Lent and Holy Week
2013
Our journey with Jesus to the cross and through the
resurrection begins this year on Transfiguration Sunday, February 10th.
That morning we will “bury the alleluia.” Alleluia is the word the church uses
to best express our celebration and joy we feel at the rising of our savior.
That morning our Sunday School kids will create an alleluia banner, and during
our children’s sermon we will “bury” it, keeping the alleluia in a box on
display as a reminder of our buried hope until Easter morning, when we will
open the box and again rejoice in shouting our alleluias to the heavens. This
ritualized loss of an important word becomes part of our communal Lenten
discipline. After worship we will also burn palms this morning to make ashes
for Ash Wednesday, so bring in last year’s palms if you have them. Did you know
that Pastor Andrew has used last year’s palms as office decoration ever since
last Palm Sunday?
Next comes Ash Wednesday, when we will supplement our usual
7pm Ash Wednesday worship at LCS by joining with our friends from Sunnyside UMC
to offer Ash Wednesday worship all day long in various locations around
Kalamazoo. Stay tuned for details of times and locations, but the idea is to
bring worship to the people where you live and work and spend your day, and to
be a public witness to the power of God’s love in our lives.
