Dive into Lent - something for everyone this season
Dive into Lent. We promise you won’t be the same.
Lent is a season rich with meaning, and to help you dive in spiritually we are offering a multidue of worship services, formation classes, and times to gather with other folks on the journey. Find out more about everything we’re doing below.
Go deep in your faith this season.
You won’t be the same when Easter comes.
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Early Christians observed “a season of penitence and fasting” in preparation for the Paschal feast, or Easter. The season now known as Lent (from an Old English word meaning “spring,” the time of lengthening days) has a long history. Originally, in places where Pascha was celebrated on a Sunday, the Paschal feast followed a fast of up to two days. In the third century this fast was lengthened to six days. Eventually this fast became attached to, or overlapped, another fast of forty days, in imitation of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. The forty-day fast was especially important for converts to the faith who were preparing for baptism, and for those guilty of notorious sins who were being restored to the Christian assembly. In the western church the forty days of Lent extend from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, omitting Sundays. The last three days of Lent are the sacred Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Today Lent has reacquired its significance as the final preparation of adult candidates for baptism. Joining with them, all Christians are invited “to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word” (BCP, p. 265).
Many Christians will choose a special spiritual practice to maintain during Lent, either a fast or an added practice of some kind. If you would like to explore how to observe Lent this year, reach out to one of the clergy. They’ll be glad to walk you through it.
Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday
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Celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, Shrove Tuesday is the final day before the 40-day period of Lent begins. Its name comes from the Germanic-Old English word “shrive,” meaning absolve. Because it comes directly before Lent, a season of fasting and penitence, this was the day that Christians would go to be “shriven” by their confessor. Shrove Tuesday also became a day for pre-fasting indulgence. We celebrate every year with an extravagent potluck in the Parish Hall.
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The first of the forty days of Lent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers at Ash Wednesday services. The ashes are a sign of penitence and a reminder of mortality, and may be imposed with the sign of the cross. Ash Wednesday is observed as a fast in the church year of the Episcopal Church. Imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service is optional, but is deeply meaningful to many and we recommend giving it a try.
Sundays in Lent
9:15 AM - Adult Formation
10 AM - Children’s Sunday School
6 PM - Youth Formation
Lyric explorations of Lent
Poets have the gift of seeing almost everything and keeping it to a few words. During the five Sundays of Lent culminating in Palm Sunday, we will listen to the Gospel lesson for the day before exploring how a poet has listened too.
Readings and poems will be provided, so all you need to do is show up and enter the conversation. Poets will include Madeleine L’Engle, George Herbert, Emily Dickinson, Bob Hicok, John Donne, and Vassar Miller.
The class is lead by Esther Richey. Esther is Professor Emeritus from the University of South Carolina where she taught Shakespeare and Seventeenth Century poetry and prose. Most of her publications analyze her favorite poet, George Herbert, who has the same birthday as Esther and Mother Caitlyn Keith.
Class is held in the Parlor in the Parish Office.
February 26
March 5
March 12
March 19
March 26
April 2
Divided We Fall: Paul’s Enduring Message to a Riven Church
As part of our Lenten discipline, beginning February 19 and running through March 26, we will host a deep dive into St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Dr. Kannaday returns to lead our study around the theme, “Divided We Fall: Paul’s Enduring Message to a Riven Church.” Join us in reading one of the Apostle Paul’s most substantive and relevant missives.
Class is held in the Garden Room in the Commons building.
February 19
February 26
March 5
March 12
March 19
March 26
Wednesdays in Lent
Formation & Fellowship for ALL ages
every Wednesday in Lent
Supper at 6 PM
Programs at 6:30 PM
Some classes are limited. Please register to help us get a headcount. It does not bind you to attend every session.
| - | Location | Ages | Teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | Youth Loft | Children and Youth | Read aloud by a cast of youth |
| Contemplative Prayer | Chapel | Adults | Deacon Dianna |
| How to Build a Church: Study on Book of Acts | The Garden Room | Adults | Caitlyn |
| Art for the Soul | St. Elizabeth's in Parish Hall | Adults - limit 10 | parish artists |
| Work of our Hands: Workshops on Service | Church | Adults | Mitch |
