Dear Family and Friends of First UMC of Torrance,
As February arrives, we once again find ourselves approaching the season of Lent. This year, Lent does not come quietly or comfortably. It meets us in the midst of challenging and difficult times; times marked by grief, anxiety, division, uncertainty, and deep weariness of spirit.
Lent invites us to stop, to tell the truth about where we are, and to ask an urgent and faithful question:
What does it mean to live in this time as the people of God?
To live as God’s people today does not mean blending in with the noise around us. It means refusing to let fear, anger, or despair shape who we are. Lent calls us to repentance – not only of personal habits, but also of the ways we may have drifted from God’s justice, mercy, humility, and love.
This season challenges us to examine what has claimed our loyalty, which voices we trust, and what kind of people we are becoming. Lent reminds us that following Christ is neither comfortable nor convenient. It is a way of self-giving love in a hurting world. As the people of God, we are called to walk with those who suffer, to speak truth with courage, to practice mercy, and to trust that God is still at work, even when the future feels uncertain.
The journey of Lent leads us to the cross, a place of honest suffering, but also a place of promise. The cross reminds us that God does not abandon the world in its brokenness. God enters it. And resurrection is still God’s final word.
As we journey toward the cross together, may we listen deeply for God’s voice, turn our hearts toward what truly gives life, and walk as a people shaped not by the world’s anxiety, but by God’s grace.
May this Lenten season form us anew.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jacob