Lent is the season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday.  It is the season of preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter.  Historically it has been a period of fasting--abstaining from something for six weeks (a favorite food, a computer game, a TV program, or anything else that is a sacrifice that can help us in some small measure experience the sacrifice Jesus makes on the cross).  Lent is also a time for self-examination, confession, and repentance (turning from sin and toward God).  During Lent we are encouraged to spend additional time in prayer, Bible study, and reflection especially on the suffering and death of Jesus so that we can more fully rejoice in Christ’s victory over sin and death through his resurrection.

We’ll begin the Lenten season with a traditional Ash Wednesday service on February 17 at 7:00 PM.  There will be child care available.  This year we will be doing a church-wide study entitled “24 Hours that Changed the World.”  We will walk with Jesus on his final day, sit beside him at the Last Supper, pray with him in Gethsemane, follow him to the cross, desert him, deny him and ultimately experience his resurrection.  Weekly worship, daily devotions, and small group studies will help us experience and understand the significance of Jesus’ suffering and death in a way we may never have before.  I invite you to join me on this inspiring journey.  And since the final 24 hours of Jesus’ life are so central to our faith, I encourage you to make a special effort to invite your friends and neighbors to join us.

The Adult Sunday School Class at 9:30 AM and our existing small groups will be doing the study and would welcome you to join them.  If you want to be a part of a study group and can’t find one that fits your schedule, let me know and I’ll see what we can work out.

Daily devotionals for the study will also be available.  The devotionals cost $8 each.  We are asking all who are able to contribute $5 to help offset the cost of the devotional, but we want every family to have one whether or not they are able to contribute.

As part of this series, we will be having communion on February 21 because that Sunday we will be focusing on Jesus’ last meal with his followers.  We will not celebrate the Lord ’s Supper again until Maundy Thursday (April 1).

I pray that together we will experience a meaningful and Holy Lenten season.

Blessings,

Anne