Season of Lent provides opportunity to pray for peace
3/12/2003 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn. NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (UMNS) - A Native American story tells of a small boy who goes to
an elder in his tribe for advice. The boy is struggling because he has a
"wolf and a lamb" living inside him. He doesn't know which one to
honor. The wise man tells him: "You will honor the one you feed."
"In
this time of Lent, let the wolf go hungry and feed the lamb," says
Kathleen Flood, a Dominican nun, Order of Preaching, speaking March 5 at
an Ash Wednesday service at the United Methodist Scarritt-Bennett
Center in Nashville. Scarritt-Bennett is a not-for-profit conference,
retreat and educational center owned by the Women's Division of the
United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
The analogy of the wolf and the lamb seems especially poignant during this Lent as the world teeters on the edge of war.
The
World Council of Churches, a fellowship of more than 300 churches that
includes the United Methodist Church, has called upon Christians around
the world to use the season of Lent to join in prayers for peace in
Iraq.
Prayers written by Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy used
in inter-religious worships during the Gulf War in 1991 can be found on
the council's Web site at
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/iraqprayers-e.html.
The
Women's Division has launched a campaign called "Christian Women Pray
for Peace from Advent to Easter." Women are asked to write a prayer for
peace on a postcard and send it to the Board of Global Ministries. On
Easter weekend, the Women's Division plans a demonstration for peace and
will deliver the postcards to the White House. For more information, go
to http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/prayers4peace.html.
Lent began with Ash Wednesday and will end on Easter Sunday, April 20.
This time of year brings a lot of questions about what the United Methodist Church believes and observes for Lent.
"Lent
is a very personal time for individuals, so the United Methodist Church
does not have official guidelines on how churches should observe Lent,"
says Mary Lynn Holly, director of InfoServ, United Methodist
Communications' information service. "For example, the church does not
say everyone has to fast. Sometimes the different ways churches observe
Lent causes some confusion and they come to us for help."
A Web page devoted to explanations and resources on Lent and Easter can be found at http://infoserv.umc.org/faq/lenteaster.htm.
The
opening page says: "The seasons of Lent and Easter celebrate the most
important aspect of Christian life - the redemption and salvation of
Christians through the resurrection of Christ. Beginning with Ash
Wednesday, Christians around the world anticipate and prepare for
Christ's victory over death with fasting, penitence and prayer and
ultimately, joy, praise and celebration."
Included on the Web
site are links to United Methodist agencies and organizations such as
the Board of Discipleship, the Upper Room, Cokesbury and others, as well
as many resources for individuals and churches to use during Lent and
Easter.
Many people call InfoServ at this time of the year, Holly
says. The most frequently asked questions include "Why does Lent last
40 days?" "What is Ash Wednesday?" and "What does it mean to fast?"
In
her sermon, Sister Kathleen says God gives us a hint of what is
required in Isaiah 58. "The kind of fast God desires is the kind that
leaves us hungry for justice."
|
Back : News Archives 2003 Main
|
|
“We believe in God and in each other.”The people of The United Methodist Church
Still Have Questions?
If you have any questions Ask
InfoServ
Purchase a $20 buzzkill t-shirt and help save a life
Buy a t-shirt
|
Korean News