Ash Wednesday afternoon...

I am sitting in my study having cleared up a mess and now the desk is tidy so I can start doing things that need doing!
This morning, I shared in an Ash Wednesday with 11 Methodist folk. It was a good time of communion and quiet reflection. We committed ourselves to turn to Christ and to support one another on a Lenten walk together, as we work out what it means to be Christ-like in today's world. Tonight I shall receive rather than lead in an Anglican service in our village, which will include ashing - a sign in the end we are God's people, and we are meant to respond to him in all that we do. Our lives should be a faithful response to his care, even in the mess of our lives.
This weekend, I have a church AGM. Perhaps the first Sunday of Lent is a good time for such a meeting! I hope my folk will clear up what mess there is (and there is some!) then commit themselves to start again, trying to be more like Christ, engaging, suffering, celebrating, enjoying, dying and rising, as a community. I hope the meeting will end with an act of commitment, perhaps not with ash, but with renewed enthusiasm to be centred on God and his will for us, where we are called to be.
I am not in the practice of giving things up for Lent, although I need to keep away from chocolate and biscuits. I think it more helpful to have time to think about what it is all about. I hope to have space each day to breathe in, to be aware of my surroundings, the people who love me, and what is important in my life and in my ministry, and where God is leading me each day. In the end, I think Lent is a time for real self examination and resetting of priorities, both for individuals and for churches.
I dipped into Rowan Williams' book "Silence and Honey Cakes" the other day. It is a book full of the wisdom of the desert thinkers. I was challenged by this quote, attributed to one John the Dwarf:
"You don't build a house by starting with the roof and working down. You start with the foundation. They said, "What does that mean?" He said, "The foundation is where we start. Every commandment of Christ depends on this."
What I believe will be tested by what I do, right here. There's a Lenten challenge!
So, on with what needs doing, then.