Lent is here! Or, it will be soon. The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday and end with the breaking of the Easter vigil. Christians began to keep Lent in the early days of the church. By the third century of our Lord, the church began to prepare for celebration of the resurrection. At first, the season of preparation was just Good Friday and Holy Saturday, but over the years, the season grew to forty days.
Ash Wednesday: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. What’s Love Got to Do with It? This year, Ash Wednesday falls on Valentines Day. If your lenten fast includes candy, you will need to forgo the box of chocolates. Celebrate the great love of Jesus this year. Our service begins at 6:30 PM.
Lenten Wednesdays: During the middle five weeks of Lent, Wednesday Service will return. We begin at 6:00 PM for soup supper. (Please sign up to help.) At 6:30 PM, we will have evening prayer and drama. The drama this year is Pilate’s Investigation. “Each of the dramas feature Pontius Pilate, seeking to learn the identity of the mysterious figure who has been brought to him for judgment.” Finally, the evening will conclude with a pastor’s class at 7:15 PM. He will be reviewing the basics of our Christian faith. That is:
6:00 Soup Supper
6:30 Evening Prayer & Drama
7:15 Pastor’s Class
Invite a friend to come and fellowship.
After the supper, we will have a short service at 6:30 pm. The service begins with Evening Prayer. Evening Prayer is one of the traditional prayers of the church coming out the church’s earliest days. Luther appreciated Evening Prayer so much that Luther thought that evangelical churches should continue to worship using Evening Prayer. Our Evening Prayer service will be a spoken version contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship.
The highlight of the service will be a drama: Pilate’s Investigation written by Marion H. Youngquist. “Behold the man….” (John 19:5) Each of the dramas feature Pontius Pilate, seeking to learn the identity of the mysterious figure who has been brought to him for judgment.