March 25, 2022

With tremendous thanks to Jon Rexeisen, we have a completely revamped Saint Anne's website! The address hasn't changed - you can enjoy marveling at the clean and easy-to-navigate new look, right here: https://www.saintannesmn.org/

Jon spent a good deal of time going over the analytics of our site to determine who is using it and what information users seem to find helpful. As we live into our new site there may be additions to it, but this cleaner, less-is-more, approach is intentional. It's easier for people to find what they are looking for when we've cleared some space for it.

I find myself returning to the new site again and again now, just to delight in its simplicity. When Jon and I discussed these changes, he suggested that starting with a blank slate and adding back only what we needed is easier than starting with the old site and attempting to remove items. "It's too easy to hang on to things just out of habit", Jon said.

This practice invited me to think about the things in my own life I hang onto that may have served a purpose at one time, but don't actually serve me well any more. Some are actual, tangible, things and some are old habits or patterns of thinking. If it were all wiped clean, what would I bring back and what would I let go? It isn't always easy to let go of stuff - and it's definitely not easy to shift my patterns of thinking. But it iswhat Lent is all about, so I'm trying. Jesus had the desert. I have Goodwill, head-clearing walks in my neighborhood, and deep breaths.

How about you? How does it feel to imagine starting with a blank slate: just you and God on the morning of Creation, only adding in what you need in your life. Only the things that will serve you well, bring you delight, and bring you closer to the Divine? When you think about what you might not bring back, what surprises you? How does it feel to imagine letting go of some life-clutter? What stands in your way?

Our sleek new website invites you to continue your Lenten journey. I do, too.