 4th Sunday Lunch and Children’s Camp Fundraiser, Lenten Small Groups Begin February 26: Ash Wednesday Service (6 PM) March 22: 4th Sunday Lunch April 5: Palm Sunday in the Park with Greater New Light April 9: Maundy Thursday Service (7 PM) April 10: Good Friday Service (7 PM) April 12: Easter Sunday April 18: Calvary Night Live (Youth Camp Fundraiser)
