Month: February 2026

Lent is an Adventure 

I remember early in my ministry sharing the story of Jesus in the Wilderness. We looked through famous paintings of Jesus in the wilderness, and several of the students seemed surprised by the doleful expression and crouching Jesus. “Shouldn’t he be exploring?”

In their mind, the idea of spending 40 days in the wilderness was an invitation to climb rocks, chase lizards, find hidden water sources, build forts, and more. They heard the 40 days as an adventure.  That response has stayed with me. What if, in between debates with the devil, Jesus was practicing his bouldering skills on some of the rocks or sketching out a giant pattern in the sand? What if Jesus spent just a few of those 960 hours imagining the Israelites crossing the same space on their way to the promised land or praying by stacking one stone on top of the other?

This year in children’s ministry, we are inviting our families to explore their faith during Lent: to run through the wilderness, to search for God in surprising places, to practice and build new skills. We invite you to join us on this adventure. All of our children have received Lenten Passports filled with ideas and activities for families to complete together. You can learn more about our passports by watching our How to Use Your Lenten Passport video. If you’re looking for a few Lenten Adventures of your own, consider one of the following:

  • Pack meals for neighbors on Saturday, March 14
  • Join a Sunday morning class
There are just 768 hours left!  Happy exploring!

Fruits of Silence

As an undergraduate in London, I was required to attend several performances each semester that I was not a part of. It could be the musical theatre ensemble on campus putting on a new production, or it could be the London Symphony Orchestra premiering a new symphonic work. In any case, I was always inspired by hearing and seeing the flourishing of music from peers to professionals. From unfamiliar repertoire, or a different interpretation, to new styles of singing and playing, there was always much to learn and much to admire. 

We here at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church are fortunate to welcome the Westminster Symphonic Choir to our Sanctuary on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 p.m., as they present a program entitled “Fruits of Silence,” conducted by the Grammy award-winning conductor, Donald Nally. The program of “father and mother” pieces will include works by the famed French twentieth-century composer, Maurice Duruflé; music by Igor Stravinsky, one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century and a pivotal figure in modernist music; the prolific living Latvian composer, Pēteris Vasks; Johannes Brahms, whose Requiem the Sanctuary Choir sang just a couple of years back, alongside contemporary works.  

Come and be inspired by this elite group of students, as they take on incredible repertoire, both old and new, ringing out in the vastness of our Sanctuary. 

From Dust You Come, and to Dust You Shall Return.

Each year on Ash Wednesday, these familiar and grounding words land in my soul in the softest of places. A reminder of my mortality, these words can be at once discomforting as well as soothing: discomforting because we humans do not like to think of death, and soothing because they remind me that I have a place of belonging in the natural order of things: to God as God’s precious child, to the earth from which we all came, and to the human family. As we gather together as a body of faith, we proclaim and bring into our hearts once again the ancient words from Genesis 3:19: From dust you come, and to dust you shall return.  

This coming Wednesday, February 18, we will mark ourselves with ashes and these words during two worship services: a child-friendly service at 5:30 p.m. in the Chapel, and a traditional service at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary.

Of course, Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of Lent. Historically, the focus has been on confession and expressing our reliance on God’s grace. As The Rev. David Gambrell writes in the Book of Common Worship of the PC(USA), “Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance, sorrow, and sacrifice. Traditionally, the ashes for this service are made from the palm branches of the previous year; thus, the ashes and psalm together frame the season of Lent.”

While many churches today simply order ashes online, our practice at BMPC is to engage the age-old practice of burning last year’s dried-up palms on the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday, and then to mark our foreheads (or hands for those who prefer) with the ashes.

As you receive the ashes on Wednesday, I invite you to remember last year’s Palm Sunday celebration and to reflect on God’s promise of love throughout the cycle of life. Similarly to the way that palm fronds were once vibrant forms of life, which then died and became something new in the form of ashes, we ourselves live vibrant lives, and then die, and then are resurrected to new life. On Ash Wednesday, there is a sense, too, that even as we are living, we “die to our old selves” and have the opportunity to be renewed in the presence of God and the community of faith.

Information about the 5:30 p.m. service can be found here. The 7:00 p.m. service will feature the artwork and poetry of Jan Richardson, an artist, writer, and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. I invite you to visit her website The Painted Prayerbook and search for “Ash Wednesday” in order to peruse her artwork and poetry as a way of preparing your heart and mind for worship on Wednesday. I also invite you to read and contemplate the scriptures for Wednesday in advance: the 5:30 p.m. service will focus on Micah 6:6-9 and John 1:35-50, and the 7:00 p.m. service will focus on John 3:16-17 and Psalm 51:1-15.

Friends, it is from dust that you come, and it will be to dust that you return. I look forward to worshiping with you on Wednesday.

Swelling With Pride

This Sunday, February 8, is Youth Sunday, and since December, the BMPC youth have been hard at work dreaming, praying, planning, learning, and writing. Youth Sunday at BMPC is a high holy day, and they can feel it. These are extraordinary young people, and I am so proud of them.

A month ago, I met with the preachers – Peter McConnell, Finley McGuirl, Andrew Quigley, and Elizabeth Rothman – to discuss their initial ideas and desired scripture passages from which to preach. They did their best work, and so did the Holy Ghost, by which I mean a theme emerged almost immediately: God is with us. God is with us in worship and music, in our various identities, in our suffering, and wherever we go from here.

From that theme, the middle and high school Sunday school classes got to work throughout January, writing the call to worship, an affirmation of faith, pastoral prayer, and prayers of dedication and illumination. Our Wednesday night Student Serve crew wrote the prayer of confession and met with James Kealey to select hymns and anthems that would support this central message.

Meanwhile, the preachers got together every Wednesday to run their sermons, offer each other supportive feedback, and find their voices in the pulpits of the chapel and sanctuary. They met with John Willingham to learn more about the task and craft of preaching every single Sunday. Last night was our dress rehearsal, and they are ready.

I’m going to repeat myself: the youth of this church are extraordinary young people, and I am so proud of them.

Come to worship this Sunday to support them, to learn from them, and to meditate on all the ways God is with you.

There is one more thing: The youth specifically asked to sing “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen, which has become one of their favorite songs over the last several years. And so, it will be our offertory anthem at the 10:00 a.m. service this Sunday. If you love this song (you should!) and want to sing it, join the one-time-only Youth Sunday Mass Choir. We are rehearsing in the sanctuary at 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, and we would love to have you.