"Spirituality and Spring Cleaning"*
 
       We use the word Lent with great reverence around the church.  The language of Lent is spoken with the gravity of an annoyed librarian shushing a noisy teenager.  Quiet!  Lent is serious business!      
       Given its import, you would think the word's etymology meant something spiritual like repentance or confession or at least preparation.  However, the word's beginnings are more modest...more secular...and not holy at all.  Lent comes from a Germanic word for long.   Thus, it was used to reference the lengthening of days.  This, of course, happens in the spring of the year.  Lenz means springtime.
       There you have it.  Lent is a borrowed word.  So is Easter; and its background is even odder.
       Nevertheless, Lent is a good word.  Christians drafted it into service as one of the oldest of church seasons.  By it we mean 40 days of preparation, confession,  and repentance that readies us for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.  It is a spiritual process.
       I did something spiritual last week; but it had nothing to do with readying for Jesus' resurrection.  I cleaned the basement...and I am calling it spiritual.
       I threw away some stuff.  Stacked all of Liz's pots that she plans on putting plants in one day.  I labeled a bunch of anonymous boxes, such as, "Liz's Pre-James Pictures," "James's Pre-Liz Pictures," "James AND Liz's Pictures," etc.  I can't imagine what I will do with my free time since I no longer will be digging through this formerly unidentified Rubric's Cube stack of boxes.
       I'm not ready to say that the time spent labeling and cleaning and tossing and sorting was equal to the same amount of time spent on one's knees praying; but it's close.  I can't explain how they are connected, but somehow Lenten disciplines and spring cleaning are related...maybe even first cousins.
       The rabbis say that an hour of study is equal to an hour of prayer.  Perhaps it also true with spring cleaning and Lent.
       We walked out of Northside's chapel on Ash Wednesday night wearing black dust on our foreheads.  Who knows, maybe some basement dust on our knees will do a lot of spiritual good, as well? 
 

*This article was taken from previous publication.

Our chancel will be decorated with white lilies on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010.  Orders for the lilies will end March 28! 

By James Lamkin

 The eight week series will be May-June 2010. Several years, I've done a spring Bible Study that parallel Lenten themes such as "The Prayer Life of Jesus," or "The Biblical Stations of the Cross." This year we will wait for Lent to pass and do more of an Easter emphasis. Since all of the New Testament books were written in response to Easter; and all emerged out of "Easter Faith Communities," I probably will choose an Epistle and study it through the lens of the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus. More on that later. However, I did want to let all students know that we will begin on May 5.

As a rule of thumb, we will not cancel worship services on Sunday morning except under the most extreme weather conditions.  Members are urged to use their own good judgment as to whether they should attempt to make the trip.  Should inclement winter weather cause the cancellation of a service, here is the plan:
 
1) The pastor and the moderator will make the decision.
2) The moderator will notify the Chair of the Diaconate.
3) The deacons will use the "phone tree" to notify the congregation.
4) One of the ministers will send an email to all those on the church's email list (electricity permitting) and place a notification on the church's voice mail.
5) One of the ministers will notify the media.