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We Will Soon Be Entering the Lenten Season of Our Church Calendar

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We Will Soon Be Entering the Lenten Season of Our Church Calendar PROVIDENCE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 113 OLD DARE ROAD, YORKTOWN VA 23692 Rev. Lisa Blackmonson 757-898-9160 [email protected] We will soon be entering the Lenten Season of our church calendar. This year the “Season” begins with Ash Wednesday, February 17 and ends Easter Sunday, April 4. Join Us on Feb. 17 at 7pm live on Facebook, service will be recorded for you to view later, drive-thru PUMC parking lot night before, 5-7pm for material that will be handed out for the service on Ash Wednesday live. Look for e-mails in the coming weeks. One will be about plans and activities leading up to Easter. There will be mission projects for each week leading up to Lent. Most are fairly easy and can be done as a family. You can do all or as many as you feel your and your family can handle. We have all been very insular the last almost year and very cut off from each other. As a staff it was thought that having reasons to reach outside of our families might be helpful in preparations for Easter. Everyone should be able to find something they can do. If you know of other families you would like to share any of these emails with, feel free to do so. We are all looking forward to the time we can all gather together again to worship. Please continue to pray for our pastor and your church leadership members. LENT is the season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 46 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. It is a time of repentance, when Christians confess their sins and profess their devotion to God. During the Ash Wednesday service ashes are placed on a worshiper's forehead in the shape of a cross. The ashes symbolize both death and repentance as well as mourning for our sins, because we believe Christ died for them The ashes are often the burnt ashes from the previous year Psalm Sunday Service. 1 History of Lent In 325, the Council of Nicea discussed a 40-day Lenten season of fasting, but it's unclear whether its original intent was just for new Christians preparing for Baptism, but it soon encompassed the whole Church. Lent was first observed in the fourth century as the 46-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It’s focus was on self-examination and self-denial, and Christians used fasting (abstaining from eating food) in the early years as a visible demonstration of this process. Early Christians felt the importance of Easter called for special preparations. It is thought that the tradition may have grown from the early church practice of baptismal candidates undergoing a 46 day period of fasting in preparation for their baptism at Easter. Eventually, the season evolved into a period of spiritual devotion for the whole church. During the initial centuries, the Lenten fast was very strict but relaxed over time. Over the years, Lent has become less strict in almost every western tradition. In the Catholic Church, for example, the number of obligatory fasting days decreased incrementally from six days a week to three, and then eventually, to just two in the whole season of Lent: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The well known “fish on Friday” tradition began in the United States in 1966 when the Pope affirmed the abstinence from “flesh” on Fridays. In every tradition, however, the act of “giving something up” has remained strong. For all of these changes, though, the tradition of Lent is still largely recognizable to what it was nearly 2,000 years ago. In recent years, Lent has resurged in importance among mainline Protestant churches and has even seen renewal among evangelicals. In a time that some call the “post-Christian era, “many evangelicals have gained a new appreciation for the Church Liturgical Calendar, and for a season to reflect on their need for the cross and to prepare their hearts to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. For all faithful observers, Lent is about Jesus and what he did.” Orthodox Christians are rigorous in their observance of fasting during Lent, believing that regular fasting is a crucially important discipline for one’s spiritual growth. Meat, dairy products, and eggs (which historically were considered more luxury foods than ordinary breads) aren’t allowed, with some additional restrictions on certain days. They can only eat fish (which was historically considered less of a luxury than red meat) on the feasts of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday. Catholic churches continue to practice celebration of Lent but have relaxed many of the requirements of the early church. Some Protestant denominations observe Lent, but many Protestant churches attach less significance to the season of Lent than to the individual Holy days leading up to Easter. For those Christian observers, Lent is a time of repentance, moderation, self-denial, and spiritual discipline. The purpose of the Lenten season is to set aside for reflection on Jesus Christ— to consider his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial, and resurrection. Christians who observe Lent typically make a commitment to fast, or to give up something—a habit, like smoking, watching TV, swearing, or a food or drink, such as sweets, chocolate, or coffee. Some Christians also take on a Lenten discipline, like reading the Bible and spending more time in prayer to draw nearer to God. Some take on a service project of some kind to help those who are less fortunate or to provide a service. There are also opportunities to attend church services such as Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and of course Easter. 2 Symbols of Lent A Money Bag: Symbolizes the Lenten practice of helping those less fortunate through missions and other giving, It also symbolized the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Thorns Symbolizes the crown placed on Christ’s head; Ashes Symbolize death and repentance Water It symbolizes Christ washing the apostle’s feet, Living Waters Bread and Wine Symbolize the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples and the Communion service we celebrate The Cross Symbolizes Christ’s crucifixion and victory over death, and salvation Easter Lilies Symbolize the purity of Christ 3 Customs SHROVE TUESDAY Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts: the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It's a day of penitence, to clean the soul, and a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is sometimes called Pancake Day after the fried batter recipe traditionally eaten on this day. But there's more to Shrove Tuesday than pigging out on pancakes or taking part in a public pancake race. The pancakes themselves are part of an ancient custom with deeply religious roots. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving that Christians used to undergo in the past. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution for them. When a person receives absolution for their sins, they are forgiven for them and released from the guilt and pain that they have caused them. MARDI GRAS The Feast before the feast - French for “Fat Tuesday”, as we know it today, actually comes from the tradition called Shrovetide. Shrovetide was the final celebration before Lent. During Lent, people would typically wear dark clothing, abstain from meat and rich foods, and avoid celebrations. Therefore, Shrove Tuesday—the day before Lent—provided people with an opportunity to engage in one last celebration, wear colorful costumes and decorations, and use up the rich foods in their homes. Today, Mardi Gras celebrations have become rather popular and family-oriented in places such as New Orleans, where schoolchildren even get the day off. Some of the events associated with Mardi Gras may be rather raucous, but the basic meaning of the celebration remains. King Cake, a circular-shaped pastry decorated with icing and colored sugar. The colors of the sug- ar—which are also the colors of Mardi Gras—are purple, green and gold. The colors, in order, signify justice, faith and power. A small plastic baby is inserted inside the cake. Whoever gets the baby in his or her piece is said to have good luck for the next year—and must also supply next year’s cake! EASTER EGG HUNT The origins of the Easter Egg Hunt comes from Germany. Some suggest that its origins date back to the late 16th century, when the Protestant reformer Martin Luther organized egg hunts for his congregation. The men would hide the eggs for the women and children to find. This was a nod to the story of the resurrection, in which the empty tomb was discovered by women. In the medieval period eating eggs was forbidden during Lent, the 46 day period before Easter. On Easter Sunday the fast ended with feasting and merriment, and eggs were considered an important part of these celebrations. This was especially true for poorer people who couldn’t afford meat. Eggs were also given to the church as Good Friday offerings, and villagers often gave eggs as gifts to the lord of the manor at Easter. Royals got involved with this tradition too – in 1290 Edward I purchased 450 eggs to be decorated with colors or gold leaf and then distributed to his household. SPRING CLEANING According to an ancient tradition the three days after Palm Sunday are devoted to a thorough cleaning of the house. Walls washed, floors waxed, and mattresses carried into the out- doors for airing.
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