I once had a call from a member of our church family. As we chatted, they said that they had a question about Lent: With Ash Wednesday being on March 5, and Lent being 40 days long, how come the math doesn’t work – it’s more than 40 days from March 5 until Easter on April 20? Good question!
The answer is that Lent is 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter, excluding Sundays. Sundays are not counted because we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection every Sunday. In addition, 40 days are observed in the Lenten season in memory of the 40 days Jesus spent being tempted in the wilderness.
This year, I invited our entire church family to join in observing Lent together. On five consecutive Tuesdays that begin on March 11 and conclude on April 8, we will take a Lenten journey. Each Tuesday at 1 p.m. we will gather in the parlor to discuss “Meeting Jesus at the Table” by Cynthia M. Campbell and Christine Coy Fohr.
I would also like to invite you to join our faith community for our Easter week observances: Our Maundy Thursday service is on April 17 at 7 p.m.; Easter Sunrise service at 6 a.m. on Easter morning, April 20; our 10 a.m. Easter worship service which will be followed by our annual Easter Egg Hunt.
Whether you join us for our Lenten book study or our Holy Week services, I urge you to spend the 40 days of Lent in reflection and preparation for the greatest celebration of our Christian faith – Easter, the day of the resurrection of our Lord. On Easter, Christ triumphed over the grave, leaving behind an empty tomb to forever remind us He is not dead, He does not sleep, He is alive!
In Christ,
Pastor Sharon