A friend sent this note about Lent. Because I am away camping with scouts, seems a great read to send!

Others have been asking I know, so this I send to help information flow:

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From a pastor friend: Parts of which are taken from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/book-of-worship/introduction-to-the-season-of-lent

“Lent begins [on February 18 this year] with a service on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo–Saxon word lencten, which means “spring.” The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians.

“The First Sunday describes Jesus’ temptation by Satan when following the Lectionary; and the Sixth Sunday (Passion/Palm Sunday), Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his subsequent passion and death. Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the Resurrection.

“Ash Wednesday emphasizes a dual encounter: we confront our own mortality and confess our sin before God within the community of faith. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship, and the Imposition of Ashes can be a powerful nonverbal and experiential way of participating in the call to repentance and reconciliation. This practice is the historic focus of Ash Wednesday observance and gave the day its name. Services usually include imposition of ashes and communion to begin this season of Lent.

“The Great Three Days—sometimes called the Triduum or Pasch—from sunset Holy
Thursday through sunset Easter Day are the climax of Lent (and of the whole Christian year) and a bridge into the Easter Season. These days proclaim the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. During these days, the community journeys with Jesus from the upper room, to the cross, to the tomb, and to the garden. They should be seen as a great unified service beginning with a service of Holy Communion on Holy Thursday and concluding with the services of Easter Day. These services may be connected with a prayer vigil lasting from Holy Thursday evening (or Good Friday) until the first service of Easter and may be accompanied by fasting.” (From The Book of Worship, p. 320-321, ©1992 The United Methodist Church Publishing House.)