The Collegiate Presbyterian Church is hosting a series of Lenten Organ Meditation Concerts during the Lent season, with the first starting Wednesday.

Lent, a Christian observance, is a discipline in spiritual life and a time for personal inventory. It takes place during the period of 40 days leading up to the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday.

The sanctuary will be open for private prayer and reflection during the noon hour on Wednesdays during Lent through April 8. During this time, meditative organ music will be played for a half-hour each day beginning at 12:10 p.m.

John Kelly, director of music for Collegiate Presbyterian Church, at Sheldon Avenue and West Street, said the meditations usually draw a number of people from the community.

“We have had a very good turnout in the past. It is always a good mix of people,” Kelly said.

The first Lenten Organ Meditation is scheduled this week on Ash Wednesday. Guest organist Mary Nelson of Bethesda Lutheran Church ELCA, 1517 Northwestern Ave., will play a variety of Lenten music by contemporary composers.

This is the eighth year that the Lenten Organ Meditations have been offered in Ames. The first Lenten Organ Meditation was designed by a former organist for Collegiate Presbyterian Church.

The sanctuary is free of charge, and Kelly said people may come and go at their leisure.

“I really encourage people to come. It is a good time for reflections. The organists are great, too,” he said. “They usually base their half-hour of music off of songs from the hymnal so that those there can use it for a guide in their meditation. If the music comes from other books, we try to print it off for the meditators.”

Other performers include Colby Kegley, Lois Miller of First Christian Church, 611 Clark Ave., Rhonda Steward of Christ Lutheran Church in Des Moines, the group Basically Baroque, featuring Kevin Schilling and Lynn Zeigler, and Linda Van Horn of Collegiate Presbyterian.