Lent 2025: Keeping Vigil
UP FROM ASHES
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a time to prepare ourselves, ultimately for the celebration of the resurrection on Easter. A cross of ashes on our foreheads echoes our own baptismal anointing (the liturgy of baptism includes the pastor “anointing” the forehead of the one baptized with the sign of the cross).
Plan to join us for the Divine Service with Imposition of Ashes on Wednesday, March 5, at either 10am or 6:30pm.
FAREWELL TO ALLELUIAS
Actually, we begin our preparation for Lent with the Farewell to Alleluias. On Tuesday, March 4, our school’s children end their day (1:45pm or so) with a Mardi Gras procession through the hallways of the school building, arriving, finally, in the gymnasium. After a brief prayer they sing together an Alleluia refrain while each class, in turn, “buries” their “Alleluias” in a chest that will be placed at the altar of the church throughout the season.
This year we will be adding a Farewell to the end of the Connect Service on Sunday, March 2. Children in worship will be spending time during the middle of the service creating their Alleluia butterfly that will be the first in the Alleluia chest that our school’s children will use on Tuesday.
MIDWEEK EVENING PRAYER
The Great Vigil of Easter is an ancient practice of the church that has experienced a bit of a renewal over the last 50 years or so. Worshippers gather either late on Holy Saturday or early Easter Sunday morning and “keep vigil.” The heart of the service is reading through the history of God’s saving ways beginning with the story of creation and continuing until the story of our “new” creation with Christ’s resurrection.
This Lent we will “keep vigil,” choosing five of the stories that form the heart of the vigil readings: Creation, the Great Flood, the Testing of Abraham, the Exodus, and the Valley of the Dry Bones.
Plan now to join us each midweek Wednesday beginning March 12. The liturgy of Evening Prayer will begin at 6:30pm.
The WOW group will once again host a series of Soup Suppers beginning at 5:30pm. A small group will gather for conversation on Psalm 22 during the hour. Everyone will be welcome to join the conversation.
DEMONSTRATION SEDER
Be sure to save Tuesday, April 15, and join Pastor and Debra Albers for their annual demonstration Seder. The event will begin at 6pm and be held in our school’s cafeteria.
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