There will be fire. There will be prayers. There will be a bucket of water too, just in case.
Each year we do a little ritual, usually privately, where we burn the palm fronds and palm crosses from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration to use the ashes in our Ash Wednesday rituals.
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a season of preparation through self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and study, with the imposition of a cross on our foreheads in ash. These ashes, and this sign, remind us of our humanity and our need for God, and of God’s forgiving love.
This year we will offer a brief, public event where we will burn the palm fronds. This ritual will occur on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday, which is February 27th, at 11:30 AM. We will gather in the outdoor chapel on our property. You can park in either the upper or lower lot and there is a paved walkway to get to the chapel.
Lent Class Offerings
Lent will be a rich time for all of us at St. Dunstan’s Church. Anne Prather will be teaching a three-session class (available both in-person and online) on fasting, Sundays at 11:30, following our worship on March 6, 13, and 20. Mother Carola von Wrangel and I will offer a Lenten series, Across the Great Divide, on Wednesday evenings, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, followed by Compline, looking at:
- Forgiveness – What it is, what it isn’t, and how we do it.
- Healing through Forgiveness – The blessing of doing the work of forgiveness is healing and peace.
- Reconciliation – 2 sessions on the nature and work of reconciling relationships.
- Holy Listening – Practices of listening to allow us to encounter the sacred in others, especially when that is challenging.
The Wednesday classes will be available both in-person at St. Dunstan’s Church and online through Zoom. You are invited to stay, either online or in-person, for Compline after the class. Compline typically completes by 8:20.
With love,
David+