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LENT

February 14 - March 28

40 DAYS OF REFLECTION, PRAYER & HOPE

ASH WEDNESDAY
February 14 
Ashes To Go – 7 am to 7 pm 
Ash Wednesday Service – 7 pm
On Ash Wednesday (February 14), the first day of Lent, we begin a journey of renewal – from death to life. Join us at the church’s front lawn for Ashes To Go to help with the imposition of ashes in our community. You are welcome to sign up to volunteer for one-hour time slots between 6 am and 7 pm. At 7 pm, everyone is welcome to attend the Ash Wednesday service in the church sanctuary. Sign up to volunteer HERE

ABOUT THE SEASON OF LENT

 

The season of Lent is a period of 40 days for prayer, fasting and self-examination in preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ at Easter. The Sundays in Lent are not counted in this reckoning of the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, as every Lord’s Day is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Lent starts with Ash Wednesday. We are reminded that our possessions, our rulers, our empires, our projects, our families and even our lives do not last forever. “You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). The liturgies throughout Lent try to pry loose our fingers, one by one, from presumed securities and plunge us into unknown baptismal waters, waters that turn out to be not only our death tomb but surprisingly our womb of life. Rather than falling back into nothingness, we fall back on everlasting arms. Death? How can we fear what we have already undergone in baptism?

It is the power of the resurrection on the horizon ahead that draws us into repentance toward the cross and tomb. Through the intervention of God’s gracious resurrection, lifelong changes in our values and behavior become possible. By turning from the end of the “old self” in us, Lenten repentance makes it possible for us to affirm joyfully, “Death is no more!” and to aim toward the landscape of the new age. Faithfully adhering to the Lenten journey of “prayer, fasting and almsgiving” leads to the destination of Easter.

During the final week, Holy Week, we hear the fullness of Christ’s passion, his death, and resurrection. From Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and on to the Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday), all of Holy Week focuses on the passion. As his followers, we travel Christ’s path of servanthood through the Lord’s Supper and the suffering of the cross toward the glory of Easter, all of which underscores the inseparable link between the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Content adapted from the PCUSA website.