The snow is just beginning to fall for the first time in several weeks. I have been grateful for this year when there has been lower than normal snowfall. Even though I love the snow, I’m not so keen about being on my roof shoveling it. I’m preparing myself for the prospect of climbing up there again in the next few days. I’m also really looking forward to getting more of this white stuff. There is something about the winter that I love. There is certainly its beauty; but there is also the shortness of the days and the way our bodies slow us down in the cold. In the winter, I’m more apt to ponder the harder things of life, and to also consider the deeper things. I can’t imagine being somewhere else in a different climate. I can’t imagine not having that feeling I get within when those first signs of Spring appear.

Lent has the same feel for me. We are invited to consider for a time the deeper things in life. Jesus went into the wilderness and for 40 days he was alone. We know he fasted. We can only imagine how he waited to enter community again. We know that in the wilderness, after he had been there for many days, he was tempted, and was forced to come to terms with what had the potential of separating him from God. Lent provides an opportunity to consider our lives. We are invited to think about where life has gotten out of control, where there is excess, where we need to refocus and breathe deep. At a recent Deacon’s meeting , one of our members was reflecting on how life had gotten out of control and how he really felt like he needed to land, to find the soil and to become grounded again.

Wherever we are in life, that need exists within us. We need to have our feet firmly planted. We need the feel of solid ground. Whatever causes us to get off center, will continue to do so, unless we make a decision to get back on track. The wilderness is so necessary, because when we are there, there is running from our own truth. We are faced with what tempts us and what separates us from one another and from God. The month of March provides us with the opportunity to consider the things that matter, to invite God’s Spirit within, and to let go of those things that satisfy only for fleeting moments. Just as winter provides hope for Spring, Lent promises the hope of Easter. The wonder of the Spring is intensified when we endure the harshness of the Winter. The beauty of Easter overwhelms us when we dare to take seriously the season of Lent. I invite you take something new on, or to leave behind some excess.

I realize that my fear of the roof has little to do with falling- it’s the landing with which I am particularly concerned. That might be true in life as well. At the end of the forty days , angels ministered to Jesus. We can live with assurance that when we fall, we are received by the everlasting arms of God. My prayer is that this Lenten journey will be a blessing to you.

Peace, Kent

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Reflectionary – where life meets the lectionary

We have a whole month of Lent to live through together, all March long. I can promise you that whether you give something up or take something on there will come a day in the middle of the month--this long, holiday-free month--when you wonder why you made that apparently seemingly brilliant choice and how you can talk yourself out of it.

I'm thinking of the year I decided to give up drinking mochas. It seemed like such a simple thing to do. I could drink a latte instead. I even like lattes.

My family chortled at the thought. What could I possibly accomplish on a spiritual level by giving up chocolate in my coffee? I think they worried about how I would cope without the daily Attitude Adjustment and what that might mean for them.

It wasn't the first time I made a commitment related to coffee. One year I planned to stop buying coffee shop coffee and give the money saved to a worthy cause. Other years I've taken things on; last year I think I was going to write a poem every day, or work on one, or something like that.

But Lent is long. Lent is dreary, especially here in Maine. We slog through muddy March, or some years we wish the snow would for heaven's sake stop! We wish Easter would hurry up and get here.

Just before Lent started, I took on a different sort of challenge. I registered for the Knitting Olympics, a sort of contest sponsored by a Canadian blogger and author of knitting books. The idea is to cast on a new project during the Opening Ceremony and finish it before the Closing Ceremony. The project should be a challenge to complete in the allotted seventeen days. Taking into account my schedule and my abilities, I chose a pair of socks.

The organizer writes:
While this is intended to be somewhat difficult (like the Olympics) it is not intended to ruin your life. Don't set yourself up for failure. (Olympic athletes may cry, but they do not whine pitifully, sob and threaten members of their family with pointed sticks because they haven't slept in five days. ) This is intended to (like the Olympics) require some measure of sacrifice, and be difficult, but it should be possible to attain.

Now, I've made plenty of socks: men's socks, women's socks, baby socks (eaten by my dog, Sam), plain or with stitch patterns. But I have never made socks for which the pattern requires reading a chart. This was to be my challenge. I studied the chart, and I tried to visualize it. Somehow I managed to turn it inside out (rookie mistake! how did that happen?!?!!), and when I took it all out and began again, I realized the sock was not going to fit on even a small woman's foot, which is to say, mine.

