“Pain proposes perplexing questions: What is the meaning of pain? How can I survive it? What do I do with it? However, Lent offers a way of grappling with the unintelligibility of pain; it invites us to look at our lives and our deepest longings for healing, restoration, and fulfillment.”
— The Work of the People
It’s a question that has perplexed philosophers, theologians, and everyday people for generations upon generations: why must we endure suffering?
It’s the same question that so often leads to rigid, exclusionary expressions of Christianity that see suffering as something to be avoided or, worse, to be endured in expectation of some kind of postmortem reward. In other circles, it leads to a kind of resigned nihilism and hopelessness.
But what if suffering is just suffering? What if it is simply part of the cost of being human? And what if our resistance to suffering is where we find the crucified Christ beckoning to us, “Follow me?”
This week at New Wineskins we officially kick off our observation of Lent with a series we’re calling “From Pain to Possibility” (see the weekly schedule below). Our discussion video from The Work of the People features mystic writer and speaker James Finley talking about the “infinite trustworthiness” of the Divine Spirit and how we can begin to overcome the false dualisms suffering presents to see how sharing and carrying our suffering leads us into a kind of freedom that transcends the desire simply to be happy.
Please join us this Sunday, March 16, in the Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom as we begin our Lenten reflections together.
6:00pm ET: Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time)
6:30pm ET: Presentation & conversation begin
Check out this week’s discussion video!
Click here to view this week’s discussion video on The Work of the People (email address required, no subscription necessary)
Lent 2025: From Pain to Possibility
This year for Lent, our community will trace our collective journey from pain to possibility through a video series from The Work of the People featuring the voices of a diverse collection of leaders and theologians.
All five discussion videos are available for viewing until April 20 through TWOTP’s stream share feature. To access the videos you will need to provide your email address when prompted. No subscription is necessary.
Simply click the links or images below to view each week’s video.
March 16: Infinitely Trustworthy with James Finley
March 23: Pain & Marching with Peter Block & Walter Brueggeman
March 30: Subversion from Within with James Alison
April 6: Pain to Possibility with Marlon Hall
April 13: Healing Justice with Dr. Roberto Henderson-Espinoza, Jennifer Bailey, and Mickey ScottBey
Coalfield Assistance Remains Critical
On February 15, 2025, destructive flooding struck many of the coalfield counties of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and western Virginia. Cleanup and the road to recovery will be long. If you’d like to help financially, please give to any of the entities listed in the graphic above, or donate through West Virginia United Methodist Disaster Response at this link: https://wvumc.brtapp.com/page/donate/disaster-response-ministries (image courtesy From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice)
Do you receive our weekly newsletter?
If you haven’t already signed up for our weekly email newsletter, now would be a great time! Get weekly announcements delivered to your inbox so you don’t miss a thing. Plus, when you sign up, you’ll get a free digital download of our New Wineskins Manifesto for Spiritual Exiles!
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter!
Invest in our community!
Want to invest in our community for Spiritual Exiles and our work to create and support online micro-communities focused on justice and liberation? Our online giving platform makes it easy for you to support the work we do! Just click the link below to give. Recurring gifts support the community over the long-term…your assistance helps us grow and sustain the important work we’re doing together!
Feature image by Nikolina on Pexels.com
Leave a Reply