Worship During LENT

Worship for Ash Wednesday will be online only, Feb 17 at 6:30 pm (eastern)  on our Facebook page.

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LENTEN BAGS are available NOW
  To assist in worshiping during this time while we are still more at home, LENTEN BAGS have been prepared for each household.  
  They include:

• A worship service for Ash Wednesdays, including a baggie with ashes
• A Devotional Booklet on the Psalms for the 6 weeks of Lent
• Several activities and crafts for Holy Week - a palm for Palm Sunday, a sticker folder for the events in Jesus' last days, and a scratch-off activitiy for Good Friday
• A beautiful picture to color for Easter

WHAT IS LENT?
  Lent is the name given to the 6 weeks prior to the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.  As Easter is a moveable holy day, Lent is sometimes earlier in the spring than other times.  The word "Lent" comes from an ancient word actually meaning spring. During these 6 weeks, the historic practice of the larger Christian church is meant to remind us of what Jesus undertook in suffering and death "for us and for our salvation," as the Nicene Creed states.  Thus it is a penitential season, and we use purple paraments in worship, and the clergyperson wears a purple stole.  In earlier days, the whole 6 weeks was a time of a modified fast, eating lighter meals for those who were able. Some people still observe the spiritual practice of "giving up something for Lent," to share in the suffering of Jesus. 
   It is recommended that some spiritual practice in observation of Lent be done, whether a renewed dedication to Scripture reading and reflection, a new practice of regular prayer, or even the embodied spiritual practice of a modified diet.  This is a good time to deepen our awareness and appreciation of what God undertakes to reach out to humans here on earth.