Faison Methodist Church Pastor David Helbig leads a devotion at Faison Presbyterian Church during one of this season’s Lenten lunches. Lenten lunches will be held every Wednesday, noon to 1 p.m., at the Presbyterian Church until Easter. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
A crowd of 60 to 70 enjoys a soup and sandwich meal at this Lenten lunch, held at Faison Presbyterian Church and hosted by Faison Methodist Church. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Faison Methodist Church members Jan Best, right, and Hannah Helbig, second from right, take a break from dishing up soup at Wednesday’s Lenten lunch. Also helping in the kitchen were, left to right, Deborah Lucas, Dean Warren, and Carolyn Kenyon. The luncheon took place at Faison Presbyterian Church. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
FAISON — “Lent is a season of challenge; we’ve left the celebrations of Christmas and we aren’t quite to Easter,” Pastor David Helbig told a crowd of 60 to 70 gathered for a Lenten lunch in the fellowship hall of Faison Presbyterian Church on Wednesday.
Lenten lunches are popular throughout the country, commonly consisting of churches of different denominations coming together on Wednesdays throughout the season of Lent (the 40 days prior to Easter, not including Sundays) to take turns hosting a light lunch and some form of worship — a devotional or short sermon. Often, small donations are requested or accepted, with that money being used to support a local cause.
Locally, Faison Presbyterian Church is serving as the location for Lenten lunches, on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. Other local churches will take turns acting as the host church by providing the meal and conducting a short worship service.
Faison Methodist Church, where Helbig is pastor, was the host church Wednesday.
Following a meal of soup, sandwiches, and dessert, Helbig delivered a message that focused on four things he suggests Christians can do during Lent to help them prepare for Easter.
The first thing he suggested was more prayer. “We can grow in our walk with God by creating more time in our daily lives to live in prayer,” he said.
His second suggestion: fasting, whether it be from food, social media, or something else. “When we fast, it should be a time to reflect on God rather than our decision to go without,” he said. “We have to let it draw us into the presence of God.”
Third: repentance. The season of Lent, Helbig said, “is a time to acknowledge our shortcomings, our failures, our sins, and to express regret and commit to change, as we confess our sins to the Lord and ask for his forgiveness.”
And, finally, he suggested that Christians focus on acts of mercy, asking themselves, “How do we show that we care for the widow, the orphan, the person in prison, the sick, the naked, or the hungry?” At the end of the service, he made available a list of places where people can perform acts of mercy, naming specific local food pantries, recovery centers, correctional facilities, etc.
Upcoming Lenten lunches at Faison Presbyterian Church will be hosted by the following churches: Bowdens Community on March 19; Calypso Presbyterian on March 26; Bear Marsh Baptist on April 2; Faison Baptist on April 9; and Peace Baptist on April 16.
At each lunch, a two-dollar donation is suggested, with this money going into a restricted fund at Faison Presbyterian Church and used to help meet the needs of students in the North Duplin school system. Examples of some of the student needs this fund is used for include covering the cost of a field trip, purchasing a coat, or paying for the repair of eyeglasses.
Faison Presbyterian Church is located at 502 West Main Street.
