An Introduction to Lent--A Basic Theology

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On some level, Lent invites US into the biblical story. Lent is 40 weekdays long. (Sundays aren't counted in Lenten reckoning.) The number 40 occurs frequently in Scripture as a signal of time and space, often in the wilderness and always as time and space where God meets humanity, especially in their deepest need. 
  • For 40 days and 40 nights it rained at the time of Noah's flood, and the witness of Scripture is that God was there. ...Genesis 6:9-8:1
  • Israel wandered in the wilderness after being freed from captivity in Egypt for 40 years, and the witness of Scripture is that God was there.  ...Exodus 16:1-35
  • For 40 days and 40 nights, Moses communed with God on Mt. Sinai in receiving the 10 Commandments, shrouded in fire and smoke, and the witness of Scripture is that God was there. ...Exodus 34:1-7, 27-28
  • The prophet Elijah fasted and traveled 40 days and 40 nights, fleeing from his enemies to hide in a cave at Mt. Horeb, and the witness of Scripture is that God was there. ...1 Kings 19:1-13
  • After his baptism, Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, and the witness of Scripture is that God was there. ...Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:9-13, Luke 4:1-13
​So for 40 days and 40 nights we are invited into the wilderness, or to become more aware of the wilderness in which we live, or certainly to become more aware of what Scripture proclaims--that EVEN in the wilderness, God is there. 

​Lenten Soup Suppers

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Lent is best experienced in community, with fellow Christians and seekers wondering and asking questions about the presence of God's love and mercy revealed in Jesus. One of the easiest accessible ways of entering into community during Lent is through our Soup Suppers.​
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  • They begin on Ash Wednesday at 5:30 PM and continue through the season of Lent.
  • The meal is provided by small groups within the congregation, and a free-will offering is received as a way of furthering whatever the mission or ministry is of the small group. (Please note: "free-will" MEANS "free-will."​)  

Ash Wednesday--Imposition of Ashes
​Ashes symbolize several aspects of our human existence:  Ashes remind us of God's condemnation of sin, as God said to Adam, "Dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).

Ashes suggest cleansing and renewal. They were used anciently in the absence of soap. Even on Ash Wednesday, this most penitential day, we receive ashes in the form of the cross, the same symbol placed on our bodies with water in our baptism. Even in this ashen mark of death, we anticipate the new life of Easter.

​Ashes remind us of the shortness of human life, for it is said as we are buried into the ground or as ashes are placed in a columbarium. "We commit this body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

Ashes are a symbol of our need to repent, confess our sins, and return to God.