Dear Friends,
As we enter this sacred season of Lent, I invite you to journey with us through Everything [in] Between—our worship series that acknowledges the middle spaces of life, the places between what was and what will be.
Lent itself is an in-between time, a season of 40 days that echoes the 40 years Israel wandered in the wilderness. The people of God had left the bondage of Egypt, yet they had not yet arrived in the Promised Land. They lived in the tension of uncertainty, longing, and transformation. Likewise, Jesus, after his baptism, spent 40 days in the wilderness—between the affirmation of his identity as God’s beloved and the beginning of his ministry of healing and restoration. In those days, he experienced isolation, uncertainty, and temptation, much like we do in our own wilderness seasons.
This Lent of 2025, we will turn to the Gospel of Luke as our guide. Beginning with Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem, we will encounter familiar stories—the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha, the fruitless fig tree, the lost sheep, Zacchaeus, and more. These scriptures will fuel our sacred imagination, prompting us to reflect not just on their meaning in Jesus’ time, but on their cultural and spiritual significance today. Jesus’ ministry was rooted in relationships that disrupted social, political, and religious divides. He met people in the gray spaces, beyond the categories that confined them. He challenged assumptions, welcomed the outsider, and revealed the radical, inclusive, and surprising love of God.
This Lent, we are invited to do the same. Instead of seeking easy answers, we will ask deeper questions. Instead of retreating into division, we will search for where God is meeting us in the complexity. We will look for faith that embraces nuance, hope that holds tension, and love that transcends boundaries. If you’ve ever felt caught between two places—between certainty and doubt, grief and hope, past and future—this season is for you. If you’ve ever longed for a faith that doesn’t avoid hard questions but engages them, I hope you will walk with us. God is not only found in the clear-cut places, but also in the wilderness, the in-between, the space where transformation takes place. Let us step into these 40 days with open hearts, trusting that God is present in every moment, in every tension, in every place we least expect.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Duane Carlisle (he/him)
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