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.

Readers, 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

REPENT

“We confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.”
—The Book of Common Prayer, p. 360

I’m often asked how people, particularly people in The Episcopal Church, can become advocates for diversity and can be antiracists. I tell them that the first step I had to take was to look deep inside, in those places so hidden that even I had a tough time finding them. Then, I had to face all the things that I knew I had thought, done, left undone, said that were not loving, not uplifting and not edifying to my siblings who may not be part
of my culture. After that, I had to repent. I had to truly come to the feet of Jesus and ask for forgiveness. I have to actively and intentionally repent daily because I mess up, or sin, all the time.

In our Book of Common Prayer, we have the Confession, and it can be a starting point for us to repent. Without my daily recognition of wrongdoing and the certainty that God loves and forgives me, I wouldn’t be able to be true to my Baptismal Covenant of striving for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every human being.
—Sandra T. Montes

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.