Our first Lenten Soup Supper and Wednesday Worship of the season is tonight. Supper is at 6:00 p.m. and worship at 7:00, both at Genesee Valley on Old Hwy 95.
These Wednesday evenings are a great way to mark the season, taking a little time away to remember God and journey with him. The people who come to these dinners and services become like family through the six weeks, so a bond is formed too. These evenings make Lent distinct and special. I think it's fair to say that you don't get the full impact of Easter and its joy without spending time reflecting like this during Lent.
This year in addition to the beautiful music members of the congregation will be sharing their own Lenten stories of joy mingled with sadness stirred with endurance and leavened with faith. This will be a great chance to get to know each other more personally while getting a better sense of the meaning of the season. Please support each other by coming to hear. If you're reading this today, realizing that not everybody in our community has caught on to the blog yet, please invite someone to come with you.
I look forward to spending this season of reflection with you all. See you tonight!
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Showing posts with label Lent 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent 2012. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Lent Begins!
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. We'll have a service at the Valley tonight at 7:00 including imposition of ashes, then each Wednesday until Holy Week we'll meet at the Valley at 6:00 p.m. for Soup Suppers followed by a 7:00 service.
This seems like a great time to answer some questions about Lent via e-mail:
The origins of Lent are a little obscure. We're fairly certain that from the earliest days of the church, soon after Christ, people held solemn observances before Easter. That usually meant fasting, a sign of remembrance of and devotion to God. Somewhere along the line the number 40 got attached. That figure is repeated several times in scripture, most notably Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness. Even though Christ's wilderness trial and his resurrection were on completely opposite ends of his ministry--the first at the start, the second at the end--he concept of fasting/repentance and the wilderness deprivation fit together, so 40 started getting mixed into the observance as the fast was married to that scriptural story.
Even then, though, Lent wasn't standardized. Different places observed fasts in different ways. Historical records show some observed the fast for 40 hours. Others fasted for 40 days but counted "fasting" as abstaining from food before 2 or 3 o'clock and then eating a small meal. Some folks counted six days out of each week for fasting, others five, leaving the weekends open. No matter the variation, the practice caught on and quickly spread. When enough people started doing it the church made an official pronouncement of how to do it right.
For our purposes the key decision about Lent was timing. They wanted 40 days of observance, fasting, repentance, and prayer. For Christians each Sunday is a festival day, a day of joy. Therefore Sundays wouldn't fit with the fast and were excluded from the observance. We were left with 40 days, not counting Sundays, the last of which was the Saturday right before Easter. That breaks down to 6 weeks of 6 days (Monday-Saturday), equaling 36. Where do you get the other four days? You can't continue on past Easter, so you have to add them before the first of those six weeks. Count back and you get Saturday, Friday, Thursday...Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. That's why we always start on a Wednesday.
As for the origins of the name, it wasn't originally called "Lent". Folks were practical back then so they just called it "Quadragesima" [quad-ra-GESS-ee-ma], which is Latin for "fortieth" or "fortieth day". This worked well when the official language of the church was Latin. It became a little unwieldy when church terms started to be translated into people's native languages. (Darn that Reformation!) At that point people just used the word for "spring"...in German "Lenz", in Dutch "Lente", anglicized as "Lent".
Lent remains a time of solemn observance for us. The repentance and self-examination themes have come through unaltered. Most folks have replaced the self-denial of fasting with giving up something for Lent. Many churches still use Lent as a time to learn the catechism in preparation for baptism on Easter...part of its ancient purpose.
Take some time in the next six weeks to reacquaint yourself with God, getting past the bustle of daily life and remembering all of the things that you've forgotten. Take a little of your time each day to pray to him. Take a little of your time each week to join us in a place set apart and dedicated to him and this purpose. It's hard to understand the beauty of Easter unless you've walked this quiet, soul-baring Lenten path to the cross. We invite you to join us for that journey.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
This seems like a great time to answer some questions about Lent via e-mail:
Why do we call it Lent? When did Lent start? Why?
The origins of Lent are a little obscure. We're fairly certain that from the earliest days of the church, soon after Christ, people held solemn observances before Easter. That usually meant fasting, a sign of remembrance of and devotion to God. Somewhere along the line the number 40 got attached. That figure is repeated several times in scripture, most notably Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness. Even though Christ's wilderness trial and his resurrection were on completely opposite ends of his ministry--the first at the start, the second at the end--he concept of fasting/repentance and the wilderness deprivation fit together, so 40 started getting mixed into the observance as the fast was married to that scriptural story.
