On Wednesday, March 2nd, Church of the Messiah will start off the season of Lent with our observance of Ash Wednesday.  Lent is forty days prior to Easter and commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying before beginning His public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).  To prepare our own hearts to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, the Church also observes this time as a time of prayer, fasting, and charity (Matthew 6:1-18).  The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, the special, once-a-year service where we prepare ourselves to begin this time together.  The central element of the service is the unique Imposition of Ashes where worshippers are marked on their foreheads with ashes and called to “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  Ash Wednesday is an incredibly powerful service that begins a moving season of the Church year.  Be sure to join with Church of the Messiah on Wednesday night, March 2nd, starting at 7 o’clock.  For those unable to worship with us in person, our service will be live streamed on Church of the Messiah’s Facebook page.