ASH WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, February 22
7 a.m. Ash Wednesday (Saint Michael Chapel)
The Rev. Dr. Andrew Grosso
12 p.m. Ash Wednesday & Holy Communion (Church)
The Rev. Kenneth H. Brannon
12 PM Bulletin
12:30 p.m. Ashes to Go (Preston Center)
The Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Girata
5 p.m. Family Service (Saint Michael Chapel)
The Rev. Greg Pickens
7 p.m. Ash Wednesday & Holy Communion (Church) LIVESTREAMED BELOW
The Rev. Kenneth H. Brannon
7 PM Bulletin
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent.
Christians have been preparing for the celebration of Easter by walking through a “Holy Lent” since ancient times. This is patterned after Jesus's temptation in the wilderness.
Lent is a season of repentance, fasting, and self-reflection. Of course, all of this happens with the sure knowledge of God’s love and grace to us through Christ. Lent and Ash Wednesday are in no way about condemnation. They are a time in which human beings, given a pronouncement of forgiveness and absolution through Christ, can be honest with God, with ourselves, and with each other. With the terror of judgment removed, we can speak the truth.
Ash Wednesday is the day in which Christians gather to receive the imposition of ashes.
Ashes also represent mourning, as Tamar in the Old Testament used them to mourn her abuse which was not in any way her fault, but which devastated her.
Ashes are the result of burning. This burning in our lives is from our own sins and follies and from the abuse of others, and ashes represent both. They remind us that we are living in this mortal world, this fallen world, and that we are made from dust, when all else is burned away. We are mortal and will return to our maker.
-Courtesy of anglicancompass.com