Finding Wholeness in Our Shared Needs: A Sacred Lenten Journey

Hello Faith Friends!

March means Lent is nearly here. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been in touch with a few of our ecumenical partners to try and develop a joint Lenten devotional series. (Ecumenical partner is fancy church speak, it just means these are different Christian groups that the ELCA works with and shares resources with, even if we have slightly different traditions or beliefs). Lent is among my favorite seasons of the liturgical year, and I am extra excited about what Pr. Lindsey of Christ Church, Pr. Diana of First Congregational and I have put together for our three parishes! We have some really wonderful opportunities for fellowship and building important relationships throughout Santa Rosa this year.

This year’s Lenten series is a journey of connection and discernment. We’re calling it All Our Needs. Each Wednesday we’ll come together at a unique location throughout Santa Rosa where we’ll meet local organizations and explore our community’s needs, hopes, and challenges. At its core, this is more than a devotional series—it is a sacred opportunity to open our hearts to God’s calling, to listen deeply to ourselves and our neighbors, and to experience the kind of wholeness that only emerges when we honor the intersecting needs of all God’s creation.

Martin Luther spoke of the human condition as incurvatus in se, being “curved inward on oneself.” It’s a powerful image of how fear and sin can shrink our world, pulling us into a narrow place of self-focus. But this Lenten season calls us to consider a different posture—one of turning outwards to openness, curiosity, and compassion. God meets us powerfully in the places of struggle and pain- whether our own, or that of our fellow humans. It is precisely in these raw and vulnerable spaces that new life is possible. You’re invited to stretch your heart out wide, to listen and learn about lives of others, and to let the stories of your community do transformative work among us.

Over the time I’ve been here, between reading council meeting minutes to learn about Faith’s history and listening to the many stories you’ve all told me, it’s been very clear that Faith Lutheran has seen its strongest and most vibrant days when deeply connected to our broader community. The All Our Needs project is an invitation to re-root ourselves, to find new strength by intertwining our lives with those around us. It is a chance to show up fully and to witness the beauty of God’s presence in the most ordinary places.

This journey also helps all of us prepare our own hearts for our upcoming strategic planning process. By exploring the community surrounding us and learning about the lives of our neighbors, we gain real insights into the needs of our area and help ourselves discern what it is God envisions for Faith Lutheran to best serve, love, and live out the Gospel.

I hope you’ll join me, Pr. Lindsey, and Pr. Diana in this sacred little tour we’ve set up for ourselves this season. As we open ourselves to the needs of others, we are drawn closer to the wholeness God desires for us all.

We begin by gathering at Faith on Ash Wednesday (March 5) for a 7 pm service. Imposition of Ashes and communion will be offered. All three choirs are invited to participate in a joint choral effort. Pr. Lindsey, Pr. Diana, and I will all be working together as presidents.
The schedule for each Wednesday of Lent (including where we’ll be visiting) is below this little article (and will be emailed to you, and also in your worship aid each week).

Finally, we’ll end our communal journey together by gathering together at Christ Church on Yulupa for Holy Thursday, focusing on the mandatum (Jesus’ command to “love one another, as I have loved you”). This will be a special day with opportunity to spend some time at Elisha’s pantry getting people groceries, as well as gathering for a collective shared meal and Holy Thursday service in the evening. There will be more specifics about this day and timing for various activities in the first two weeks of March.

Like I said at the beginning of this letter— Lent is among my favorite liturgical seasons. It’s a truly special time to come close to one another and God. So, let’s gather, and go together—seeking justice, offering love, and finding new life together along the way.

with joy and gratitude for the gift that is you,
– Intern Pr. Sam

Read Books By Black Authors

Hello Beloved Faith Lutheran Community:

February is here, and with it comes Black History Month—a time for us to reflect, to listen, and to take seriously our Christian commitment to justice and love. As a community of faith, we are called to participate in the ongoing work of equity and liberation. Many of my own Black friends have relayed to me that this month is an annoying one for them. They remark that they are only asked to guest preach this month, that they are only asked to perform this month, that they are only asked to be a guest speaker this particular month. This is a shame- because the message that is sent as a result of these actions is one that says that, on the whole, our Black siblings are still being treated as objects to be called in for a specific celebration during a specific time of the year as is convenient to White folks’ schedules.

One way predominantly white communities can engage meaningfully this month and do so without doing additional harm to our Black siblings is by making long-term commitments to anti-racism and anti-bias work. White supremacy is an insidious force, one that adapts and shifts in order to survive. This is precisely why we must remain vigilant, educating ourselves and growing in awareness so that we can be good tenants of God’s world and stewards of God’s blessings in the most just and equitable ways possible.