While I did not threaten members of my family with pointed sticks, I did get upset, and unraveling the sock a second time did not exactly provide a catharsis. I felt like a failure. I created my own drama, which not only seemed outside the spirit of the event but was a direct violation of my New Year's resolution!

Like the Knitting Olympics, Lent is not intended to ruin your life. If you are finding your particular discipline hard to keep, remember that you are not alone. Others are wondering what they were thinking, too.

As I write this on the eve of Ash Wednesday, I'm not sure if I will cast on the socks again, but I can promise you I will only do it if I can find the right attitude. Which may, as my family would tell you, require the chocolate in my coffee I am not giving up for Lent.

Faithfully, Martha

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A Snapshot of First Parish Church - Who We Are!

Inside the classic New England tall steepled church on Main Street in Yarmouth, you will find an interesting mix of native Mainers and more recent arrivals. On any Sunday our sanctuary will resound with hearty singing and beautiful organ music, the word of God and a message relevant for contemporary life.

As a result of a recent capital campaign we have a beautiful renovated facility that is handicapped accessible, with a wireless campus. After a fallow time during the construction project, it is exciting to have community groups and programs using our building regularly. Our new and expanded Food Pantry brings many individuals and families through our doors. Now we hope to expand our own programs to include people who do not traditionally attend church, making the whole church a welcoming place in which to experience a community of Christ's love.

We also have a wider understanding of mission. As a well-resourced church in a privileged town, we understand that God calls us to serve others with our time, our talent and our treasure. Locally we participate in many mission projects including but not limited to serving food at a local soup kitchen, building houses for Habitat for Humanity, staffing our own food pantry (we currently serve 50 families) and working on affordable housing for the elderly and a community organization Y-Can. Over the years both adult teams and our Youth Group have taken mission work trips to diverse destinations including Guatemala, Honduras, New Orleans and Cherryfield, Maine.

There is one Sunday in the year that sets the scene for a story that shows we are different from many churches that look similar, and we believe it holds one of the keys to our future. On the third weekend in July, the town of Yarmouth holds the annual Clam Festival. Our church participates in numerous ways from food booths to a book sale and a huge Pink Elephant tent. People who you may rarely see on a Sunday would never consider missing the Clam Festival; they will be on their feet for many hours, working for the support of the church. On the Sunday of that weekend, while an ecumenical service takes place down the street at the Old Meeting House, our pews will be filled with fresh-baked biscuits destined to form the foundation of strawberry shortcakes. While at first glance it may seem odd that we don't have worship on that Sunday in our own Sanctuary, we have come to believe that our understanding of what it means to belong to First Parish will help us make the transition we seek, to reach out toward the missing generation and invite them to be part of our church family.

This old church seems to have a deep-rooted memory of what the word parish means. We understand from our own experience and from studying the trends in mainline churches that classic patterns of participation have changed, and we find hope in knowing that ours have never been average. As we study the emerging understanding of a missional church, seeking its call to service outside the church walls, we believe that memory will serve us well. We extend a wide embrace in our community, in the way we open our building, in the way we serve those in need and in the way we welcome the newcomer. In our programs for youth and our Confirmation class, we have always included interested young people whether or not their parents hold membership at First Parish.

For close to 300 years First Parish has played an active and changing role in the town of Yarmouth. The previous church building, on the other side of Main Street, had the nickname "The Old Sloop." We are seeking the right Associate Pastor to join our crew as we navigate the next leg of our faith voyage, a person who will bring fresh perspectives and help us discover the right ones for our community. We seek a person who will work collaboratively with our Senior Pastor, staff and lay leaders to develop innovative and inclusive ways to deepen our spirituality and widen our outreach. We seek a person who will both nurture and energize our youth; who will oversee youth programming and help to create new intergenerational opportunities. We understand the need to continue our present programs and worship life while developing parallel tracks that may include small groups, creative missions and innovative worship that speak to the postmodern world. We also know that when a large church undertakes a new direction, it is like steering a big ship; we must allow the time and space to make the turn well. Still, we make the turn eager to see what is beyond the horizon.