Speak A Word

Beloved,

Before COVID-19, I wholeheartedly anticipated a more traditional focus upon the sacrifices of Lent and a time of deep introspection. However, after two years of loss, exhaustion from all the changes in lifestyle and church and from the struggles over just about everything, many come to this season weary and spent. 

You are now invited to lean deeper into discipleship and the comforting, life-saving, hope-bringing, counter-cultural, transforming power of God. God’s Word still speaks to us individually and corporately. When we immerse ourselves in it with intentionality, it can spark creativity and inspire us to speak as well. This study consists of Scripture, prayer-poems and reflections where we speak words of Life into one another as we reflect. These prayer-poems came as a gift over the years from the Spirit to me. I share some of them with you in the hope that they bring opportunities for conversation, creativity and growth. 

Prayerfully consider joining a fast for connection with others on a Journey to Beloved Community: Six Actions for Being and Becoming. In so doing, may we increase our capacity to live out the Word and better love God and neighbors.

May your Lent be blessed.

– LaTrelle Miller Easterling
Bishop, Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences
The United Methodist Church 

(For those who would like to preach alongside this study, Feasting on the Word Lenten Companion: A Thematic Resource for Preaching and Worship is an excellent resource that has been used to create the outline for this study.)