An Invitation to a Holy Lent
I recently received a wedding invitation in the mail. I was so excited as I began to think about celebrating this upcoming marriage. I spoke to the mother of the bride and she was excited too, but had struggled to cut down the guest list. Generally, invitations are exclusive – only those invited can participate. In our liturgy for Ash Wednesday, there is an invitation – an invitation to the observance of a holy Lent. Unlike most invitations, this one is not exclusive. Instead, it is open to everyone. This invitation is given to us on Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of Lent, so we can prepare for the celebration of Easter Sunday and the resurrection of our Lord and Savor Jesus Christ.
Here is the invitation in the Ash Wednesday liturgy: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent: by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word” (Book of Common Prayer 2019, p.544).
We are invited to the observance of a holy Lent. As with all invitations we can accept or decline. We can decide to observe a holy Lent or not. How do we observe a holy Lent? The word holy means to be set apart, in particular for God’s purposes. If we accept the invitation to a holy Lent, we agree to be set apart for these 40 days to prepare for the celebration of Easter.
We hope you join us this Lent, that you accept the invitation to the observance of a holy Lent. This year we are paying particular attention to alms-giving. What exactly is alms-giving? Alms-giving is an act of love and compassion shown to those in need by giving them money, goods or services. Alms-giving is meant to be sacrificial. We are to sacrifice something in order to give to others. For example, you may sacrifice eating out a meal as a family in order to donate the money you would have spent on the meal to an Anglican Agency Partner. You may sacrifice buying a coffee for 40 days in order to provide for a child’s school needs in Pakistan.
We encourage you to discuss alms-giving with your children and decide as a family what you can sacrifice during Lent to provide for those in need. Perhaps your child can sort through clothes and toys and find some to donate to a local charity, or you can decide to sacrifice something fun you do as a family in order to support a child in Tanzania. During Lent, we will be highlighting New Wineskins Anglican Agency Partners as options for your alms-giving to help take the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
The invitation in the Ash Wednesday service ends with: “And to make a right beginning, let us now pray for grace, that we may faithfully keep this Lent” (Book of Common Prayer 2019, p.544). Our prayer is that God will give us the grace to be sacrificial, to show our love and compassion for others by our generosity, and, in doing so, God may be glorified.
For a full list of our Anglican Agency Partners, click here. Each agency’s name is hyperlinked to their website, where you can donate. We also welcome your donations to New Wineskins in this season of alms-giving! Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration of adding this Lenten discipline to your holy Lent.
Deacon Shelly Sorem, the Assistant Director for New Wineskins Missionary Network, serves in the Diocese of Western Gulf Coast. She has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She serves on the Women’s Leadership Network, which is part of the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, and on her diocesan women’s ministry team, and she is a Global Mission Initiative Advocate in her diocese. She served on the Provincial Council for the Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross as president and previously vice president for the past six years. Shelly’s heart is to see the name of Jesus taken to the ends of the earth. She is active in leading women’s conferences and retreats nationally and internationally. She loves to see organizations in the Anglican communion partner with one another to further the kingdom of God. She and Bill have been married for 33 years, have two wonderful daughters, two great sons-in-law and three precious granddaughters.
