Friends,

The second hymn in the Ash Wednesday section of our New Century Hymnal is “Again We Keep This Solemn Fast.”  Its first verse goes like this:

Again we keep this solemn fast, a gift of faith from ages past,

This Lent which binds us lovingly to faith and hope and charity,

We entered the 40-day church liturgical season of Lent yesterday, and it takes all the way through Holy Week and ends on Easter.  Yesterday, many received ashes in the shape of a cross to mark the Lenten journey, mirroring Christ’s wilderness time.  The ashes typically come from last year’s Palm Sunday palm branches, which are a reminder of Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem when people are said to have waved palm branches to celebrate his arrival.  Ashes symbolize both death and repentance and recall the words, “Remember the you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  We also know that new life rises from ashes, so we also look forward to renewal and resurrection.  Lent is a fairly somber season that ends with the great feast of Easter and involves the themes of faith, hope, and charity.  

It used to be that folks would give something up for Lent or fast from something like chocolate or meat or watching TV, perhaps to join in some small way in Christ’s suffering.  In recent years it has become more customary for people to add something—like performing some sort of special service to benefit the needy or giving something away.  This brings back a fond memory of how our church relieved thousands of dollars of medical debt during one Lenten season of the COVID era.  Around the same time, my personal Lenten practice was to spring clean on steroids, and I gave away tons of good clothes and household items to charity, much as the good people of our church just cleaned out a space to give me an office.  A hearty thank you to all for that!   However you choose to mark this Lenten season, may it draw you closer to God and neighbor.

Blessings,

Co-Pastor Sandi