Dear Church Family,

On Sunday, I talked about the spiritual practice of "threshold prayers" – which are brief moments of awareness as we pass through doorways, inviting us to acknowledge God's presence and to focus our attention on those we're about to encounter. This practice is an antidote to the “attention economy” that we know live in, a time when we are more apt to grab our phone or tablet instead of engaging those around us. Our spirituality, our connection to God, depends on our ability to focus on the Spirit’s movement in our lives. Pausing at the doorway is one way to refocus our attention.

Holy Week is its own sacred threshold in our faith journey - a doorway we're invited to pass through mindfully before experiencing the joy of Easter morning.

Holy Week invites us to slow our pace and notice each threshold we cross. Palm Sunday stands as the threshold of expectation, where we join the crowds welcoming Jesus with both celebration and anticipation. Maundy Thursday leads us across the threshold of service and communion, where Jesus kneels to wash feet and breaks bread in new covenant. Good Friday draws us through the difficult threshold of suffering, where we confront the reality of the cross. Holy Saturday, a day many Presbyterians do not celebrate, guides us across the threshold of waiting - that space of sacred uncertainty between death and resurrection.

Each day offers its own invitation. What might it look like for you to experience Holy Week as a series of meaningful thresholds this year?

Maybe you might:

- Pause before entering your church for worship services, acknowledging you're stepping into sacred space

- Read the Holy Week narratives in the Gospels, noticing the many doorways Jesus crosses

- Create a simple prayer to use when entering different spaces during this week

- Join us for our special services (Palm Sunday at 9am Delta, Maundy Thursday at 5:30pm Delta, Good Friday at 7pm Dimondale, Easter Sunday at 10am Delta)

Just as our threshold prayers help us become mindful of God's presence in ordinary moments, Holy Week invites us to cross into a deeper awareness of God's work of renewal. Each doorway of this sacred week prepares us for the ultimate threshold - the empty tomb and its world-changing proclamation that death itself has been overcome. May we focus our attention on this radical love.

Peace,

Ben

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