Dinner (TBD) | 5:30-6:30 pm
Worship | 6:30 pm

Ash Wednesday begins our journey into Lent. The readings, music, prayers, and imposition of ashes are meant to remind us of our mortality, and our need for the God who came in Jesus Christ -- who suffered and died, but rose to offer new life.

Traditionally, Palm Sunday branches were burned and the ashes saved. Christians began to use the ashes to mark themselves, as they recalled Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with palm branches waving, and then later in the week, when he was crucified and died.

The ashes set the tone for Lent, a spiritual journey of forty days that also symbolizes the forty years the people of Israel spent in the wilderness. Jesus, too, spent forty days in the desert, being tempted, fasting, and preparing for ministry. We carry on the these traditions, marking ourselves for a season of reflection, and deepening our relationship with God as we wait for Easter, resurrection, and new life.