Art: Brian Wildsmith
Dear Trinity,
I've wrestled with Lent (or it has wrestled with me) for about three decades now. We made it fun for the kids by going vegetarian and putting $5-$10 per day in the "Jesus jar" on the table, to let them see that their "sacrifice" was not for its own sake - but for the sake of others. We had special books we read as a family during this time (often, no surprise, George MacDonald novels). We played CandyLand with REAL CANDY on Fat Tuesday. We visited a local monastery and spent the night there on Ash Wednesday, because Scottish people don't do Lent -- "too Catholic" they thought. And then we straggled through the 40 days together, often paying attention to attitudes of the heart from which we most needed to fast. For me, it has always been important to also fast from some kind of food/drink because I was growing in my understanding that my body could teach me - my body could help me in my struggle - and that the point wasn't that my body was bad, but that it could be my partner in pointing me to God.
This is the beautiful wisdom of the early Fathers. They reversed what I thought was a morbid fixation on sin (who needs that for forty days? that doesn't feel like gospel - and it isn't) and helped me see that the caricatures of Lent simply weren't true. Or at least, they were distortions of the real thing. The real thing began with baptism - and remembering your baptism. Whole communities would join new converts in their preparations for becoming Christians. Sure, these converts might be following Jesus, but they needed a physical home to actually be a Christian and be in Christ. They needed a body to join. They needed to become the body of Christ in baptism. Seems weird to us today who live in our minds and our intentions, but the early Fathers knew that this doesn't happen in our minds alone, but in our bodies as well. As Cyprian said, "No one can have God as his Father who does not have the Church as his mother." Or as a funnier Jesuit said recently, “Your faith is rarely where your head is at and rarely where your heart is at. Your faith is where your ass is on a Sunday morning!”
But I digress - back to Lent. So the early Christians remembered the emotional and spiritual high of being baptized, of being finally allowed to the eucharistic table. And they wanted to join new converts in their long (usually three year) journey to baptism. And as they prayed and fasted up to their baptismal celebration for 40 days, the whole church began doing the same - to encourage the converts - and to remember their own baptisms.
These are the happy origins of Lent! Of course there was a taking stock of the heart. (Who of us doesn't take stock of our equipment before going on a journey?) Of course there was a desire to be rid of the old things that were hurting oneself and hurting those closest to us. (Which of our family members doesn't wish we would do this more often?!) Lent was a time for renewal, for prayer, for repentance for all the ways we have lost our way, and for remembering what is most important. Lent is pure gift. (But how many of us actually do what is good for us, actually take the time?) Lent is like a detox, a cleanse, a fast in order to shift some things inside that are stuck - and to throw ourselves on the goodness of God and say, "be my all! be the heart of my life! be the soul of all things! be everything that I am craving, for you are the source of it all!"
Ash Wednesday begins our season of Lent. (It also began the early church's slow bend towards the penitential, rather than the eucharistic - see this Tidingsblurb). But regardless, to remind ourselves of the cross as the source of our life. To enter into a season of taking stock of our hearts. Of reminding ourselves that God is the only thing that satisfies. These are the good gifts Lent has to offer. I hope you join us - and the millions around the world doing the same thing.
Julie
Walk the 40 Days of Lent Together
Attend Ash Wednesday on March 5th (7am or 7pm)
Join a Lenten Small Group for 6 weeks (starts the week of March 9th)
P.s. - If you’d like to start a new group, let’s see if being a group leader is a good fit for you, and if you’re a good fit as a small group leader. Contact Pastor Carson by email (Carson@trinitywenatchee.org) or phone (509.881.7737).
Lenten Journey 2025: Not Home. Come Home.
Our friends at Matthew 25 Initiative are putting together a daily devotional for this Lenten season. You’re invited on a journey of normalizing justice and mercy by thoughtfully engaging in this historic Christian season through the theme of "Home."
Sign up to receive daily reflections in your inbox that are Anglican-informed and in the vein of the church's traditional disciplines of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Diocese of the Rocky Mountains Synod Reflection
Our team returned from Colorado filled and processing all we learned. This year’s theme was Heritage and Hope: Rwandan Roots for the Church’s Renewal and it was enlightening and invigorating to hear from Bishop John Rucyahana as he told us about his involvement in the reconciliation efforts after the Rwandan genocide and his part in forming the Anglican Church of North America.
