This year we have an early Easter (March 31) so that means an early start to Lent. Lent always begins seven Wednesdays before Easter, so in 2024 that puts Ash Wednesday on February 14. I can’t recall Ash Wednesday happening on Valentine’s Day before, but I’m sure it has.
I do know it hasn’t happened on a Valentine’s Day without a lick of snow. It’s been so warm I’ve already tapped some of my maple trees. What a crazy year.
But crazy or not, Lent begins this Wednesday. There will be a traditional Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 pm with ashes available and Pastor Julie preaching. On the following Sunday, we will begin our Lenten message series “Lucky 13” – thirteen stories from the Gospel of John that show us the many ways Jesus loves us.
Even though we are finished with the Dynamite Prayer 28-day experiment, we are not finished with sharing the breakthroughs we have experienced through prayer. God doesn’t always work on our schedule. Please continue to share with me your stories. There are Dynamite Prayer story forms in the literature rack by the front doors and online.
Have a blessed Lent,
Pastor Mark
“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” – Daniel 9:3