CTKGREETINGS TO GOD’S IMAGE BEARERS,
Welcome to Lent. Our theme this year is getting to know our neighbors. Each Wednesday we will have the opportunity to meet our neighbors from organizations that directly serve our neighbors, like Sarah Ross who works for Compeer facilitating friendships with the hope of mental wellness.
Another opportunity for all of us at Christ the King is to walk in prayer through the Wonderful Westside Neighborhood. You can do this at any time you desire. If you travel a distance, you may want to walk and pray on Sunday morning before or after worship or Wednesdays.
I walked and prayed the perimeter in about 30 minutes (see map). I walked and talked with God, asking for God’s blessings on our neighbors, giving thanks for the nature I encountered and greeting those I met along the way. After I finished the prayer walk, I felt refreshed and blessed by God.
In the alcove you will find a place to share your reflections or impressions or what God shared with you as you walked. If walking is not for you, try driving, parking and praying.
Consider this part of our community Lenten discipline. Together as a worshipping community we refrain from that word of praise that we buried on Sunday on the Transfiguration of our Lord and will spring forth again when we come to worship to celebrate Easter in 40 days. This is another opportunity for us to journey with God in our immediate neighborhood, listening for what God may want us to do with our neighbors and us as we walk together.
There are no hard and fast rules for this, just an invitation to try it. It may be awkward at first. That’s ok. Trust Jesus to walk with you. He’s really good at walking with us. You may want to invite a friend with you or do this as a family. Take a favorite scripture with you. Mine is Proverbs 3:5-6 – trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge the Lord and he will make straight your paths. From this I can draw easily into conversation with Jesus as I walk and explore our neighborhood. Or let music accompany you as you walk and pray. Experiment and trust God to walk with us. God is faithful.
This is such a lovely time to be walking and praying in our neighborhood. If you do this weekly, I’m sure you will see the signs of Spring and I wonder what God will work through us and what insight the Holy Spirit will breath into us.
Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,
Pastor Connie Spitzack
