Lent: An investment of time and intention
By Rev. Canon Val Kenyon
AS WE STEP into the month of March, we do so after what seems far too many months of winter. I have heard it said that it is something of a national trait that as Canadians we are rather preoccupied with the weather, but the truth is, when Mother Nature speaks, we all listen, and adjust accordingly.
As March dawns upon us, we are technically still in winter, yet the promise of Spring, is drawing closer. The light has changed. The days stretch longer. There are hints, that something new is just around the corner. After a winter that has felt especially long and demanding, these small signs matter and simply noticing them gives us hope.
The season of Lent, too, lives in something of an in-between space as well. We know where our story is going. We know resurrection awaits. And yet, for now, we continue on the road with Jesus. We continue through wilderness, questioning, vulnerability, and honest self-examination. Lent does not rush us toward Easter. It invites us to stay present to the journey, even the icy, snowy and challenging bits.
Education for Ministry is well suited to this season. EfM asks us to sit with scripture and tradition without easy answers, to reflect theologically on our lives, and to listen deeply to God, to one another, to our neighbours, and to the questions that surface when certainty gives way to curiosity. Lent shares these characteristics reminding us that faith is so much more than a destination, and far more about the lessons on the journey, with particular attention to all that is unfolding both within and around us.
This time of year, and indeed this time in our collective and global realities, may find us weary. In all of this it feels quite natural to strain for a happier part of the story, to rush to the celebrations of Easter. But here enters the disciplines of Lent, those practices and inner strivings that ask us to resist this impulse. Simultaneously we hold the truths that Easter will dawn while at the same time acknowledging that Lent reminds us that growth, healing, adapting, learning … these all take the investment and the faithful stewardship of our time and intention.
Within our Education for Ministry groups, as we move through March, in our studies, we continue to promote an honesty in prayer, a renewed commitment to learning always in anticipation of those surprising insights in scripture, and those moments of grace in conversation which break in upon us in what can often be quite unexpected ways.
While it is true that new Education for Ministry groups will not be forming for some months, as a part of a learning church, it is never too early to explore what is available both in the one-year and the classic four-year programmes within Huron. We will be announcing Open House dates next month, but interest for new in-person groups in the Brantford and the Walkerton area is forming now. As well with the online EfM group also as an option, there is an opportunity to participate no matter where you find yourself in the Diocese.
As always, if you want to learn more about any aspects of Education for Ministry, we are here to explore with you. Please contact Libi Clifford, the Diocese of Huron EfM Coordinator or Val Kenyon at EFM@huron.anglican.ca
Rev. Canon Dr. Val Kenyon is EFM Animator in Huron.
(Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash)