Pastor's Monthly Message

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38

Dear Friends in Christ....

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday.

Some have asked me about the use of ashes in an Ash Wednesday service. Even though this is generally looked at as a "Catholic" practice it is also used in some of our Lutheran churches. Traditionally, the ashes for the Ash Wednesday service come from buring the palm fronds fom the previous year's Palm Sunday celebration and then are blessed by a priest before the service and then applied to the foreheads of the parishioners.

Ashes are a Biblical symbol of mourning and penance. In Bible times the custom was to fast, wear sackcloth, sit in dust and ashes, and put dust and ashes on one's head. Bessed ashes have been used in god's rituals since the time of Moses (Numbers 19:9-10, 17). They also symbolize death and so remind us of our mortality. Thus when the priest or pastor used his thumb ot singn one of the faithful with the ashes, he says, "Remember, man that thou art dust and untop dust thou shalt return."

What is Lent All About?

Lent in the Western churches was originally a period of forty days of fasting and penitence, readying the Christian sould for the great feast on the ensuing Easter Sunday. This is held as a period of sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and going for forty days, excluding the Sundays because they are always the joyful celebration of the Resurrection, it ends on Good Friday. With Easter being a movable feast, Lent begins in the different years on different days in either February or March.

The Lenten period of forty days owes its origin to the Latin word Quadragesima, originally signifying forty hours. This referred to forty hours of complete fasting, which preceded the Easter celebration in the early church. The main ceremony was the baptizing of the initiates on Easter Eve, and the fast was a preparation to reeive this sacrament. Later, the period from Good Friday until Easter Day was extended to six days, to correspond with the six week so f training, necessary to instruct the conerts whoe were to be baptized.

A strict schedule was adhered to in the teaching of the converts. In Jerusalem near the end of the fourth century, classes were held throughout seven weeks of Lent for three hours each day.

In time the emphasis of the season turned from preparation for baptism to more peitential aspects of penance. The sorrows and sufferings of Christ were shared by the self-denying Christian. Persons guilty of notorious sins spent the time performing public penances. Only at the end of Lent were they publicly reconciled with the Church. During the Middle Ages the sinners were accepted back in an elaborate ceremony.

Then penance came to be associated during this period for common people as well, so thus Lent became the way of penance. It is goof ro us to undertake acts of penance in sorrow for our sins, our failure to acknowledge and to love God in Himself, in others, and in ourselves. The traditional forms of penance, fast and abstinence, can and are often encouraged for observance. The habit of more personal forms of penance is also to be encouraged. Not only is penance appropriate as an expression of sorrow for sin, but it also helps us to be less attached to the things of this world. Penance helps us to put things in proper perspective.

Galatians 5:13!

Go ahead and get your Bible.... and look it up.... and read it! Oh, go on and do it... it won't hurt!

That's right, it's the New Testament after 2 Corinthians and before Ephesians. You did look it up - didn't you?

Did you read it yet? I hope so! What St. Paul is sharing with us is the Good News that through Christ we have been made Free. Free from sin, death and the power fo the devil. This freedom is now to be used in order to bring God the Glory that He has created us to bring and give to Him. Did you read it yet? Well, if you did then you will understand what I mean when I tell you that it is time to Grow and Serve. Read on but be aware that the following may just cause you to do something!

A Time to Grow - A Time to Serve!

Yes, it may just happen to you! You may get a telephone call or a tap on the shoulder at church and asked that all important question, "Would you consider serving as ......... ?"

Sometimes that's a little scary for people and yet it should be comforting to know that your fellow church member think so much about you and your talents that they would like you to serve in a particular position. You know, this is the response to Galatians 5:13 (free to serve and serving in love)! (You did read it, didn't you?). This doesn't mean that if you are asked to serve in a particular office that you can't say, "Well, I've been thinking about serving, but I would prefer to serve in this or that position." This also doesn't mean that even if someone doesn't come up to you and ask you, or calls you, that you can't volunteer.

I think it would be wonderful if you would volunteer in the Freedom that Christ has given you. Why not?

Lenten Season!

"If we are not talking about the cross of Jesus Christ, we are off the subject."

That saying goes for all preaching, but it is especially true for the season of lent. Our theme for our Mid-week Lenten Worship, Maundy thursday, Good Friday and Easter will provide an opportunity for us to explore the themes presented by the nine classic depictions of the cross. The history of each of the crosses inour series -the crosses of prophecy, humility, and hope, of suffering and regeneration, of mission and eternity - points us to an aspect of the rich meaning of the cross of Jesus.

As we explore the different Crosses of Lent, we will conclude with the Passion Cross of the death of our Redeemer and the Cross of Glory, which is the cross seen from the evidence an triumph of Easter. The depths and riches of the cross include not only somberness but also exaltation. As we spend time together in devotion and meditation on the cross, in all its aspects, we will shre with the hymn writer, "Sweet moments rich in bless, Whic before the CROSS we spend."

After eachWorship Service, the Cross of the week will be displayed in the display case outside the Library in the hallway. We pray that you and your family will join us in worship and repentance during this Lenten Seson as we focus on The Crosses of Lent.

Serving in HIS Kingdom,

Pastor Schumacher