February ’24 Enews – A time to stretch

A time to stretch

As many of you may already know, the name of the season of Lent derives from the Old English word ‘lencten’, a word related to our own English word of ‘lengthen.’ Whether this is to note that for many of us the days are beginning to grow longer, with a just a bit more sunlight packed into them, or whether we choose to look at the season itself as a time to lengthen, or to stretch, can be up to us.

Church leaders, lay and ordained, know the curious path we tread each year, encouraging our communities to journey deeper into the wilderness where the love of God is found. We also know about the copiers that won’t run bulletins, the wifi outages, the many pastoral calls, and the last minute work that must get done even as we seek to locate for ourselves something more holy in this season. We see this and we see you as you long for God, we are right here with you.

GOL is stretching too. We’re stretching as we change the way we recruit and welcome new members to our networks, and with the way our marketing has shifted to a more public message. With the roll out of the open inquiry process we have received so many inquiries from people who are just as passionate and hopeful about the church as we are. Our Bi-vocational and Lay Networks have continued to approach their work with so much energy, creativity and enthusiasm, and our clergy networks are full of hope and deep love.

As we stretch, we give thanks for the networks within the larger network of GOL, and we hope that you’re sharing with the leaders you know about the sort of community we are, the work we are doing together, and the hope-filled ways that we’re approaching the world as it is today. We need you to stretch with us, to help us grow so that we may more faithfully serve the church and God. In fact, would you consider telling one person, or forwarding this Enews, to one leader you know who should be a GOler but isn’t yet?

As we journey into 2024, into Lent, and into the wilderness together, I wish all of you a holy Lent. The Episcopal Church is a place that so many people long to be part of, they just haven’t heard of us yet, and GOL is like unto the same. I look forward to stretching with you this year.

Alicia Hager

Community & Communication Curator

Read the rest of this month’s Enews.