Our Ash Wednesday service at Messiah will be at 6:30 P.M. on Feb. 14, beginning our Lenten observance . Everyone is welcome for supper and worship.

Lent is an old English word meaning springtime. In church usage it refers to the 40 days –  not counting Sundays –  before Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, this year observed on Feb. 14.  We will have a solemn service at 6:30 p.m. with Holy Communion and imposition of ashes.

On the following Wednesdays of Lent we will have a light soup supper at 6:00 p.m. followed by a service of prayer using elements of the traditional vespers service and the Holden evening prayer service.