Bits from Beth

January 29, 2026

 

Dear Friends:

In less than a month, we will be entering the season of Lent. Lent is a season of the Christian year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God. Lent is the 40 days before Easter. Lent excludes Sundays because every Sunday is like a little Easter. Basically, it's about one-tenth of a year (like a tithe of time). Mardi Gras is the day before Lent, which begins with Ash Wednesday.

 

Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday." It refers to the day before Lent starts. Since Lent always starts on a Wednesday, the day before is always a Tuesday. And it's called "Fat" or "Great" because it's associated with great food and parties. In earlier times, people used Lent as a time of fasting and repentance. Since they didn't want to be tempted by sweets, meat and other distractions in the house, they cleaned out their cabinets. They used up all the sugar and yeast in sweet breads before the Lent season started, and fixed meals with all the meat available. It was a great feast! Through the years Mardi Gras has evolved (in some places) into a pretty wild party with little to do with preparing for the Lenten season of repentance and simplicity. Christians still know its origin and hang onto the true spirit of the season.

 

Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras, usually begins with a service where we recognize our mortality, repent of our sins, and return to our loving God. We recognize life as a precious gift from God, and we re-turn our lives towards Jesus Christ. We may make resolutions and commit to change our lives over the next forty days so that we might be more like Christ. In an Ash Wednesday service, usually a minister or priest marks the sign of the cross on people's foreheads, using ashes.

In Jewish and Christian history, ashes are a sign of mortality and repentance. Mortality, because when we die, our bodies eventually decompose and we become dust/dirt/ash/whatever. Repentance, because long ago, when people felt remorse for something they did, they would put ashes on their head and wear "sackcloth" (scratchy clothing) to remind them that sin is pretty uncomfortable and leads to a sort of death of the spirit. This was their way of confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness.

 

This year, if you wish to have a personal experience or even a small group experience with Lent, I want to offer you some option. Graham Joseph Hill, a Australian minister and theologian has several books that offer a 50 day plunge into Scripture. He has book available for Acts, John, Deuteronomy, and Luke. In addition, there are numerous 40 day guides to following various spiritual writers such as Parker Palmer, Howard Thurman, and Joan Chittister. If you are interested, I will have them on display for the next few Sundays and we can order them for you.



I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!

Grace and peace,

Beth