Authenticity, Compassion and Courage…these have been our touchstones on our Lenten journey this year. They have been revealed to us in the life of Jesus as we have explored his encounters with his disciples and with Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, and Lazarus. They will take on even deeper meaning as we ponder again his last days, his death, and his resurrection.

Authenticity, Compassion and Courage. They have been portrayed by our youth and a few adults in their Fireside Room artwork and experienced in profound, transformative ways by our Haiti Work Team. They have been reflected upon in your daily Lenten devotionals and prayed and sung in every worship experience across these 40 days of Lent.

Authenticity, Compassion and Courage. They have been experienced in very personal ways in times of illness and of grief. They appear in the daily acts of witness and persistence that keep each one of us moving forward through challenging situations of all kinds, needed now more than ever.

“No coward soul is mine,” wrote the poet Emily Bronte,
“No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere
I see Heaven’s glories shine
And Faith shines equal arming me from Fear”

May we all be lifted up to new life in this Lent/Easter time, faith shining equal to Heaven’s glories, souls marked by Authenticity, Compassion and Courage.