Ash Wednesday

So here it is...Ash Wednesday. And I had an odd experience of it this evening. After our normal client day, we have some time to work. (except for days like today, when we have meetings.) So I had a staff meeting, then A called. Dinner? In M. G. (half way between home and work)...would be great, but...it's Ash Wednesday. I have church. Well...I decided to call to a church near home and see what time their service was (7pm) So, A--Dinner sounds good...I'll just play visitor to a different church tonight--one mom has wanted me to visit. :)

:( OH MY!!!!! I went to an Evangelical Catholic Church! I felt...uneasy. I can't explain it. I mean it looks like churches I grew up in. It sounds like churches I grew up in. In some ways, it feels like churches I grew up in...but I left that church. I *WANT* a Catholic experience when I go to church.

And I think...there is something about a church when it gets to a size and wealth level that it can build a multi-million dollar building...it loses a certain...spark? It's like it forgets what it is to be outside it's doors. And stops ministering to the area--just to it's own.

It was a hard service to sit through. No mention of sin or death. No "remember you are dust and to dust you shall return" The response was "Go and serve the Lord." A good thing, yes, but...not what Lent is for.

Lent is for reflection. It's for us as believers to take stock and find our way back. It's for healing and renewal. Gearing up for the fight.