Even then, though, Lent wasn't standardized. Different places observed fasts in different ways. Historical records show some observed the fast for 40 hours. Others fasted for 40 days but counted "fasting" as abstaining from food before 2 or 3 o'clock and then eating a small meal. Some folks counted six days out of each week for fasting, others five, leaving the weekends open. No matter the variation, the practice caught on and quickly spread. When enough people started doing it the church made an official pronouncement of how to do it right.
For our purposes the key decision about Lent was timing. They wanted 40 days of observance, fasting, repentance, and prayer. For Christians each Sunday is a festival day, a day of joy. Therefore Sundays wouldn't fit with the fast and were excluded from the observance. We were left with 40 days, not counting Sundays, the last of which was the Saturday right before Easter. That breaks down to 6 weeks of 6 days (Monday-Saturday), equaling 36. Where do you get the other four days? You can't continue on past Easter, so you have to add them before the first of those six weeks. Count back and you get Saturday, Friday, Thursday...Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. That's why we always start on a Wednesday.
As for the origins of the name, it wasn't originally called "Lent". Folks were practical back then so they just called it "Quadragesima" [quad-ra-GESS-ee-ma], which is Latin for "fortieth" or "fortieth day". This worked well when the official language of the church was Latin. It became a little unwieldy when church terms started to be translated into people's native languages. (Darn that Reformation!) At that point people just used the word for "spring"...in German "Lenz", in Dutch "Lente", anglicized as "Lent".
Lent remains a time of solemn observance for us. The repentance and self-examination themes have come through unaltered. Most folks have replaced the self-denial of fasting with giving up something for Lent. Many churches still use Lent as a time to learn the catechism in preparation for baptism on Easter...part of its ancient purpose.
Take some time in the next six weeks to reacquaint yourself with God, getting past the bustle of daily life and remembering all of the things that you've forgotten. Take a little of your time each day to pray to him. Take a little of your time each week to join us in a place set apart and dedicated to him and this purpose. It's hard to understand the beauty of Easter unless you've walked this quiet, soul-baring Lenten path to the cross. We invite you to join us for that journey.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Friday, February 17, 2012
A Lenten Offer or Two
Next Wednesday, the 22nd, is Ash Wednesday. We will gather at the Valley Church at 7:00 for a worship service during which we will mark the sign of the cross on our foreheads in ashes as a sign of repentance, an acknowledgement of our own mortality and our dependence on God. Those ashes, made from last year's Palm Sunday palms and slips of paper containing our prayers to God about amending our lives from our New Year's service, will carry us through the days of Lent on to Good Friday and Easter morn.
We have four special invitations for you during Lent.
First, join us for that solemn and meaningful service on the 22nd and then, if you can, each Wednesday night during the season. We will have soup suppers at 6:00 p.m. at the Valley and worship at 7:00 p.m. Worship will feature the beautiful Holden Evening Service we've been using the last few years.
Second, the talks during those evening services following Ash Wednesday will not, for the most part, be given by me. Instead people from our church will share stories of their faith appropriate to the Lenten season. The theme is faith through struggle, growth through perseverance. We still have a couple spots open for people to speak. If you have a personal story about beauty, strength, or faith you've found emerging from difficult or bittersweet journeys--maybe something you've gained and something you've lost at the same time--talk to me. We might like you to speak. You don't have to talk a long time. You don't have to be elaborate. You can tell your story however you wish. The people gathered would be strengthened themselves by hearing it.
Third, though we're putting a hold on our Thursday Night group during Lent, the better to concentrate on Wednesday services, we will hold one special Thursday in mid-March. I will come to the church at 7:00 on Thursday, March 8th to hear individual confession. Though we confess our sins each Sunday sometimes we need to speak personal words about things that are bothering us and hear a personal word of forgiveness and absolution. I will wear my robes and stole. Everything people say will be under the seal of confession which cannot be broken. Those who come will have a chance to approach the altar, speak what's on their mind, perhaps reflect, and hear that they are forgiven. If you desire, we certainly invite you to come that evening from 7:00-8:00 at the Valley.
