Dear Friend in Christ,
On Ash Wednesday (February 26) 2020, the world was only just becoming aware that a new virus was quickly spreading from country to country. With everything that happened during the forty
days of Lent 2020, many of us barely had time to comprehend all that had changed, let alone mourn all that we had lost. No one in Episcopal Relief & Development’s circle is untouched by loss during the COVID-19 pandemic—whether it is staff, partners, donors or program participants. Of course, the greatest measure of loss is the number of deaths in our communities – here in the US and around the world. Our hearts break for all of the people who are no longer with us. There were other losses as well: jobs and livelihoods; the opportunity to travel to visit loved ones; we even lost the ability to worship together in our church buildings. So much was lost, with little or no time to lament that which was lost. Because of the magnitude of our collective losses, we decided to
focus on lament as the theme for the 2021 Lenten Meditations. In fact, writing openly about lament is difficult. Especially when so many of us have lost so much. One might ask, “Why should I
appear mournful when others have lost so much as well?”

This Lent, we invite you to take some time to lament that which you and others have lost. In her essay, “Four Steps of Lament,” Heidi Weaver invites us to:
• Rest, to take sabbath time to simply be present to our current situation;
• Reflect on that which has been lost;
• Repent for the sufferings and loss we have caused or overlooked; and
• make Restitution and be Restored to God and to one another.
This year for our Lenten Meditations we have invited ten writers to share reflections on each of these four steps of lament. These writers are all leaders in The Episcopal Church and represent a diversity of perspectives, ministries and backgrounds. As a result, we are blessed to have a unique and rich tapestry of viewpoints on the universal experience of lament, loss and new life. Many of the authors share deeply personal and painful experiences related to a variety of issues including disease, violence, racial injustice and poverty.

I am profoundly grateful to each of them for their generosity in sharing their pain and journey of lament and to Dr. Sandra Montes for editing this edition. I invite you, our readers, to come to these meditations with an open heart. What you read may challenge you and give rise to unexpected or uncomfortable feelings. We encourage you to engage the “Four Steps of Lament,” by resting, reflecting, repenting and ultimately being restored to God and to one another. Finally our wish for you is that God brings you rest this Lent so that you may reflect on your own loss and be transformed in the process. May God then restore your soul and bring you into the bright new life that is our Easter promise. And may you continue to know that you are loved now and always.
Amen.
Robert W. Radtke
President & CEO
Episcopal Relief & Development

Ash Wednesday, REST

“That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.”
—Exodus 5:6-9

Rest is the first phase of lament. Until we step back from the demands of our daily routine to rest and reflect, it is challenging to process difficult events. We struggle to find meaning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic a year after it began. Some individuals had the option of working from home. However, not everyone was afforded this luxury. Plenty of people traveled to work, including first responders and medical personnel, grocery store stockers and gas station clerks. The demands placed upon these essential workers increased during the pandemic. Like the Israelites who labored as enslaved persons during Pharaoh’s reign, our essential workers had to do more with less. They were required to make bricks without straw. What does lament look like when you are too exhausted to rest?
How can those who enjoy the privilege of determining our work conditions support our neighbors who have few options? Prayer is certainly part of this equation, and yet our baptismal covenant
calls us to do much more than pray. During Lent, commit to a weekly act of kindness for essential workers in your community.
—Phoebe Roaf

Source: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Lent-2021-English-BlackWhite.pdf; © 2021 Episcopal Relief & Development. All rights reserved. Printed in partnership with Forward Movement.