Fat Tuesday
Today is the day known as Fat Tuesday, a day of feasting and celebration just prior to Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, in the city of New Orleans Mardi Gras parades occur,. Red Beans and rice, and Kings Bread are the traditional fare. This feasting and celebration give way to the Lenten season.which begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday.
Lent is a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Lencten, which means “spring”. The season is a preparation for Easter.
Ash Wednesday emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our own mortality – and because of that, we come before God with a desire for wholeness, healing and reconciliation.
Lent is the time to take the time
To let the power of our faith story take hold of us,
A time to let the events
Get up and walk around in us,
A time to intensify
Our living unto Christ
A time to hover over
The thoughts of our hearts
A time to place our feet in the streets of Jerusalem
Or to walk along the sea and listen to his word,
A time to touch his robe
And feel the healing surge through us,
A time to ponder and a time to wonder…
I invite you to observe Ash Wednesday tomorrow night (February 17th) at 7:00 PM, online or in-person with us at United Methodist Church of Livonia (NY).
