Good day,
Zoom Link for the Lenten Scripture Study – Mondays through Lent, 7pm: You will find the link at the end of this post. See you tonight!
There are a lot of Shrove Tuesday Pancake Suppers and Ash Wednesday services – too many to list here. Please check with your usual source of congregational information (hopefully, you have a “usual source of congregational information”) 
This Friday, February 16 has been designated as a Special Day of Fasting and Prayer for Israel and Gaza.
Saturday, Feb.17 at Emmaus: Fun Day: indoors, 1-3pm, bring your favourite board game or join in a game of cards. This is followed by a painting teaching session by Amy Williams – for a cost of $45. Please RSVP to Deb Kalinowski as soon as possible. (deb_kal@yahoo.ca)
Lenten Lunches at Emmaus begin next Wednesday, February 21, noon-1pm. That’s also a Lenten Ember Day (more about that next week).
A Liturgical Note for You: Actually, First a Note about the Note:
I’m sure you’ve noticed that Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine’s Day this year. Ash Wednesday is such a hugely important day in our Christian calendar that we do not even mark the memorial that usually happens on February 14 (Cyril and Methodius). Ash Wednesday is a “Day of Discipline and Self-Denial” as we begin our Lenten journey together. Let us immerse ourselves in the transformative rhythm of our Christian calendar.
Shrove Tuesday: The word “shrove” comes from the English word shrive which means to be absolved of your sins through confession and penance. Christians traditionally went to confession to be “shriven” the day before Lent began. It has come to be known more for its pancakes though because this is also the day when Christians used up all of their fats and other good food before the season of fasting began.
Ash Wednesday: Lent begins today. The colour of the altar and other hangings is violet/purple. The paschal candle is removed from the church today before your Ash Wednesday liturgies. It should not be seen again – except for funerals – throughout the entire season of Lent. (Baptisms do not take place during Lent unless it is an emergency). The paschal candle re-emerges – preferably a new candle each year, actually – on Holy Saturday Evening at The Great Vigil of Easter. “Alleluia” is not sung or said during Lent even on Feast Days and at funerals. This isn’t because we are mournful or gloomy – Lent is a time of suppressed joy and excitement as we prepare ourselves for the greatest event of the Christian calendar…our passage into new life through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! For the same reason, the Gloria is not sung or said during Lent and flowers are not placed in the church. All of the weekdays (not Sundays) are marked as days of discipline and self-denial to be observed, for example, with extra prayer and maybe doing without your favourite food. We’re saving ourselves for the big party after the Easter Vigil. 
Ashes: On Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey with the ancient practice of marking a cross on our foreheads with ashes made from last year’s palm branches. There are a few reasons why we put ashes on our foreheads on this day. First, in the bible, we find ashes used as a symbol of repentance. People throw ashes on their heads, sit in ashes, and even mix ashes in their food and drink. In our lives as Christians, we must continually repent (turn away from sin and turn toward God). Lent is the season through which we spent time in deliberate evaluation of our journey in Christ toward the awaited perfection. Secondly, ashes are a sign of our humanity and inevitable physical death: Remember you are dust and to dust you will return. Our bodies will return to dust until we are raised up by Christ. By receiving ashes and leaving them on our foreheads, we publicly proclaim our intent to die to our worldly desires and live even more in Christ’s image, which we focus on during the season of ‘rebirth’ that is Lent (a Latin term for ‘Spring’). Also, as with Adam – who was created from the dust – we are sinners and only have new life in Christ, the new Adam.
For Your Devotions:
Thursday, February 15th is the memorial of Thomas Bray, Priest and Missionary, Founder of SPG and SPCK, died in 1730. Thomas was a British presbyter who founded libraries in the colonies – originally intended just for clergy. Well, the libraries expanded and, in order to support them, Thomas organized The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK, 1698/9). Just a couple years later, he also helped establish the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG, 1701). Thomas was an ardent supporter of the rights of enslaved Africans, and of Indigenous peoples deprived of their land. Back in England, he worked for the reform of prison conditions, and for the establishment of preaching missions to prisoners. To read more: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/102.html
In the hope of Christ,
Susan
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Zoom Link:
Topic: Lenten Bible Study 2024
Time: Feb 12, 2024 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every week on Mon, until Mar 25, 2024, 6 occurrence(s)
Feb 12, 2024 07:00 PM
No Study Feb.19 – Family Day
Feb 26, 2024 07:00 PM
Mar 4, 2024 07:00 PM
Mar 11, 2024 07:00 PM
Mar 18, 2024 07:00 PM
Mar 25, 2024 07:00 PM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Join Zoom Meeting with This Link:
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