Good day,

There are quite a number of pancake suppers tomorrow evening. Please check out the post last week for more information. Ash Wednesday worship is as follows:

9:30 am Holy Trinity, SSM, BAS Holy Eucharist/Imposition of Ashes

4pm at Emmaus

7pm at St. Luke’s, St. George in Echo Bay, and the Goulais River United Church

Prayer Study this Thursday! March 6, 4-5pm at the Trinity Centre.

Lenten Bible Study: Mondays, 7-8:15pm on Zoom beginning March 10

Psalm Study online, 12-12:30pm each Thursday beginning March 6. Registration instructions are in the document below. 

Zoom Book Study with Bishop Michael Oulton, five Wednesdays beginning March 12. Register with Carla at the Synod Office.

A Liturgical Note For You:

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.  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. J 

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 the broken ways of the world and turn toward God and God’s ways). 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:

Monday, March 3rd is the commemoration of John and Charles Wesley, Priests and Evangelists, died 1791 and 1788.  John was the 15th and Charles the 18th (Wow!) child of Samuel Wesley. Samuel was an Anglican clergyman and his wife was a Puritan. You may think of John and Charles as belonging to a different denomination (Methodist) but they were both singularly loyal to the Church of England. They began a movement that strictly adhered to the worship and discipline (“method”) of the Prayer Book. They unnerved some conservative Anglicans with their conversion experiences, evangelical style, and ignoring of parish boundaries. We probably are all more familiar with Charles since we see his name pop up regularly as author of many of our hymns…He wrote over 6000 hymns!  For more info:  https://standingcommissiononliturgyandmusic.org/2011/03/03/march-3-john-and-charles-wesley/

Friday, March 7th is the memorial of Perpetua and her Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 202. In a time when Christians were persecuted for their beliefs, they stood firm in their faith. I’ve read accounts of their deaths on a number of occasions and, each time I do, I feel humbled and amazed by their bravery and dignity and trust in God as they faced horrific deaths. One such account (much of it in Perpetua’s own words) is here:   http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/117.html

Saturday, March 8th is the commemoration of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, Educator and Pastor, died 1910. Edward is known for his commitment to pastoral care and the personal example he set for everyone around him, particularly his students. He believed that preaching was only effective if rooted in the personal care – through prayer and visitation – of every parishioner. Here is part of what he wrote: “If you are to preach, you must make up your minds that you are sent, and sent by God. Without the gift of love, you will never be a preacher.”  To read more:   http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/118.html

In the hope of Christ,

Susan