Epworth will celebrate Ash Wednesday on February 26th, with a brief service at 7:00 pm. Ash Wednesday is an ancient tradition of the Christian Church, likely dating back to the 1st or 2nd century, but not formally recognized until the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. Of course, the growth in recognition of Lent as a 40-day period leading up to Easter corresponded with the rise of Ash Wednesday as a key day in the Christian calendar.
As is tradition, the ashes of last year’s Palm Sunday palm branches are typically used to make the sign of the cross on worshippers’ foreheads during the service. As a result, Ash Wednesday is a uniquely evangelical event, as those leaving the service wear the cross for all to see. Receiving the ashen cross is both a reminder to take up your cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24), and a reminder of our mortality.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is a 40-day period marked by reflection, fasting, and repentance, and serves as both a reminder and a minor reenactment of Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness. Lent is considered 40 days because Sundays during Lent are celebration days, and thus are not counted. Epworth also marks Shrove Tuesday the day before Lent begins (more commonly known as “Fat Tuesday”), which is a day of celebration, to let loose and have a little fun before the more solemn time of Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is celebrated with a pancake dinner at Epworth at 6:00 pm, followed by some silly games for the kids (though adults are welcome to join in too). The idea behind making pancakes is to use up ingredients in one’s house that typically wouldn’t be eaten during Lent, and has Anglican roots.
