Lenten season starts this week

By Kathy Thomson

The season of Lent began on Feb. 26, Ash Wednesday, and at least two local churches have special activities during the weeks leading up to Easter, which will be cele-brated on April 12.

Trinity Lutheran Church members will host a Lent service at 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday evening until Holy Week. 

The services will be preceded by a soup and sandwich meal served at 6:00 p.m. Desserts are also served.

Everyone in the community is welcome to attend.

Jesus of Nazareth Catholic Church will have Stations of the Cross at 6:00 p.m. on Fridays during Lent.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is observed 46 days before Easter Sunday and is the beginning of the Lenten season. This year Ash Wednesday was on Feb. 26.

Traditionally, during Ash Wednesday services, the priest or pastor uses ashes to draw a small cross on the forehead of worshippers.

The ashes symbolize the dust from which God created people and also the grief that believers feel about the sins they have committed.

The entire Lenten season is a time of reflection, focusing on repentance for sins and remembering the suffering Christ endured to win forgiveness and salvation for all believers.

Ashes and the season of Lent are designed to prepare people for Easter. 

Easter Sunday is cele-brated by Christians as the day of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead.