Originally written for the book From the Psalms to the Cloud — Connecting to the Digital Era (Pilgrim 2013, Maria Mankin and Maren Tirabassi), this community based invitation to a service draws many different responses from different groups of people. Lent begins.
Invitation, Lent
Lent loves you.
Lent loves you without your clothes.
Lent loves you without your education or job.
Lent loves you without your family and friends,
without your homes,
without your Crate and Barrel, IKEA, Dollar Store, thrift shop stuff.
Lent loves you without your tattoos,
without the ring you aren’t wearing anymore,
without your Facebook page or LinkdIn site.
Lent loves you,
if you are young, without your SAT scores, (or report card)
if you are old, without your memory.
Lent loves you…without…can you name something?
(People share ideas)
Lent is the name of the season when we celebrate – yes, celebrate!
God loving us bare and simple.
Some of us remind ourselves of this love
by consciously letting go one or more things for six weeks.
Some of us try to quiet all the inside and outside critics
so we can be open to God.
Some of us feel full, abundant –
and want to give some time or energy or money away.
Fasting, prayer and alms are the old fashioned tags
for things we do in Lent.
Join us…Lent loves you without your clothes.
God loves you always!
Gifts in Open Hands 
Thank you, Maren….
How liberating!
Nicolette Wellington
And a bit chilly — I decided not to use it this week at church!