Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday we step into the season of Lent together and begin our new series, The Work of Imagination. Lent invites us into holy movement, into a slower and deeper way of seeing, and into the courage to imagine life shaped not by fear or scarcity, but by God’s love.

Our scriptures this Sunday will carry us from the garden of Eden in Genesis into the wilderness with Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. We will listen for the wisdom of stories that speak of abundance and limits, of care for the earth and one another, and of the choices that shape our shared life. We will walk with Jesus into the wilderness, where he refuses the easy answers and the false promises of control, choosing instead the way of trust, humility, and love.

This journey is shaped by our Ash Wednesday prayer, “from dust we have come, and to dust we shall return,” offered this past week in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Lent asks us to remember our fragility not as defeat, but as invitation. An invitation to turn away from what deadens us and toward what helps us live fully now.

You will see this spirit reflected in the image guiding our season. A dove breaking a crown reminds us that Lent is a turning away from domination, empire, and the ways of death, and a turning toward the Spirit’s work of power sharing, community, and the way of Jesus. This is the work of imagination.

This Sunday will also be a moment of joy as we welcome new members into the life of the church. After worship, the Merger Exploration Team will share where we are in this season of discernment and listening and help us imagine a joint future.

We hope you will be with us this Sunday. Come as you are. Come to imagine, to listen, and to journey together through this Lenten season, trusting that God meets us on the path.

Alongside you,

Pastor Paul Ortiz