Some of us shared our takeaways during the service a few weeks ago and, if you were interested in hearing more, I encourage you to listen to the sessions for yourself.
George MacDonald Book Club
March 2 @ 6:45pm
We will be continuing our George MacDonald Book Club in two weeks, with MacDonald's "Marshmallow" Trilogy. This combines three of MacDonald's beloved novels: Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood, The Seaboard Parish, and The Vicar's Daughter. We will start with "Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood" which is the first novel in this trilogy. From The Room to Roam's description of this book:
Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood is a fond, retrospective glance at his early years in ministry by the ageing family man, Henry Walton. His story begins as he arrives in the village of Marshmallows, and then traces his progress in a community which seems to consist only of “characters.” As he finds his feet and widens his circle of acquaintance, we are introduced to a delightfully plain-spoken old sailor, an argumentative local carpenter, and (among many others) the high-bred Oldcastle family–including both the beautiful Ethelwyn and her imperious mother, who it appears will stop at nothing to prevent a match between her daughter and the new vicar
Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Parish-Papers-Three-Complete-Novels/dp/1564766187
But we really hope you buy from an independent bookseller: Wise Path Books and The Room to Roam are great options.
Here is the librivox free audiobook (with varying quality of readers - you get what you pay for! https://librivox.org/annals-of-a-quiet-neighbourhood-by-george-macdonald/ (best accessed on the free librivox app on your phone)
It's not too late to join in! Our first meeting will be March 2 and will be hosted at the Canlis house at 6:45pm, with background info/teaching by Trevor Sill (one of our many illustrious librarians). Grab a copy of the book and join us!
Trinity Youth Nights
Coming Up at Trinity Church
Critical Journey with Pastor Matt
February 28 @ 6:30pm
Come learn about the natural progression of meeting Christ and growing in him. It’s in this progression that we learn to expect challenges and even death to what we once thought… we learn that God is inviting us into a greater freedom than we can even imagine.
Ash Wednesday
March 5 @ 7am and 7pm
Ash Wednesday service marks the start of Lent, featuring a ritual of repentance where ashes are placed on the forehead as a reminder of mortality and the call to spiritual renewal.
Carson's Album Release Show with Jon Guerra
April 12
To celebrate the release of Carson's new record, Small Boy Running (you can listen to the first two songs here), Carson will be doing a show at Trinity Church with Jon Guerra on Sat, April 12! Jon will be on tour for his own forthcoming record called Jesus.
Trinity 101
May 2 @ 6:30pm
Local Pilgrimage
May 16-18
What is a pilgrimage and why should you join? A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place, a remembering of our relationship with God. In this case, the holy place is the Clifton Meadow, a sacred peninsula encircled by the Icicle River. And our relationship with God is as His beloved sons and daughters.
Confirmation
June 1
Come worship and join your brothers and sisters who are publicly affirming their faith, receiving the laying on of hands by a bishop, and are being strengthened in their commitment to the Jesus. Interested in being confirmed? Reach out to Pastor Matt at 206-953-4129. There will be a 4 week cohort leading up to the confirmation service and we'd love to have you be a part of it!
Pilgrimage to El Paso Border
Week of July 4th
Seven members of our congregation will be going on an Abara Border Encounter (a.k.a. “listening trip”) in the Juárez-El Paso region. They will see people and hear stories outside the news cycle. This encounter invites us to listen, learn, and reflect on what the border can teach us, who we are meant to become in Christ, and how we can better engage with each other and our neighbors at home in Wenatchee.
Church Camp at Lazy F Camp in Ellensburg
Date change! August 15-17
Outdoor Baptism at Ingalls Creek
Date change! September 7
Bulletin Board
Our bulletin board is a place where you can express a need to our church body (ex: housing, items needed, jobs wanted, etc.) so that others can reach out and respond. Have a submission? Please email hello@trinitywenatchee.org for us to review.
Alyssa and Brent Bell welcomed Peter Jesse Bell into their family on February 12. Let's shower them with food as they settle into being a family of six. Sign up for the meal train here.
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