Letter from Amy: Ash Wednesday 2026

Dear friends,

During my sabbatical last summer, I visited Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Though it is most famous for the stained glass interior, I found myself drawn to the stone carvings surrounding the arched exterior door. My two favorites are above: the creation and temptation of humanity. The figures are surprisingly tender for hundreds-years-old carved stone: God's loving gaze at the person he calls from the dust. God's gentle hand on the shoulder and arm of Eve, drawing her back. I was so moved by this loving depiction of the great tragedy at the heart of our human story.

Ash Wednesday reminds us of both the love and tragedy of the fall. We remember our fragility and fleetingness: we are but dust, and we will die. But we also remember our belovedness in the midst of that fragility and fleetingness. God formed us in love, and he is always drawing us back to himself — in our darkest sins and strongest temptations and vastest wilderness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMB_fyuyFw

I invite you to enter this season with us at one of our Ash Wednesday services tomorrow at 7am, 12pm, and 6pm. Or join our friends at Holy Comforter at 7pm in Hyattsville, MD.

Most years, I find Lent to be a great relief. Lent offers "permission to come undone," as a friend once said. This is a season in which to stop striving, stop pretending, and to simply acknowledge who we actually are: helplessly sin-prone people, desperately in need of God. During Lent, we strip away those things that numb us to God's presence so that we once again become aware of his gentle hand on our shoulder, drawing us back to himself.

Many people take up fasting during Lent, temporarily denying ourselves a meal, alcohol, sweets, meat, social media, or some other good thing in order to reacquaint ourselves with our spiritual hunger. As a congregation, we fast from the word "alleluia" throughout the season, and our services become more somber and quiet over the 40 days.

Others take up a new spiritual discipline like reading, praying, silence, etc. This year, we've made this one easy: show up to church on Sundays, and we'll all practice the Ignatian Examen every week as part of our Lenten sermon series on discernment. New spiritual practice: done.

But Lent is not the spiritual olympics. It's not about accomplishing great feats for God. It's actually about the opposite; removing distractions and noise so that we remember our own fragility and need. And there, God meets us in his love. What a relief.

I hope to see you tonight for pancakes (6:30pm for activities and cooking; 7pm for dinner) and tomorrow for Ash Wednesday!

With love,

Amy