Dear Friends,
Each year we begin the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday with a service of Holy Communion and the receiving of ashes applied to our foreheads in the sign of the cross. The words of invitation in our Book of Common Worship invite us by saying:
“We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We begin the journey to Easter with a sign of ashes. This ancient sign speaks of the frailty and uncertainty of human life and marks the penitence of this community.”
As the ashes are applied, the following or similar words from Genesis 3:19 are said:
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Amen.”
Some of us from UPC Flanders and the other Mount Olive churches gathered for this purpose yesterday evening. But if you could not be there, you can still take part in this season of penitence and preparation for Easter.
“I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ,
to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence,
by prayer and fasting,
by works of love,
and by meditating on God’s word.”
Each person’s Lenten journey can be different but all lead to the Cross and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are looking for guidance on how or what to read in your bible start each morning with a prayerful reading of Psalm 51:1-17 or another Psalm. Then read from one of the gospels. My favorite is the gospel of Mark, but John is also recommended. May God bless you in your journey.
Pastor Cliff