Fingerpainting

Someone once said that when I was small I liked to finger-paint with brushes so I wouldn't get messy. Lent - a season of fasting, repentance and prayer - begins on Wednesday, and I'll be content using my fingers to paint crosses onto the foreheads of people who come to my internship congregation for the Imposition of the Ashes.

As we prepare to follow Christ to the cross, people are marking the season and reflecting on its meaning in varied and awe-inspiring ways. Here are some of my favorites. What are you doing?

(1) On her blog, Worshiping with Children, Carolyn Brown offers 3 Reasons to Include Children in Ash Wednesday but what really captured my imagination was this photo from Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church where the table covering was signed with crosses by worshipers of all ages. It's a palpable way for the people of God to participate as the priesthood of all believers, and to demystify the imposition of ashes.

(2) Jan Richardson, who illustrates the lectionary texts in her Painted Prayerbook offered this reflection. For other reflections, blessings, and art for Ash Wednesday, also see Jan's posts The Memory of Ashes, Upon the Ashes (which features the indomitable Sojourner Truth), The Artful Ashes, and Ash Wednesday, Almost.

(3) House for All Sinners and Saints (HFASS) in Denver, founded by Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, offers their own take on 40 ways to make this a holy season.

(4) Rethink Church, sponsored by the United Methodist Church, has produced a gameplan for a photo-a-day challenge that asks us to be more attentive to the world around us and to notice where God is in these forty days.

(5) As part of their Vibrant Congregations Project, Luther Seminary professor David J. Lose collaborated with folks and edited Renew 52, a collection of short essays about revitalizing church. Download your free e-book for Kindle, iPad or Nook, or downlaod the .PDF file now.Spending time during Lent reading and thinking about the ideas they share opens my imagination for what is possible for our congregations.

Whatever you do, be intentional about this season. Maybe you aren't interested in finding a church on Wednesday, or because of your schedule, you can't get to a church. Don't be surprised if God shows up anyway.  Watch for ministers coming to the streets, bringing "Ashes To Go" to commuter rail stations, city street corners, placing an ashen cross on your forehead, and praying, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."