Things they don't teach you in seminary...

#489: When you are imposing ashes in a carpeted church in a dry winter in Minnesota, there will be static electricity. A lot of it. I lost track of the number of times I shocked someone last night.

There were a few mishaps (aren't there always), but we had a lovely Ash Wednesday service last night nonetheless. It just goes to show that really, the pastor standing up in the front is just the tip of the iceberg--any number of other people from the congregation do all sorts of work in the background to make it happen, from setting up for communion to turning the microphones on to reminding the pastor when she forgets the offering (oops). Even though I am often the one standing in front, worship is not something I can do alone--it takes a whole community.

All in all, not a bad way to start Lent, as we explore together what it means for us to be the baptized family of God.

~Pastor Sarah