Sharing Love, Seeking Justice: The first week in Lent

March 11, 2025

Welcome to our 2025 series of weekly Lenten devotionals, a gift from New Brunswick Theological seminary. At the beginning of each week, the Theological Writing Center will post a devotion or a story of a local congregational ministry, along with a prayer and a few psalms on which to meditate during the week. During Holy Week, there will be eight days of devotions from NBTS faculty members.

The first week in Lent

The Koinonia of Pennsylvania Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction

The purpose of this ministry is to promote the love, hope, and comfort of Jesus Christ by caring, sharing, supporting, and exhorting one another as we learn to grow through grief and loss. We provide training for ministry leaders on how to minister to the bereaved.  The ministry includes twenty-eight churches throughout the tri-state area. Our aim is to help congregations engage in effective outreach/evangelism and grow numerically as they offer grief/loss support to church members and to the community. 

In addition, the ministry has resources available for professional grief counseling and the location of support groups. 

www.pakoinoniacogic.org   (215) 276-2960

Prayer:                

               Gracious God, thank you for giving us a ministry

               to help those who are hurting because of a loss. 

               May we be your feet as we provide comfort to them

               and support those that are called

               to walk by others during this challenging time. 

               Selah and Amen.

Rita Milburn-Dobson

DMin Graduate, 2018

Reflection for the rest of the week:     The first three Ascent Psalms: 120, 121, 122

                                                                  The Ascent Psalms were sung by pilgrims heading for Jerusalem.

Prayer:           

               Most loving God, who defends and protects all your servants

               deliver us from the lies of our enemies, lessen their rage and fury;

               and strengthen us through all our troubles and afflictions,

               that we may honor you by serving in ways that please you,

               through the mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ.

               Amen.                                                                           _{Adapted from the prayer for  Psalm 120 in the Scottish Psalter of 1595}