Lent 2022

LENT is a forty-day-long season of the Church based on the forty days that Jesus fasted in the desert. The original purpose of Lent was to prepare Catechumenates (people who were learning about the Christian faith) for baptism on Easter Sunday. Today, Lent isn’t always used for pre-baptismal preparation, but it continues to be an important season of prayer, repentance, and self-denial for many Christians. 

The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (ashes being an Old Testament symbol of repentance and mortality) and concludes on Easter Sunday (where we celebrate the triumph of Christ over Sin and Death).

There is no ‘official’ way to celebrate Lent in the Anglican tradition. Some people observe Lent by abstaining from certain practices (watching TV, Facebook, eating certain foods, etc.) or by taking up certain devotions (prayer, fasting, solitude, etc.). Lent is important primarily because it reminds us of the ‘big’ ideas of Christianity – our own culpability, the need to repent, and the unconditional Grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Ash Wednesday is the first day within the Lenten season. Why Ash Wednesday? Well, ashes are a biblical symbol of repentance and mortality (as in ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’), and in the 8th century some Christians began using them within worship in order to (literally) mark the beginning of Lent. If you wish to make a confession on Ash Wednesday, please email one of our ministers.

We offered TWO Ash Wednesday services on February 22nd. 

• 12:15 pm brief, spoken liturgy with the imposition of ashes. 
• 7:30 pm liturgy with music, the imposition of ashes, and Holy Communion. Nursery for children for brith-2 will be available

Here is a recording of last years service. 

March 25 – Lenten Quiet Day Retreat
“Lazarus – Grief & Renewal”

Step away during Lent for a time of reading, reflection, journaling, and prayer as we focus on John 11 – the death and rising of Lazarus – and ponder times of waiting, grief, and resurrection in our own lives.

• Sign Up: contact Email Elizabeth Messer at MesserEK@gcc.edu 
• Cost is $20 per person, space is limited.
• Time: 8:45am-1:00pm
• Location: Rural retreat outside of New Wilmington

How I Got Over”

Join us for two Lenten dinners to hear

• Elizabeth Messer (Mar. 10)
• Mike Kildoo (Mar. 24)

from Grace share their testimonies about how they, through Christ, ‘got over.’

• Time: 5:30pm
• Location: Trinity Lutheran Church

Unmade/Remade
Spiritual practices that help to deepen a Lenten journey

Lent is a time when we ‘try out’ certain Christian practices that help us to understand ourselves better and, ultimately, understand who Christ is as he’s revealed in Scripture. This Lent we’ll share in some practical advice regarding certain Christian practices that Lent tends to focus on – namely, confession, fasting, and personal prayer.

PLEASE JOIN US AT 4PM in the main sanctuary for Christian Ed during Lent.