Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent are almost here

Is it Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Supper?

Well it is all three, actually. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is commonly known as "Mardi Gras" or "Fat Tuesday." Because of the Lenten fast, the day before Ash Wednesday was a day to consume animal fat. In some places it was a day of celebration and indulgence before the discipline of Lent. The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is also known as "Carnival," which literally means the removal or putting away of flesh (meat). Butter, flour and sugar are also used up and typically not consumed during Lent. That is why Episcopal churches hold a parish pancake supper. Many parishes also burn the palms from the previous Palm Sunday to provide ashes for Ash Wednesday.

Join us for a pancake supper on February 16th from 5-7pm. This has historically been a fundraiser for our church. Suggested donation is $5 or sliding scale. We hope to see you there.

Mardi Gras is also known as Shrove Tuesday. The term is derived from shriving, which means confessing and absolving. The Tuesday before the beginning of Lent was a traditional day for hearing confessions. The three days before Ash Wednesday have been known as Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday, with these three days collectively known as "Shrovetide."

Ash Wednesday

The first of the forty days of Lent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers at Ash Wednesday services. The ashes are a sign of penitence and a reminder of mortality, and customarily are imposed with the sign of the cross. Ash Wednesday is observed as a fast in the church year of the Episcopal Church. The Ash Wednesday service is one of the Proper Liturgies for Special Days in the BCP (p. 264).

Vestments for this season may be purple or "Lenten array." This usually refers to a rough or homespun fabric. It may have an off-white color or it may be made without any dye. Lenten array may be decorated with purple or dark orpheys and Lenten designs. Use of Lenten array follows the custom from the late middle ages of using dark or drab colors during penitential seasons. Many Anglican parishes use Lenten array instead of violet or purple for vestments and liturgical hangings during Lent.

Lent

Do you ever feel like you would like to slow life down a bit? Our culture does not encourage time away from work, noise, bad news, and hectic schedules. Since the beginning of Christianity, communities of faith have understood the need for reflection and contemplation. Early Christians observed "a season of penitence and fasting" in preparation for the Paschal (Easter) feast, or Pascha (BCP, pp. 264-265). The season now known as Lent (from an Old English word meaning "spring," the time of lengthening days) has a long history. Originally, in places where Pascha was celebrated on a Sunday, the Paschal feast followed a fast of up to two days. In the third century this fast was lengthened to six days.

Fasting became attached to, or overlapped, another fast of forty days, in imitation of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. The forty-day fast was especially important for converts to the faith who were preparing for baptism, and for those guilty of notorious sins who were being restored to the Christian assembly. In the western church the forty days of Lent extend from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, omitting Sundays.

Is fasting required to observe Lent? Of course not. Each person is encouraged to find some way to "dial back" and recenter. The Episcopal Church's publishers, Church Publishing and Forward Movement, make Lenten reflections available. We will post a reading list shortly of recommended books to consider as your reflection during Lent. Traditionally, the parish reads the "Little Black Book" published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. The series was started by the late Bishop Kenneth Untener. It contains 6-minute reflections for each day of Lent and Sundays.

The last three days of Lent are the sacred Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Today Lent has reacquired its significance as the final preparation of adult candidates for baptism. Joining with them, all Christians are invited "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, p. 265). At St. Barnabas, we do a number of things to signify the importance of this season of prayer and preparation for the joy of Eastertide. There is no ornamentation in the worship space, also known as the nave. The Chalice and Paten from which the Lord's Supper is served are made of simple pottery. Music is more somber and often in minor keys. The holy water font is drained to signify the Lord's time in the desert wilderness before beginning his ministry.