McFarland UCC | a church with heart
  • Home
  • About
    • Worship @ MUCC
    • Saying Yes! @ MUCC
    • Faith Development @ MUCC
    • Church By-Laws & Other Documnets
  • Easter and Holy Week
  • Sundays
  • News
    • The Weekly Pulse
    • COVID-19
  • Calendar
  • Contact
    • Connect Online
    • Forms
    • Signups
    • Church Office
    • Directory
  • Outreach
    • Green Team
    • Racial Justice
    • Now In Our Name Campaign
  • Donations

Shrove Tuesday - Mardi Gras!

2/9/2018

 
Picture

More Details from Pastor Mike:

"The season of Lent is a six-week winter/spring observance that prepares us for Easter. Lent 2018 begins with Ash Wednesday on February 14, and concludes with Easter Sunday on April 1. I think this quite amusing: we begin a journey that starts on Valentine's Day and ends on April Fool's Day! Of course both observances have biblical reference: Jesus said "love one another" and Paul said "we are fools for Christ!"
​

The term "Lent" comes from a word that means "lengthen" and refers to the lengthening of days as we move from winter towards spring. For the church, Lent was a time to join in spiritual practices of study, fasting, and penitence. Lent was a time for believers to learn more about their faith, plumb the depths of their hearts, face the darkness of sin and death, and come out on the other end with a glorious celebration of Easter Resurrection.

The six-week time period, not counting Sundays, equals 40 days, referring to the 40 days Jesus spent in the Judean wilderness following his baptism at age 30, and prefacing the start of his ministry. Matthew and Luke record that the devil came to him in the wilderness and tempted him with three challenges, one economic, one political, and one about matters of life and death. These challenges we understand in our own lives.

When Jesus was baptized by John, he heard a message that he would continue: "repent!" That word in Hebrew means, "turn around!" Turn your life away from that which is meaningless and a waste of life energy, and get on the way to God. The Greek word for "repent" meant "renew your mind!" and get out of the traps of dusty, calcified thoughts, and limber up: renew, reframe, reset your thoughts to God and God's kingdom!

I was thinking that since Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day this year, instead of coming to a church service, let's spend time with our loved ones that evening and do something special and loving with them. Then, to honor the start of Lent, we could gather as a church on the evening before Valentine's Day: "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras in French), or "Shrove Tuesday" (a time of preparation for Lenten self-examination) and eat desserts together and talk about Lent 2018 and how the season is a good time to deepen our faith and renew our spirits."



Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Admin
    Blessing
    Current Events
    Faith Development
    God On Broadway
    Media
    Mission
    Music
    Newsletter
    Sermon
    Social Justice
    Sundaes On Thursday
    Video
    Worship
    Youth

Find us on social media

Picture
Look for us as mcfarlanducc
Worshiping at 10 am on Sundays In person & Zoom
5710 Anthony Street, McFarland WI 53558

Can't make it to worship with us? Visit our Facebook page for prayer opportunities & links.
We are proud to be an Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ.
Whoever you are, wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here!
Picture
​Contact Us

Office Hours: Wednesdays & Thursdays 9am - 1pm (Or by appointment) 

Office Phone:  (608) 838-9322  
​​Office Email: office@mcfarlanducc.org

Pastor Bryan Sirchio
Pastor Email: pastorb@mcfarlanducc.org
Pastor's Cell:  (608) 577-8716

How to Find Us (in person)

Looking for something?
Picture
Powered by IconCMO Church Management Software