This Wednesday, March 1st, Church of the Messiah invites everyone to join with us as we observe the annual celebration of Ash Wednesday.  This unique event is the start of the Holy Season of Lent which commemorates Our Lord’s forty days and nights in the wilderness following His baptism and is an occasion for Christians all over the world to pray and fast for forty days to prepare themselves for the celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  On Ash Wednesday we begin the time of prayer and fasting with special prayers and repentance and with the imposition of ashes on foreheads.  This is a powerful and moving event in the life of the Church and one that is not to be missed.

As part of our Wednesday night services, we will still have diner beforehand, but we will not be having soup.  In stead we will be having pancakes, a Shrove Tuesday tradition one day late, along with other “breakfast for dinner” fixings.  Dinner begins at six o’clock and lasts til 6:45.  The Ash Wednesday Service itself begins at seven o’clock and will end by 8:30 so that everyone can have time to make it home in time for work and school the next day.  Childcare is provided for those younger than fifth grade.  Whether you have made Ash Wednesday and Lent a part of your spiritual life for many years or you have only heard of Ash Wednesday, we pray that you will join us this Wednesday, March 1st, for this powerful evening.