Ash Wednesday
Dear Friends
Remember you are from Dust and to Dust you shall return,
Turn away from sin and turn to Christ
Welcome to Ash Wednesday.
I hope that you have all recovered from your pancake feast on Shrove Tuesday. My favourite toppings are orange juice, sugar with Nutella. Controversial, I know.
But today we move on from the party to the penitence.
Ash Wednesday heralds the beginning of Lent. On this day, Christians have traditionally gathered to recite The Litany of Penitence and receive the mark of the cross on our foreheads in ash.
Unfortunately, we cannot do this in person in St Salvator’s Chapel for our Ash Wednesday Evensong but we will be having a service on Teams today at 5.30pm. All are welcome to attend and here is the invite to the service: Click here to join the meeting
Please come prepared with your own ashes so you can make the mark of the cross on your forehead, for example from the wick of a candle. Many churches are using creative ways of marking the beginning of Lent from virtual cross filters on Instagram to sending Lent packages through the post with pre-made ashes.
Covid has certainly made us all dig deep to find inspired and sensitive ways to continue with the rhythm of our liturgical year. So I hope you find the service this afternoon meaningful and a moment to reflect as we begin the walk towards the cross together.
Have you ever wondered where the ashes we use come from? Shall I let you into a Priest secret? All the items in the picture help create the little packet of dodgy black powder which we mix with the Chrism oil to make the sign of the cross. You can guess how they all work together.
From Ash Wednesday, we begin the Lenten Period of 40 days and 40 nights (not including Sundays) until Easter Day. This imitates the time Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. So Lent is traditionally the time for Christians to give up something that tempts us.
Every year I try to give up one of my list of ‘C’s’: cheese, cake, chocolate, cola, coffee, crisps, cava and so on. You can imagine what a pleasure I am to live with during the Lent!
This Lent, as well as trying to curb my chocolate addiction, I have decided to do something different. I have decided to not give up something for God but to take up something for Him instead as we have already given up so much this past year.
So I am taking up braving the icy cold waters of our coast – wild swimming. In my 50th year, I am revisiting my youth when I was never out of the sea surrounding my home island of Guernsey. However, the water was much warmer down there compared to here!
This picture shows me dipping my very cold toes in the sea at East Sands beach last week during the snow. We shall see if I succeed with total immersion once the glories of May Dip are upon us.
Today, I invite you also to use this special period in our liturgical year positively. Deny yourself and take up your cross in whatever way personally works for you, but please do so remembering this one simple fact:
You come from unconditional love and to unconditional love you shall return.
Turn away from all that harms you and turn to the one who made you.
Blessings
Samantha