My first Sunday as the new organist of St. Luke’s was March 5, 1989. I remember it well. It snowed five inches that day. As a Texan, Oklahoma was one of those “Northern States,” and I was very excited for my first Oklahoma snowfall. However, my fondest memory of that Sunday was meeting and greeting the members of St. Luke’s. It was immediately evident that this was a warm and welcoming body of believers. I was 27, and it was my first job out of state, but I already felt I had made so many new friendships and “adopted” grandparents. Thus began the first of many years of building relationships.

I love the season of Lent. There is a beauty in the practice of self-reflection that helps us to become the people we are created to be. The season is a time to examine our lives in a way that directs us to a deeper understanding of the love that God has for us. It is one of the reasons that I appreciate the writings of Peter Abelard. Abelard lived from 1079 – 1142 and was a French philosopher and theologian. One of his most important contributions to Christianity was labeled as heresy – his views on the cross. In his time, the leading thought on why Christ died on the cross was that it was necessary for the forgiveness of sins.