Ash Wednesday

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Ash Wednesday, March 5, begins the observance of Lent.  The placing of ashes

on the forehead is a sign of penitence and a reminder of human mortality.  

Sundays during this season are not "of Lent" but "in Lent."  Thus Sundays retain

an Easter tone and may be less solemn than midweek services.  The observances of Lent are concrete reminders of the greater solemnity of this season, yet Lutherans emphasize the Gospel of Christ as central even to this penitential season.

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Here at St. Peter the Fisherman we observe Ash Wednesday with a service at noon followed by soup lunch:  Good homemade chicken noodle soup.

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Our midweek services continue each Wednesday until Holy Week.  Each service is at noon followed by a soup lunch.  If you are a member, please let us know which week you would like to bring soup.  There is a sign-up sheet near the flower / candle charts.  We need two soups each week!

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Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday.  This is a time of preparation to celebrate the Resurrection.  In AD 325, the Council of Nicea recorded the first reference to the specific number of days for Lent: forty.  The forty days are determined by Easter which is, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.  Ash Wednesday is the fortyeth day (not counting Sundays) before Easter.

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The color for Lent is purple. Purple, like black, is a penitential color.  It is appropriately used during Lent.  The forty days of Lent, including the six Sundays that fall during this season, use this deep, rich color which has come to represent somberness and solemnity, penitence, and prayer.

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