5 for Lent

from Mother Laura of Junia's Daughter, we've got the 1st Friday 5 of Lent 2008, "What are you doing for Lent?"

1. I sort of did Shrove Tuesday with pancakes on Mardi Gras evening; downtown in the Gaslamp each year there's a major mardigras celebration, but I hadn't planned to go and the weather was too cold, anyway. I attended Ash Wednesday evening worship and according to long tradition, predictably I got ashed.

2. I can't think of a memorable Mardi Gras or Ash Wednesday, and it would take too long to write about memorable past Lents, so that's my response to 3.

3. I didn't grow up in the church and my family of origin was downright pathological regarding church and churches, but I had some vague awareness of Lent quite early on though don't quiz me on what I was aware of. Along with other liturgical solemnities and feastivals, I first began observing Lent with my first home church, the small, liberal, activist American Baptist that likely I've blogged about some.

4. Short answer: regarding spiritual practices in general, I'm all three—give-up camp, take-on camp, and somewhere right in-between.

5. For this year's season of Lent, regarding my own journey, again I'm majorly discerning and will be praying and fasting for direction more than usual. As they insist, insanity is expecting different results from the same behaviors, and the Sunday afternoon video a couple weeks ago (JS Bach's Big D Fugue, BWV 532) brought me up soooo short! I have no desire to formally serve as a church musician, but reading my response on the screen...that needs to become a separate blog topic.

I'll also be pianist (prelude and a couple of hymns) and discussion facilitator at Left Right in the City for the 5 Wednesday evenings of Lent. We'll be watching a series similar to the one we viewed last year, DVDs of theology soundbytes by professors from Luther Seminary. I'm looking forward to some piano practicing and will learn a few of the selections in the book of piano music for worship I got as a Christmas gift.