Lent is what we call the 40 days of preparation leading up to Easter. In ancient times it was a time of catechism preparation leading up to baptism at Easter. Lent is a time of spiritual preparation, practice and contemplation. It's a time of remembering and reflecting on who Jesus was and is and what his life, words and sacrificial-living shape the way that we live.

Oftentimes people give things up (bad habits or practices that distract us from God) in view of journeying with Jesus in his suffering.  In other words to seek greater empathy, to love as Jesus loved.

Sometimes people take something on, a new spiritual practice or habit that's more healthy, in view of accomplishing the same thing during this spiritual season.

In 2024, like in every year, Ash Wednesday is the first day of the liturgical season of Lent. It always falls six and half weeks before Easter, beginning the Lenten season of preparation for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Ash Wednesday as a church celebration day back to the 11th century. It is a fast day, a day of mourning for our sin and the sin of all humanity before God, a recognition of our mortality save for the grace of God and a request that the Lord remember our creation and breathe new life into our burned-out, dusty lives once more.

This year we’re having two times of spiritual practice to mark this day.

Ash Wednesday Lunch Time Prayer from 12-1pm in the sanctuary

Get your ash at church and spend some time in creative, contemplative prayer as we enter into the season of Lent.

Ash Wednesday Evening Prayer on Zoom 7-8pm –

We’ll adapt our continuing class on the Psalms to fit the context of Ash Wednesday with some Lectio Divina prayer around Psalm 51.


Holy Week : Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday

Holy Week : Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday

Lent ends with a climactic week of active remembering through re-enacted stories.  It marks the final week of the life of Jesus which begins with his entrance into the holy capital city of Jerusalem heralded as a paradoxical take on the Roman Triumph reserved for victorious generals returning home.  Throughout that week he taught in the public square engaging the elites and common people in dialogue, prophetic actions, and conversational contemplation.  On Thursday of that week, what we call Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, he celebrated the Passover Meal with his closest friends, giving them the commandment to love one another as he had loved them.  The word Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning commandment.  It's at this meal that he institutes the eucharist (a meal of giving thanks) what we call "communion" today.  It's also at this meal that he is betrayed by a close friend into the hands of his enemies, later being arrested while praying in a public garden by the authorities. Friday of that week, what we ironically call Good Friday, marks the public and private trials of Jesus by both the Roman Authorities (who governed and occupied the land) and the Religious Institution which oversaw the Jewish Nation.  Condemned by the common crowds and the religious elites, Jesus is crucified on a cross : the death sentence given by the Romans to treasonous traitors.  The scriptures and continuing testimonies point to the mysterious resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days later at sunrise on Sunday.  We've come to celebrate that 8th day of this holy week as Easter Sunday: the dawn of the resurrection and a new way of being.

 

You can celebrate this story, by entering into it with us, at several liturgical celebrations during Holy Week

Palm Sunday: Sunday, March 24th at 10:30am

Maundy Thursday Table Service: Thursday, March 28th 6:00-8:00pm - Potluck Dinner as worship.

Good Friday: Friday, March 29th at 7:15pm, including our public prayers as we place the cross in our garden.

Easter Sunday, Sunday, March 31st at 10:30am, including a traditional egg hunt for children.