Lent

Sundays 8:30a & 10:30a

Ash Wednesday: March 5th 11:15a & 7p

Mid-week: Thursdays 11:15a & 7p

What is Lent?

Early in the Church's history, the major events in Christ's life were observed with special observances, such as His birth, baptism, death, resurrection and ascension. As these observances developed, a period of time was set aside prior to the major events of Jesus' birth and resurrection as a time of preparation.

During Lent, the Church's worship assumes a more penitential character. The color for the season is purple, a color often associated with penitence. The "Hymn of Praise" is omitted from the liturgy. The word "Alleluia" is usually omitted as well. By not using the alleluia--a joyful expression meaning "Praise the Lord"--until Easter, the Lenten season is clearly set apart as a distinct time from the rest of the year. Additionally, it forms a powerful contrast with the festive celebration of Jesus' resurrection when our alleluias ring loud and clear.

Finally, the penitential character of Lent is not its sole purpose. In the ancient Church, the weeks leading up to Easter were a time of intensive preparation of the candidates who were to be baptized at the Easter vigil on Holy Saturday. This time in the Church's calendar was seen as an especially appropriate time for Baptism because of the relationship between Christ's death and resurrection and our own in Holy Baptism (see Romans 6:1-11). This focus would suggest that the season of Lent serves not only as a time to meditate on the suffering that Christ endured on our behalf, but also as an opportunity to reflect upon our own Baptism and what it means to live as a child of God.

Do you have lenten services?

Yes we do. We have our usual services on Sunday mornings with a Traditional Service at 8:30am and a Contemporary Service at 10:30am. During the six weeks of Lent, we are diving into the “The Way of Sorrow” that walks through the Gospel of Luke.

Ash Wednesday is March 5th with services at 11:15am in the Chapel and 7pm in the Worship Center. There will be Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion. We also have mid-week services on Thursdays starting on March 13th with services at 11:15am in the Chapel and a service in the evening at 7pm in the Worship Center. We also have a soup supper from 5:30pm-6:30pm each week before the evening services during Lent. We are looking at “Characters of the Crucifixion” as our focus with dramatizations of a different person surrounding the passion of Jesus.