On February 18th, we began our Lenten journey together. Early in the morning we offered Ashes to Go at Crosswicks, and later we gathered for our joint Ash Wednesday service at Groveville. It was a beautiful time of reflection, prayer, silence, and repentance. We marked our foreheads with ashes and were reminded that we are called for repentance and love. We ended the evening sharing soup and bread around the table, remembering that fasting and fellowship belong together. We turn to God, and we also turn toward one another.
These forty days invite us into deeper personal discipline. More prayer. More intentional reflection. Fasting. Giving something up. Not simply to deny ourselves, but to make room.
Room for God to speak. Room for our hearts to soften. Room to realign our lives with the way of Christ. Lent also calls us to give. To the poor first. And to the causes that the Spirit has placed on our hearts. As United Methodists, we believe personal holiness and social holiness belong together. Our walk with Christ always moves us toward justice, compassion, and mercy in the world.
Collectively, this season invites us to gather faithfully on Sundays, to examine our lives honestly, to repent where needed, and to strengthen our relationships.
Not only within the church, but also in our homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods.
Let us use this time to repair what is broken, to care for what feels fragile, and to practice forgiveness in concrete ways. Let us also remember Lent as an opportunity for honesty, grace, and renewal.
We are also entering a meaningful season together. During our Tuesday Coffee with David gatherings, we are exploring a special Lenten Bible study centered on the passion and death of Christ, reflecting not only on suffering, but on the radical love revealed through his life. On March 14, we will host the Iftar Dinner, welcoming our Muslim siblings during Ramadan. Together with other Christian churches in the area, we will listen, learn, and break the fast in friendship and respect. This, too, is part of our Lenten witness. Building bridges. Practicing peace. Loving our neighbors as ourselves.
During this Lenten season, we are also inviting you to participate in our traditional special clothing and essentials donation drive, collecting gently used and new clothing for the different outreach causes we support in the area, as well as basic items for our Blessing Bags and personal hygiene supplies. Simple care items make a real difference. These donations will support our neighbors experiencing homelessness in Atlantic City and Trenton. Lent calls us to reflection and to tangible acts of mercy. What we place in someone’s hands can become a reminder of their dignity, their worth, and God’s love.
We are already preparing for Holy Week. Palm Sunday. Our joint Maundy Thursday service. The ecumenical Good Friday service in the Hamilton area. The Sunrise Service. And our Easter celebration. We will walk this sacred story together, from ashes to Resurrection.
And this Saturday we will support the Flea Market at Groveville UMC from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. A simple but meaningful way to strengthen our shared ministry.
May this Lent be more than a season on the calendar. May it become a movement of the heart. May we pray more deeply, love more courageously, give more generously, and arrive at Easter ready to celebrate Christ’s resurrection, and to experience renewal within ourselves.
Warmly,
Reverend David Gaitan
