Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten Season.  We will gather for worship at 6:00pm on Wednesday evening for  MASS WITH THE IMPOSITION OF ASHES on our foreheads.  It is an outward sign of our penitence and our willingness to amend our lives.  After this liturgy we will have a meatless pizza supper and your FREEWILL OFFERINGS will help in covering the costs of the meal.  Gluten Free Pizzas will be available.

Here is a brief explanation of Ash Wednesday:  Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a season in the liturgical church calendar that is dedicated to preparing minds, hearts and souls for Easter. On this day, many denominations around the world– including Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and others–hold a special service where the priest/pastor will dip a thumb in a bowl of ashes and make the sign of the cross on a congregant’s forehead. The ashes, made by burning the palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday, serve as a poignant reminder of our sin, our need for repentance, and our mortality—"from dust you came, and to dust you shall return." They are not required by God but are meant to be a solemn reminder every time we look in the mirror that day.

Shrove, derived from shrive, refers to the confession of sins as a preparation for Lent, a usual practice in Europe in the Middle Ages. Although the day is sometimes still used for self-examination and introspection, Shrove Tuesday eventually acquired the character of a carnival or festival in many places and is often celebrated with parades. As the final day before the austerity of the Lenten fast, Shrove Tuesday has many customs pertaining to food—in particular, sweet foods containing eggs, sugar, and fat, which were commonly forbidden during Lent and would otherwise go to waste in the six and a half weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Pancakes are the traditional choice in a number of European countries; the day is known as Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday in Ireland and in many Commonwealth countries. 

Join us Christmas day for said Mass with Carols at 9 am.

Join us Christmas Eve for Mass and the children’s pageant at 6 pm followed by fellowship in the parish hall.

We gather to have ashes placed on our foreheads as these words are said, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." What is the meaning of these things?

On Ash Wednesday we are reminded of our mortality because, in being of reminded of our mortality, we prepare our hearts to receive anew the joy of Christ's resurrection on Easter. Yes, we all one day will return to the dust. But because of the resurrection of Christ we no longer need to fear death. As the Prayer Book funeral liturgy states, "For to your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended; and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place eternal in the heavens." As we prepare to enter the season of Lent, let us be ever mindful of this great hope that we have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Join us for a pancake supper.