The Season of Lent, a six-week opportunity to focus on spiritual grown and renewal, begins with Ash Wednesday, February 14 this year. At Epworth, we will offer a self-guided Ash Wednesday experience in the sanctuary (including an opportunity to access/experience online) between noon and 2 pm. Those participating in person may receive the imposition of ashes on their foreheads by one of our pastors. We will engage in a new Lenten worship series called Soil/Soul Tending: Join the Song gathering around different Psalms throughout season on Sundays.
Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. The English word “Lent” comes from the Anglo–Saxon word lencten, which means “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of “spring.” In many other languages, the word used for this season refers to the 40-day length of the season (cuaresma in Spanish and Tagalog, carême in French, quaresima in Italian) or to the fasting that characterizes it (Fastenzeit in German, fastan in Swedish, paasto in Finnish, posta in Russian). The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter.
Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians. Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the Resurrection (Sundays don’t count in the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, which is March 31 this year).
(From the United Methodist Book of Worship)
This year, each Wednesday during Lent, from Ash Wednesday, February 14 to Wednesday, March 20, our Food & Love Teams will host a soup supper from 5:30-6:30 in the Fellowship Hall. After the supper, from 6:30-7:30, we will offer several group gatherings at Epworth (one of them will also be offered online).
The UMC website offers several interesting online articles about Lent and practices which can be a part of your spiritual renewal and growth.
- Lent 101 by Penny Ford
- Online engagement ideas for Lent by Gavin Richardson
- 40 Days of Lent: Find your own spiritual path by Joe Iovino
The UM Higher Education Foundation makes this Lenten calendar available each year.
Here’s a great idea for a 40 Days of Lent Photo Challenge
