A Meaningful Lent

Saint Anne’s offers a variety of ways to observe a meaningful Lent - join us!

Lent and Forgiveness

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent,
by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial;
and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. (BCP, 265)

At the Ash Wednesday service, the celebrant invites us to observe a “holy Lent,” kicking off a 40-day period of preparation for Easter. One way we are to observe a “holy lent” is through repentance. For some of us this word comes with baggage from traditions that emphasize a need to grovel and beg for God’s forgiveness. While there is an element of recognizing our failures in repenting, the practice is more than saying I am sorry to God. It requires self-examination, of knowing why we fail to do what God asks of us. Repentance is a process of changing our habits.

A helpful place to start practicing repenting is by understanding the words in the scriptures we translate as repent in English. In the Hebrew Scriptures the word is “teshuvah” and means, to return. In the Greek New Testament, the word for repent is “metanoia” and means to do an about face, to change one’s mind or direction.

But why do we need to change? To answer this question, we need to understand the meaning of sin. Many people think that a person who sins is a bad person. I am glad that is not the case. In Hebrew one of the words for sin is “chet.” It is a reference to a slingshot which has missed the target or has gone astray. The slingshot is not “bad.” It and the user made a mistake. Maybe from a lack of focus or concentration or skill. To practice repentance, we need to be more self-aware, to know when we miss the target, so that we may become the people God wants us to be, and then to hit the target more times than we miss.

Jesus said repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He taught us that this new kingdom is one based in three things, the love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self. This is the target that we aim for day by day. And when we fail, we are given grace to change direction and to try again. My brothers and sisters this is good news. My prayer this lent is that our community will heed the invitation and observe a “holy Lent,” so that we will arrive at Easter closer to becoming all that God wants us to be.

“For this said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved. “ Isaiah 30:15

Our Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter services this year:

• Ash Wednesday 12:00 noon and 6:30

• Wednesday Programming

  • 5:30 Children and Youth with supper

  • 6:00 Adult program with soup supper

• Palm/Passion Sunday 8:00 am and 10:30 am with breakfast between the services

  Holy Week

• Monday - Wednesdays 6 pm Stations of the Cross

• Maundy Thursday 6:30 pm Holy Eucharist and Foot Washing

• Good Friday

  • Noon Liturgy

  • 6 pm Stations of the Cross

• Easter Vigil, Saturday 6:30 pm followed by a reception in the Narthex.

• Easter Sunday

  • 8:30 and 10:30 Festival Eucharist

  • with breakfast and Easter egg hunt between the services

Blessings on your Lenten journey,

Buddy+