Lent 2023 | Vol 5. No.2
The journal this Lent consists of two different writings. One is letters from some of our pastoral staff to Pillar, to you! And additionally we have a few “Not What I Want” stories from the congregation riffing off Jesus’ words in the Garden before he was to be crucified. Throughout the pages we are also featuring new art created by Allison Spoelhof, Eloise Kehrer, and Blake Johnson. That scene from Mattew 26:36-46 will guide us throughout the season. With that in mind, it might be a good idea to read it, over and over, interiorize it, get it “inside.” As we walk in faith through Lent together, it may just prompt a “Not What I Want” testimony of your own.
Peace and a “good lent” to you,
- Jonathan Gabhart
March 15, 2023
A Letter: Joel Boersma
Dear Pillar community, Even during Lent, I confess my mind is on sports. I was raised in a sports-loving family, so my soul has been shaped by long loyalties and…
March 12, 2023
Not What I Want – Bryanna Manning
When I was younger, I remember hearing other people’s testimonies and thinking “how do I get a testimony like that?” I admired them, but, if I was honest, I didn’t…
March 8, 2023
A Letter: Chris De Vos
A Cruciform Life Dear Pillar, One Good Friday a church I once pastored decided to worship using a liturgy modeled after the stations of the cross. Two people dressed in…
March 5, 2023
Not What I Want – By Jonathan Harlow
A year and a half ago my dad was diagnosed with stage four melanoma. The news seemed unreal and almost like a bad dream that I wanted to wake up…
March 1, 2023
A Letter: Anna Erickson
Dear Pillar, Listen to this, from Matthew’s gospel: Matthew 19:13-15 Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray.…
February 26, 2023
Not What I Want – By Diane Konynenbelt
From a place of darkest waters and deepest pain, I heard these lyrics from the song “Scars”*. “I am grateful for the scars cause without them I would not know…
February 19, 2023
A Letter: Jon Brown
Dear Pillar, Read this short verse from Matthew: “When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating…” The context of Matthew 26 verse…