What is Lent?
Lent is a Holy Season of preparation for Easter. Since the early Church, Christians have set aside 40 days for prayer, contemplation, fasting, and self-reflection. As winter gives way to spring, Lent is a season of tilling the soil of our lives and allowing the buds to bloom as we open ourselves to the Word of God and the work of God in our midst. Lent calls us to align our lives with Jesus more fully and embrace the Resurrection Life into which Jesus calls us.
During Lent, Christians often take on a spiritual practice (like daily Bible reading, additional prayer time, or volunteering), or give something up as a fast. Giving something up is sometimes a sacrifice, and other times it is a "clearing away" of the stuff that might be distracting you from your faith. Ultimately, Lent is meant to help you focus on God and put his love into practice in your life.
Lent isn't just an individual endeavor. At Grace Church we invite the congregation to do a communal Lenten practice. We call it “Lent Together” and this year we will be reading the Gospel of John throughout the 40 days of Lent. Daily reflections and suggestions for a prayer practice are included in the Lent together Guide. Wednesday dinners, with ministry for all ages, is a great way to come together midweek throughout this holy season. You might also join us for a Morning Prayer session throughout the week (details below).
- The Revs. Tim and Kirsten Baer
Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular holy days in the liturgical calendar. The service and liturgy are penitential in nature. Ash Wednesday invites us to confess our sins to God and to remember in a deep way that each of us needs God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness in our lives. The service is contemplative, confessional, and solemn in tone. But it is ultimately rooted in grace! As Ash Wednesday invites us into the season of Lent, the purpose isn't to beat ourselves up for our failures, mistakes, or sins. Rather the purpose is to be gain clarity about the ways we need to return to God and live more fully into Christ's love.
During the service the congregation is invited to come forward for the "imposition of ashes." The clergy person will make the sign of the cross on your forehead with palms burned from last year's Palms Sunday and Easter service. They say, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." In this way, Ash Wednesday reminds us of our mortality; not in a morbid way, but a convicting way so that we can embrace the kind of life God calls us to live.
Ash Wednesday is on March 5 with services at Noon and 7pm in our sanctuary. The noon service will be in-person only. The 7pm service may be attended in-person, or watched online on our Facebook Page or YouTube channel. Kids ministry (Godly Play) will occur at 7pm and kids are invited to particulate fully in the imposition of ashes.
Ash Wednesday
Morning Prayer
Tuesdays in Lent
This Lent, on Tuesdays at 8am beginning March 11, join us for Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. You can join the staff in-person in the sanctuary, or join us through our livestream on Facebook or YouTube. This liturgy can be done individually or communally and we invite you to try it out throughout Lent and to join the livestream when you can. You can follow along in your Book of Common Prayer or through our worship guide which will be posted in the event calendar event for that day.
Fridays in Lent
Fr. Tim will do a shortened Morning Prayer liturgy with centering prayer at 7:30am in the Sanctuary. For those who cannot attend in person, you can join by Google Meet. The link will be in the event calendar on the website for that day.
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At Grace Church we invite the congregation to do a communal Lenten practice. This year, we are inviting everyone to read the Gospel of John throughout the season of Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday. A guidebook with prayer suggestions and reflection questions will be distributed digitally and in print by March 2. Through daily prayer and reading we allow God to knit our church community together!
Lent Together culminates on Wednesdays with special programming and dinner. Each Wednesday in Lent there will be ministry for all ages - Student Ministries (6-12th) with Matt Moreillon, Elementary ages with Gina Carlisle, Nursery Care, and adult take a deeper dive into one of the passages we read from the previous week.
Wednesday Schedule
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5:30pm - Stations of the Cross (special service in the Sanctuary walking through Jesus' last hours)
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6pm - Dinner in the Gathering Space
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6:30-7:30pm - Lent Together Study
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7:30-7:45pm - Compline (Night prayers in the Sanctuary)
Registration Links for Dinners
Costs cover the food, which is prepared by volunteer teams. Please see Fr. Tim if cost is a barrier. And RSVP a week early for $1 off!