Lent at Westminster
What is Lent?
In Celtic spirituality, we might call Lent a "threshold"--a gracious place to dwell as we prepare to remember Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.
We slow down, take time, and reflect on the way we live out our Christian faith in the world around us. Lent is the 40 days (not including Sundays) from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter.
In the words of John the Baptist, we take Lent to "change our hearts and minds" and turn back to God. Though this is a deeply personal journey, we undertake it in community--and Westminster seeks to support that journey however we can.
We have printed devotionals available in the foyer/narthex for use this season: one intergenerational, the other designed for adults.
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Ash Wednesday
With Ash Wednesday, Lent begins. A typical Ash Wednesday includes an imposition of ashes--the dark smudge you may see on people's foreheads on February 22. The ashes symbolize our grief for things we've done wrong, as well as our mortality.
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This year at Westminster, our Ash Wednesday service (6 PM) will be preceded by a soup potluck (5 PM) in the Fellowship Hall.
Palm Sunday
On Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We also begin "Holy Week," remembering the final days of Jesus' life before his death on a cross and, three days later, his resurrection.
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This Palm Sunday - April 2, 2023 - our 10:30 AM worship will incorporate a procession of palms, as well as a special song prepared by the WPC Children's Choir.
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Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. It commemorates the night before Jesus died, when he shared the Passover meal with his closest friends and followers. This is also the day that Jesus was betrayed and arrested.
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Maundy Thursday is April 6, 2023; that evening, we will have a Service of Healing & Wholeness at 7 PM.
Good Friday
Good Friday is the day Christians remember Jesus’ death. What is "good" about it?
The “Good” reflects how Jesus’ death was a sacrifice on our behalf so we can receive God’s forgiveness for our wrongs, or sins. Good Friday is April 7.
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Easter Sunday
"Pascha [or Easter] is the central event, the time of transformation, of becoming a resurrected people, God’s new people. On this Sunday of all Sundays, Pascha, we celebrate our transformation as a new people. When Christ rose from the grave, death and all other “principalities and powers” that seek to entomb God’s will were forever defeated....
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"Easter faith recalls the past, especially the awesome act of God in raising the crucified Christ from the grave. Easter hope looks to the promised future, to that which awaits us. Easter love celebrates the presence of the crucified and risen Christ who is now among us, reconciling us as one people. Resurrection faith asserts that by grace we are born again into the new humanity of Jesus Christ. We are called to new life for God and for neighbors. As representatives of the new humanity we walk in newness of life." - excerpt from Companion to the Book of Common Worship
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At Westminster, we observe Easter Sunday (April 9) with a sunrise service (7 AM) in the Garden of Weedin' and with a special, music-filled worship service (10:30 AM) in our Sanctuary, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt.
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OPEN & AFFIRMING
Important Dates
Dates of Lent
February 22, 2023 - Lent begins with Ash Wednesday
5 PM Soup Potluck | 6 PM Worship (In Sanctuary/On Zoom)
April 2, 2023 - Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday
10:30 AM Worship with special music from WPC Children's Choir
April 6, 2023 - Maundy Thursday
7 PM Service of Healing & Wholeness
April 7, 2023 - Good Friday
April 9, 2023 - Easter Sunday
7:00 AM Sunrise Service in the Garden of Weedin'
10:30 AM Worship with Easter Egg Hunt to follow