Ash Wednesday, February 18th –
9:30 AM Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes, Chapel
6:00 PM Soup supper, Undercroft
7:00 PM Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes, Sanctuary
~From the Book of Common Prayer, pg. 264-269
Dear People of God:
The first Christians observed with greatย devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, andย it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by aย season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent providedย a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holyย Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because ofย notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithfulย were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored toย the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregationย was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution setย forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which allย Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.
I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to theย observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;ย by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading andย meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginningย of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us nowย kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.