Ash Wednesday Service, On-Demand
Erin Padgett
You can now watch the Ash Wednesday service On-Demand. May your Lenten Journey be filled with God’s love as your faith endures and connections blossom.
The following was an article posted on UMC.org
Why Ashes on Wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Christian season called Lent. Lent originated in the 4th century and was initially a time of preparation for those being baptized at Easter. Since baptism is an act of introduction into a community of faith, the entire community was called to this "time of preparation." Additionally, those people who had been removed from the fellowship of the church (for a number of reasons that are not particularly important for us to get into at this time) were also called to this time of self-examination, prayer, fasting, and introspection before their re-introduction to the church.
The ashes symbolize our humility before God and our recognition that we are mortal. It is a time when we reflect on what we need to change in our lives in order to live responsibly and lovingly as a member of the created world. I hope you'll join me as we look more deeply at the observance of Lent over the next 40 days, take a fearless moral inventory of our lives, and look for ways to find more love, peace, and fulfillment in our lives. I look forward to making this journey with each of you.