Welcome, beloved community, to your 2021 Lenten devotional! Welcome to the members of our community that we see every day, and those who love us from afar.

Welcome to a time to change our hearts and lives. Welcome to a time that we set aside for fasting, for sharing our resources, for justice. Welcome to a time that we take to turn towards God. Welcome to a time when we can be honest about all the dry places in our lives and ask for God’s renewal. Welcome to remembering the waters of our baptism and knowing that they mean that God has got us.

Welcome to remembering that we are beloved and that God is faithful to us even now, especially now. Welcome to this journey that we take together as a community, even if it’s a little bit different this year.

Welcome, beloved. We hope you enjoy this collaborative community project we have lovingly crafted together for you. We pray it enriches your Lenten season and helps you feel connected to our community.

Blessed Lent!

Ash Wednesday Devotional

Author: Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum

Reflection: v. 12, ‘the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in’

How strange it feels to once again be preparing for Lent, as in some ways I still feel stuck in March of last year—caught in a perpetual season of penitence and reflection on our past mistakes. And yet in other ways, it feels as if so much has transpired it is a wonder to me that it has only been 12 months since we last gathered together to smear ashes on foreheads and remember our mortality. I will speak for myself in saying I will not be needing such a tangible reminder of death this year. This year I have buried too many dear congregants, made too many strategic and difficult sacrifices for the safety of my family, mourned too many lives gone in a nation wracked in discord, and lost too much sleep to fear and concern for my community. This year mortality has followed behind my shoulder, ever creeping into view like a persistent, haunting ghost. And while this year I do not need ashes or a liturgical reminder to turn my thoughts inward, I do mourn the missed chance to reach outward and tenderly touch the flesh of another’s face without fear of sharing too closely the air we all breathe. Because as we begin yet another season of Lent—still distanced, still mourning, still isolated, still with so much work to do—I am reminded deep in my lonely bones how much I depend upon others, how much we need one another. In this passage from Isaiah, the prophet paints for us an image of a justice-making community—where our ‘fasting’ leads to a world made more righteous by the ways we care for one another. My prayer for us this Lent is that, in this season of many transitions, we may seek to do this work of justice—the work that cares for us all, binds us together even as we feel isolated, repairs breaches, and makes our streets places of life once more.

Prayer Restore us, O Lord, and repair our broken places. Make our streets safe again.

Brittany grew up in Jacksonville, Arkansas. She first learned about God and what it means to be a church community that loves and cares for one another from First Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, AR. Brittany graduated from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. After teaching abroad and working for a travel company, Brittany began her studies at Columbia Theological Seminary, taking steps to answer a call to ministry that she had felt since her childhood. Upon moving to Atlanta, Brittany’s passion for being present with those on the margins led her to volunteer at Peachtree and Pine’s Taskforce for the Homeless and to become a pastoral intern with Mercy Church. After completing her MDiv at Columbia, Brittany began a PhD program at Emory University, but left to answer God’s call on her life to full-time ministry as a pastor to our community. Brittany was jointly ordained by the PC(USA) and Mercy Community Church in 2018. Outside of Mercy, what gives Brittany life and joy is spending time with her husband Cooper and daughter Emi, traveling via plane, train, and foot, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and nerding out over Karl Barth.

Contact Brittany at brittany@mercyatl.org.

Holly grew up in Ocala, Florida where she was nurtured by her faith community and encouraged to find ways to be a leader in the community. Holly graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in Psychology. After a period of discernment, she was called to a church community in Lady Lake, Florida where she served as the Youth Director for over six years. She began her seminary career in 2014 at Columbia Theological Seminary where she earned her Masters of Divinity and Master of Arts in Practical Theological (Pastoral Care). During her time in seminary, Holly began attending Mercy Community Church where she fell in love with the community. Upon graduation, Holly served for two years as a Chaplain Resident at Grady Memorial Hospital and specialized in pastoral care through the lens of behavioral health.

In her free time, Holly loves to exercise, travel, spend time with her family, read, and organize.

Tracey grew up in the Chicagoland area with a small but close-knit family. Her mother was Catholic, her father Lutheran and she was brought up in a household that always acknowledged God. She attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a B.S. in Family and Social Services in 1997. Before she earned her college degree, she also attended the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago and graduated with a baking a pastry certificate. Throughout the past 20 years Tracey lived in a variety of places including Michigan, Seattle, India, and Brazil. She has called Atlanta home since 2016 where she lives with her daughters, Riley, and Shayla.

Tracey chose to care for her young family on a full-time basis until 2019 when she began her studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. She graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2022 and was ordained as a pastor by Mercy Community Church that same year. Tracey’s call to seminary was rooted in a deep desire to lead and live through her faith in God. She attended seminary with a hope of learning what that could mean while also knowing her path was not clear. As she served as an intern at Mercy Community Church for two years throughout her seminary studies, she began to discern that pastoring this community was a call she wanted to accept. Tracey loves to engage with the community through artistic expression, pastoral care and cooking delicious meals. She is honored to be a member of the Mercy community.

When she’s not with the Mercy crew, Tracey loves to dabble in all things creative, hang out with her fabulous teenage daughters, spend time with her pets, and run a few miles while contemplating the meaning of life.

Mercy Community Church Atlanta

Lent Devotionals 2021 – Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday Devotional

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Ash Wednesday Devotional

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