Lent 2025: A Spirituality of Belonging

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. —Mother Teresa

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic separated us from one another physically and hate speech divided us politically, researchers were uncovering alarming gaps in our social fabric. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared a national “epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” and recently he left a “parting prescription for America” that boils down to community building.

Cultivating community is also at the heart of our faith—more important than belief, behavior, or notions of who’s in and who’s out. Now more than ever, we need a spirituality of belonging—ways of understanding, seeing, and living that remind us that we all belong, no exceptions.

Let’s explore and develop such a spirituality this Lent. In addition to rich worship services, we’ll gather for brown-bag Lenten Lunches. The season will draw on Dr. Murthy’s report; Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times by Gregory Boyle; and The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind & Contemplative Kids by Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor. Come, and be a part of it!

Ash Wednesday, March 5: Ashes to Go at noon in the Chapel; service at 7 o’clock

First Sunday in Lent, March 9: “Everyone Belongs” + Lenten Lunch

Second Sunday, March 16: “We Belong to God” (Rev. Chris Mereschuk preaching)

Third Sunday, March 23: “We Belong to Each Other” + Lenten Lunch

Fourth Sunday, March 30: “Belonging Brings Healing” + Lenten Lunch

Fifth Sunday, April 6: “Belonging is Forever” + Lenten Lunch

Palm/Passion Sunday, April 13: “Belonging is Powerful” + Lenten Lunch

Maundy Thursday, April 17: Simple Supper @6; service @7: “We Forget”

Good Friday, April 18: “The Sin of Separation” (details to come)

Easter Sunday, April 20: “We Belong to Life” + egg hunt