It is common practice for people to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas Day. You may use Advent calendars, devotional booklets, or wall hangings to mark the time. It is just as significant to mark the days of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, and leading to the most celebrated of festivals, Easter Sunday.

When our children were younger, we enjoyed a tradition that tied the two celebrations of Christmas and Easter together. From the trunk of the old Christmas tree (before it became mulch for some garden), we cut and fashioned a Christmas Tree Cross. And into it, we drilled seven candle holes so that during Lent, we could mark the weeks leading up to Easter. Not unlike the Advent Wreaths of December, we would light additional candles each week, as we read from the Bible and reflected on Jesus’ journey to the Cross.

We will be marking the days of Lent with some old and new opportunities. Last week, on Ash Wednesday, we reintroduced Covenant’s Christmas Tree cross in worship. Each Sunday, the children will be assisting in extinguishing one candle, symbolizing the encroaching darkness of Christ’s journey to the Cross.

A smaller version of the cross is located in the Schautz Memorial Chapel, which we will use during each of our Wednesday Lenten services at 5:45 P.M. Join us for these short meditational and musical moments, as you journey through Lent. Supper follows the services on Wednesday, and the Labyrinth is available in the auditorium each week.

We have Lenten devotional booklets for you to enjoy, located on the information tables at each entrance to the sanctuary. Please take one to use in your Lenten disciplines during these days. Mark more than the passing of another month this year during Lent, consider this a time for your spiritual growth and change. Instead of ‘giving up’ something for Lent this year, why not ‘take on’ these opportunities to enrich your faith.

Counting on You,