02/18/2026
It's tomorrow, friends!
Tomorrow, we start something new, again. (Invitations to follow! God Words for two paragraphs, first. Take what you need; skip to the end for the very best good news...)
WHAT IS IT?!
Wednesday marks a new season in the Christian church calendar. It's the first day of Lent -- which is the season leaading up to Easter. Before we get to that big day of Resurrection, we need a number of smaller days & quieter time, to prepare. We need some moments of honesty and humility. Space to listen, reflect and reorient.
This is what Lent is for: a space of time set aside to remember who we are in the world, and how we're called to operate. It's a time to become more "cruciform" ourselves (that just means shaped like a cross), in the model and Way of our Christ.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
At First Christian Church Tyler, the first day of Lent is marked two ways:
* YOU'RE INVITED to come and go during the lunch hour, noon to 1 pm, into our Sanctuary, to sit for a moment, read silently, and then receive the blessing of ashes on your hand or forehead.
*YOU'RE INVITED to a 30-minute evening service from 6-6:30 pm in Contemporary Worship, to participte in music, candle lighting communion and ashes.
The ashes we use are a reminder that all human beings are mortal and limited. But the meaning we give them is not guilt or death -- it is the miracle of life, the awe of being Divinely created, and the shared human condition we cannot rid ourselves of but can live into most abundantly ... and better together with God.
