The Season of Lent
About the Season of Lent:
Lent is a season of spiritual preparation and reflection. It lasts for 40 days, mirroring the time Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness. During Lent, we engage in practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to deepen our relationship with God and prepare our hearts for Easter, the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Lent emphasizes repentance, self-examination, and renewal, serving as a meaningful period of spiritual growth and transformation.
You may notice some changes in our worship during Lent. We omit the Gloria at the beginning of worship, replacing it with a Kyrie, and the word “Alleluia” is removed from our liturgy. The Pascal candle is removed from the Nave, and the church is adorned with purple, the color of humility, penance, and wisdom that comes from inward discernment.
The culmination of lent is Holy Week, from Palm Sunday, though Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter, when we walk with Jesus to his trial, death on the cross. It ends with Easter Sunday, when we celebrate Christ’s glorious resurrection and victory over death.
Ash Wednesday, March 5:
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. We will have two services with the imposition of ashes, our regular Wednesday service at 12:10, and a service at 7 pm, which will be shared with st benedict’s table.
The imposition of ashes is an ancient way to begin the season of Lent. During this solemn, reflective service, we receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads (with ashes from the burning of palm crosses from last year) and remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.
The First Sunday of Lent, March 9:
Our 11 am service will include the Great Litany, a series of sung penitential prayers.
Lenten Food Drive:
Beginning March 2 and running to Easter Sunday the Outreach Team is collecting non-perishable foods and toiletries for the food pantry at Ephiphany Indigenous Anglican Church in the North End. Donations can be placed in the black bins at the back of the church. Last year the generosity of the congregation was so substantial we had to make multiple delivery trips during Lent. Let’s do it again!
Creation Hope in the Wilderness: What does hope look like?
st benedict’s table invites you to this six week education and worship series. In this year's Lenten series, we'll reflect on how God's provision sustains us in this time of wilderness creation. Just as manna nourished Israel in the wilderness, this series looks at the theological grounding for the work we are called to do, inviting us to reflect on God's provision as we engage in the long work of healing creation.
Wednesdays from March 2 to April 16, at 7 pm, in the All Saints Chapel.
Each session will begin with a 15-20 minute talk from a different speaker, some time for discussion, then a compline service.
Week 1 - March 12: Scott Gerbrandt: What is enough? Inductive bible study on Mark 6:30-44
Week 2 - March 19: Ilana Wiebe: The Peace of Wild Things - Wendell Berry
Week 3 - March 26: Francis Sutton: Forestry and Hope
Week 4 - April 2: Zoe Matties: “What Gives You Hope?” Discipleship in an age of ecological angst
Week 5 - April 9: Gordon Matties: Sabbath - Exodus stories
Week 6 - April 16: Rev. Andrew Colman: BCP service and Art Show
From the Ashes: Writing Lament:
Monday, March 10 at 7:00-8:30pm at All Saints Anglican.
Angeline Schellenberg will lead the workshop “From the Ashes: Writing Lament.” Rilke wrote “Go to the limits of your longing.” In this workshop, participants will explore the lament form, as a way of talking back to injustice against the human spirit and our burnt earth, and in this act of radical honesty, creativity, and agency, to find reasons for hope.
Please Register at: jotform.com/build/250484733231251