Finally, in similar vein, I'd like to make a new offer for the season. Sometimes repenting or wanting to change in the midst of struggle is the easy part. Actually finding the strength to work through that process, to follow through with intent, can be hard. I will open my heart and time in a special way for 2-3 people individually during this Lenten season. For these 40 days (not every day exactly, but meeting at different times during Lent) I will walk with you through something you're struggling with or desire to change. It doesn't have to be an ultra-serious thing. It could be a habit you wish to break or a small thing you wish to adjust about your life. It could be a time of reflection to help you sort out semi-identified difficulties and find a way forward. Maybe something's been nagging you that you mean to address or talk about that you never have. Maybe you'd like to resolve to get better at something or to find a healthier behavior pattern. Small or overwhelming, routine or serious, whatever you bring we will walk through together with God.
If you wish to take this personal journey, e-mail me, call, or let me know at church. We'll make arrangements for you and I to meet during Lent and perhaps come out the other side with more clarity, maybe even in a new place, when Easter arrives.
Prepare your hearts for Lent and join us for the unique journey to the cross and beyond.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
We have four special invitations for you during Lent.
First, join us for that solemn and meaningful service on the 22nd and then, if you can, each Wednesday night during the season. We will have soup suppers at 6:00 p.m. at the Valley and worship at 7:00 p.m. Worship will feature the beautiful Holden Evening Service we've been using the last few years.
Second, the talks during those evening services following Ash Wednesday will not, for the most part, be given by me. Instead people from our church will share stories of their faith appropriate to the Lenten season. The theme is faith through struggle, growth through perseverance. We still have a couple spots open for people to speak. If you have a personal story about beauty, strength, or faith you've found emerging from difficult or bittersweet journeys--maybe something you've gained and something you've lost at the same time--talk to me. We might like you to speak. You don't have to talk a long time. You don't have to be elaborate. You can tell your story however you wish. The people gathered would be strengthened themselves by hearing it.
Third, though we're putting a hold on our Thursday Night group during Lent, the better to concentrate on Wednesday services, we will hold one special Thursday in mid-March. I will come to the church at 7:00 on Thursday, March 8th to hear individual confession. Though we confess our sins each Sunday sometimes we need to speak personal words about things that are bothering us and hear a personal word of forgiveness and absolution. I will wear my robes and stole. Everything people say will be under the seal of confession which cannot be broken. Those who come will have a chance to approach the altar, speak what's on their mind, perhaps reflect, and hear that they are forgiven. If you desire, we certainly invite you to come that evening from 7:00-8:00 at the Valley.
Finally, in similar vein, I'd like to make a new offer for the season. Sometimes repenting or wanting to change in the midst of struggle is the easy part. Actually finding the strength to work through that process, to follow through with intent, can be hard. I will open my heart and time in a special way for 2-3 people individually during this Lenten season. For these 40 days (not every day exactly, but meeting at different times during Lent) I will walk with you through something you're struggling with or desire to change. It doesn't have to be an ultra-serious thing. It could be a habit you wish to break or a small thing you wish to adjust about your life. It could be a time of reflection to help you sort out semi-identified difficulties and find a way forward. Maybe something's been nagging you that you mean to address or talk about that you never have. Maybe you'd like to resolve to get better at something or to find a healthier behavior pattern. Small or overwhelming, routine or serious, whatever you bring we will walk through together with God.
If you wish to take this personal journey, e-mail me, call, or let me know at church. We'll make arrangements for you and I to meet during Lent and perhaps come out the other side with more clarity, maybe even in a new place, when Easter arrives.
Prepare your hearts for Lent and join us for the unique journey to the cross and beyond.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
Monday, February 13, 2012
Lent Reminder
The youth are off of school for a four-day weekend so it's been busy around here. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the Monday Morning Sermon. But I'd like to remind everybody that Lent begins Wednesday night with Ash Wednesday service at the Valley Church at 7:00 p.m.
We'll continue through Lent with Soup Suppers each Wednesday (beginning on February 29th) at 6:00 followed by worship at 7:00, all at the Valley.
You'll want to join us for Lenten services this year. They'll be special on both Wednesdays and Sundays.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
We'll continue through Lent with Soup Suppers each Wednesday (beginning on February 29th) at 6:00 followed by worship at 7:00, all at the Valley.
You'll want to join us for Lenten services this year. They'll be special on both Wednesdays and Sundays.
--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)
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