Lenten Services Scheduled

Lent From the early centuries of the church, one of the chief aims of the season of Lent has been catechetical, that is, teaching the basics of the faith. The parts of the catechism – the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, Confession and Forgiveness – are worthy of regular attention. Luther himself, the one who wrote the Small Catechism, said that he himself needed to go back to the beginning each year, and he annually preached a series of sermons on the catechism.

As part of our catechetical emphasis this year, our mid-week services in Lent will make use of that wonderful repository of the faith contained in six of our hymns to explore and grasp the faith once delivered to the saints in the six parts of the catechism. Hymns are of course of many types: some are straightforward statements, some are ascriptions of praise, still others are prayers. Some serve the function of teaching especially well, helping us to remember the content of the faith. We will use six of these in the following arrangement:

Our regular schedule of mid-week events is:

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10, Hymn 295……….From Depths of Woe, Confession and Forgiveness. Holy Communion in the chapel 12:00 PM , and in the Nave at 7:00 PM.

On the five subsequent Wednesdays: 11:30 AM - Mid-Day Prayers in the chapel, 12:00 Noon - Lunch, 6:15 PM - Supper, and 7:00 - Evening Prayer in the chapel:

Second Wednesday, Feb. 17, Hymn 504……..O God, My Faithful God, Ten Commandments.

Third Wednesday, Feb. 24, Hymn 166…….All Glory Be to God on High, Creed.

Fourth Wednesday, March 2, Hymn 442..O Thou, Who Hast of Thy Pure Grace, Lord's Prayer.

Fifth Wednesday, March 9, Hymn 196……All Who Believe and Are Baptized, Holy Baptism.

Sixth Wednesday, March 16, Hymn 197…O Living Bread from Heaven, Holy Communion.

Our regularly sung Morning Prayer continues each week-day at 9:00 AM in the chapel. The lessons currently are drawn from the wonderful stories of Genesis.

Whether or not it has been a practice in your family or not, come, add yourself to as many of these times of prayer, learning, and companionship as you can. There is great personal benefit, and it is for the good of the whole congregation!.