Update - February 22

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. On Wednesday, Feb 14 (Valentine's Day!) and last night, Sarah led us in a discussion about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent and we reflected on our experiences after last night's Ash Wednesday service.

Here are Sarah's notes from the 14th:

Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday = Mardi Gras = Fat Tuesday = Carnival
-In all cultures, under all names, this is a time of celebration before the time of fasting and repentance of Lent begins.

Ash Wednesday
-This day marks the beginning of Lent. It is 46 days before Easter: Lent is considered 40 days long, but Sundays are already counted as commemorating Jesus' birth.
-At the Service the minister will put an ash cross on a prishioner's forehead. The ash typically comes from the palm fronds saved from last year's Palm Sunday service. The ash represents a Middle Eastern tradition of throwing ash over one's head to symbolize repentance before God. While placing the ash, the minister typically says: Genesis 3:19 "Remember, that you are dust And unto dust you shall return." Latin: Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.

Lent
-Lent is a season of repentance, self-examination and awareness of the hurts of the people of the world. Before Jesus was crucified, he went into the wilderness for 40 days and fasted. It was a time of contemplation and reflection and a test of willpower against temptation. Participating in the Lenten season allows us to honor Jesus' sacrifice and helps us understand what he went through. In the first few centureis, all new Christians had to go through a bible study during Lent before they were allowed to be baptized on Easter.

Jesus is tempted to give up God's path and pursue his own ministry:
Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13

40 Day period of Lent
-The forty day period is symbolic as the number 40 is seen many other places...
--The forty days and forty nights of rain during Noah's trials (Gen 7:4, 12, 17; 8:6)
--Moses spent 40 days & 40 nights on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:18)
--Elijah spent 40 nights in the wilderness before finding Sinai (1 Kings 19:8)
--The Jews wandered for forty years traveling to the Promised Land (Nm 13:25)
--The city of Nineveh was given forty days' grace in which to repent after Jonah's prophecy
--Jesus retreated into the wilderness and fasted for forty days of temptation
--Lastly, Jesus' ascension to heaven is 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3)

Thanks, Sarah, for enlightening us about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. We hope this is helpful to all of you as you journey through Lent 2007!

Please note all of the upcoming meetings and events on the right hand side of the blog. Refer to it often for updates and mark your own calendars!

The bLT (bridge Leadership Team) would like to thank all of you for bearing with us through transitions that have been presented lately. We are very close to finalizing a Mission Statement and ground rules for meetings and are looking forward to implementing the changes that we feel will carry this group forward to better organization and more profound experiences.

We mentioned it last night and will continue to do so, that we are now using a new format on Wednesday nights that includes (in this order) fellowship time as we gather, a program, "bridge business," prayer requests and a closing prayer. As always, everyone is welcome to socialize after the meeting as well. We encourage everyone to allow the specified facilitator on any given Wednesday night to guide the group through this format. Our hope is that this will streamline our Wednesday evenings so that we can all get the most out of our time together. If you have "bridge business" (information about upcoming events, announcements, personal invites, etc) please give/send that information to a member of the bLT during the week so that we might present timely information to the rest of the group during business time on Wednesday nights. And feel free to use the Suggestion Box any time! The bLT consists of Amy, Ashok, Ellen, Jen, Sarah and me.

We hope to see many of you at Saturday's bridge Birthday Beach Bash and Potluck BBQ!!!

Yours in Christ, Rachel