Jesus sets the example for us in Luke 4:18-19, when he declares:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The way of Jesus is the way of freedom and life. It is an active, intentional, and ongoing work of opening our eyes to the (sometimes painful but always important) truth. These truths are often the very things that remind us that we do, indeed, need God. If we are to follow in the way of Jesus, we must be willing to examine our own role in systems of oppression and ask hard questions about our own motivations for service.
Too often, predominantly white churches engage in service work without deeply examining the power dynamics at play. Without careful reflection, our efforts to help can slip into a “white savior” mindset—one that reinforces white supremacy rather than dismantling it. The way of Jesus calls us to something different. It calls us into relationships built on mutuality, respect, and deep listening. It calls us to be aware of how we serve and why, ensuring that our service is not rooted in our own assumptions but in actual relationships and close listening to the people who are asking for help, and who are in need.

To help us in this journey of learning about how white supremacy tends to function, and how we can learn to detect it and help ourselves be better Christians and allies, I have compiled a list of twelve books written by Black authors, many of whom are contemporary voices speaking directly to the ways white supremacy shapes our lives and theologies. These books will challenge us, open our eyes, and equip us to be better Christian siblings. I can personally vouch for every one of them—they are excellent, and their authors are brilliant, prophetic, and necessary voices for our time. Let us commit to reading them, discussing them, and allowing them to transform us, so that we can serve in ways that truly allow for life-giving freedom and transformation to freely flow through all of us throughout God’s creation.

As we embark on this work, I leave you with the words of Audre Lorde, a Black feminist poet, and activist (and another of my favorite poets). I encourage you to look up her poem A Litany for Survival, and I leave you with her poem Who Said It Was Simple. I hope you’ll read this and reflect on the intersections of gender, skin color, and social class that clash here in her writing:

There are so many roots to the tree of anger
that sometimes the branches shatter
before they bear.
Sitting in Nedicks
the women rally before they march
discussing the problematic girls
they hire to make them free.
An almost white counterman passes
a waiting brother to serve them first
and the ladies neither notice nor reject
the slighter pleasures of their slavery.
But I who am bound by my mirror
as well as my bed
see causes in colour
as well as sex
and sit here wondering
which me will survive
all these liberations.

Let us take these words to heart. Let us do the work. Let us follow the way of Jesus toward true justice and liberation.

with joy,

-Intern Pr. Sam

The Book List— you can get these used almost anywhere:
My Grandmother’s Hands, Resmaa Menakem
Black History Saved My Life, Ernest Crim III
God Is A Black Woman, Cristena Cleveland, PhD
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity In A World Made For Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown
Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
Stand Your Ground, Kelly Brown Douglas
This Here Flesh, Cole Arthur Riley
Unearthing Us, Joe Davis
Call to Allyship, Angela T. !Khabeb (Editor)
See Me, Believe Me, Yolanda Denson-Byers
Fierce Love, Rev. Dr. Jaqui Lewis
Bonus Book: Womanist Midrash, Rev. Dr. Wilda C. Gafney

Merry Christmas– yes, still!

Faith-full friends:

Merry Christmas! Yes, I mean it—Merry Christmas! While much of the world has moved on to fitness resolutions and Valentine’s Day candy displays, we Faith folks are still lingering in the glow of the manger and the miracle of God among us in human form.

The Christian proclivity to adhere to liturgical seasons that aren’t always in sync with what the rest of the world is doing reminds us that God’s timing is often (delightfully, if you ask me) out of sync with the world’s priorities. Jesus wasn’t born into a world ready and waiting with party hats; he came quietly, unexpectedly, on God’s time. Sometimes, being out of step with the commotion around us is the most faithful thing we can do to make space and listen for God.

As we step into a new year, I’d like to invite you into a simple spiritual practice: “One Word Prayer.” Instead of making long lists of resolutions or crafting complex prayers, take some time this week to choose one word to focus on in your relationship with God for the year. Your word might be “hope,” “peace,” “patience,” “joy,” or something deeply personal.

Once you’ve chosen your word, carry it with you. Write it on a notecard and place it where you’ll see it often—on your bathroom mirror, your nightstand, or even the refrigerator. Let it guide your prayers. When you feel scattered or unsure, whisper your word and ask God to meet you there. This practice can center you and keep your heart tuned to God’s presence in every season.

Thank you for being a faithful part of this church community. May 2025 bring unexpected blessings, quiet joys, and the deep assurance that God walks with us daily.

I leave you with a poem I recently encountered, that is giving me much to savor as I think about what I hope to cultivate in this new year:

Ligatures
Binary thinking leaves out so much. For example,
Reading only left to right, or up and down,
Ignores all our wishes for comfort, for circular motion,
All the ways that the happier letterforms seek the option
Not to stand alone. Their living space is ample,
Hot in June, cold in March, with pencil lines of frost
Along the stems and twigs in all their dewy, new-built
Nests. Some warblers build more than one.
Each feels tiny compared to thunderstorms, construction
Cranes, plate tectonics and how the past
Harms the present with its slush-avalanches of guilt,
And yet it made us—us. How little we know. How much
Knowing isn’t the point. We love how the letters can touch.

by Stephanie Burt, from We Are All Mermaids

 

with joy,

-Intern Pastor Sam