What is Lent?

Lent is the 40 days that precede Easter (excluding the Sundays).

In the Christian Scriptures, the number 40 relates to the period spent in the ark by Noah, the period spent by Israel seeking the Promised Land after the Exodus, and the amount of time Jesus was in the wilderness after His baptism and prior to the beginning of his ministry. For us, the season of Lent is an invitation to 40 days of renewal (“Lent” means “spring”) and 40 days to prepare ourselves to take in the Good News of Easter through deeper disciplines of prayer, fasting, and sacrifice.

Lent begins on what is called “Ash Wednesday.”  Part of the tradition of Ash Wednesday is to receive a mark of ashes on your forehead.

Receiving the ashes reminds us that God’s love is triumphant over sin and death, and that God remains “in communion” with us, that in Christ, our mortality is overcome.

Another important tradition in Lent is to sacrifice something or give up  something for Lent. For example, some people will give up television, others will give up eating meat, some will give up beer or coffee, others may even give up social media.

This year, instead of making a commitment to sacrifice, I encourage you to make a commitment to one of the ministries in the church this Lenten season. Maybe you will  commit to helping with Children on Wednesday night or Sunday morning, maybe you    will commit to going with Youth on their summer mission trip or maybe you will commit to serving on the Methodist Park committee or any other committee that is currently looking for additional volunteers.