Churches plan Ash Wednesday services
Published 8:54 pm Saturday, February 18, 2012
Wednesday will mark the first day of Lent, or Ash Wednesday. And as many churches and parishes across the country prepare for the Lenten season before Easter, local churches are also gearing up with prayer, fasting and meditation.
The Rev. Brent Keith of Cathedral Christ the King CEC said the season begins with a “removal” of sorts.
“Usually most of the time, we remove any kind of extra decoration of the church,” Keith said. “It’s a time, a season of repentance … the color of the Lenten season is purple, representing repentance.”
During Lent, priests will “impose ashes,” or take palms that have been blessed from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, grind them up with a mixture, and place the residue on individual’s foreheads in the shape of a black cross.
“When they receive the ashes, they wear it all day,” Keith said. “We remember … we are indeed immortal … (that) men are of dust and dust you will return.”
The Lent season, Keith said, is a time of transition.
“The atmosphere of the week changes from Palm Sunday to Good Friday,” Keith said. “It starts out kind of joyful, remembering Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and Holy week (last week of Lent) is a time of austerity, you focus on the crucifixion.”
Service times for Wednesday, Keith said, will also change. There will be a special service at 7 a.m., a service at 9 a.m. inside the church’s student chapel, a service at noon and 7 p.m. Keith said everyone is invited.
Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish’s the Rev. Stephen Hornat said his church prepares for Lent by passing out literature to spiritually prepare hearts and minds.
“We have meditation, prayer books, Station of the Cross books, we give out to help people through the season of Lent,” Hornat said. “We speak about the masses this weekend.”
Hornat said participating in the Lent season is very important.
“It’s part of our Biblical tradition and roots,” Hornat said. “Going back to the Old Testament, you find prophets continuously telling people to return to God — inviting us to trust in God’s love and renew our life in God.
“We’ve been following 40 days of Lent,” Hornat said. “Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, Isaiah spent 40 days in the desert, Moses spent 40 days in the desert … it’s our way of spending time in spiritual preparation.”
Service times at the church will also change in observance of the first day of Lent Feb. 22. There will be a service at both 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Hornat said there are things the public can do to prepare themselves as Jesus did.
“Jesus gives us the three important things we need to do for our spiritual renewal — prayer, fasting and almsgiving,” Hornat said. “(We) fast Ash Wednesday, fast Fridays of Lent and on Good Friday. (We) abstain from meat on those days.”
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church could not be reached for comment.