By LeAnn Hampton.
Today is the first Sunday in the season of Lent and coincides with a new season in the life of our church as we welcome Ariel Merivil as our new minister of music. In the search committee’s conversations with Ariel, we heard his desire to build on Wilshire’s strong foundation of excellence and creativity in worship while exploring fresh, new ways for us to sense the presence of God in this place. His description of worship as an intentional and focused time when we direct our attention to God and reflect on God’s presence in our lives provides wise counsel as we start our shared Lenten journey.
The Baptist church of my youth provided beautiful and meaningful times of worship on Easter Sunday but rarely provided any guidance on ways to prepare for Easter through the season of Lent. I’ve been at Wilshire many years, and I continue to be amazed by the opportunities our church provides for us to take these days seriously. From Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday, we are encouraged to learn more about Christ and challenged to walk in his ways with the knowledge that God’s Spirit is with us providing encouragement and strength for our journey.
May this time of worship help us as we explore what this season will be for us. While we worship together today, let’s meditate on the Scriptures, listen to the music and let the words spoken and sung spark our imaginations about how we choose to follow Christ on the way to the cross.
As Ariel shared with our committee, “My hope is that when worship is over, the community leaves feeling encouraged, uplifted, inspired or contemplative about seeking God intentionally for themselves and the lives of those around them.”
May God’s Spirit use our time of worship and our journey through Lent to inspire and transform us to do the work God would have us do in the world.