Ash Wednesday, February 6, marked the beginning of the season of Lent, the forty-day season leading up to Easter day and the Easter season. Because the church considers every Sunday to be a little Easter, Sundays are not counted as part of the forty days and instead are referred to as "Sundays in Lent."
During Lent, ancient Christians mourned and repented of their sins, so it was appropriate for them to show their sincerity by having ashes on their foreheads. This custom has persisted in the church as secular society has changed around us and is most appropriate on Ash Wednesday, when we begin a period of sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection.
Lent is a season of encounter with Christ, of instruction, initiation, and growth as a church in common life and ministry. It is a "time for putting aside the sins and failures of the past in light of who we are yet to become by the grace of God." Many people give up something for Lent as a spiritual practice/discipline. You might also consider taking on a new practice as a means of getting closer to God. Lent is a deep, rich time in which we prepare for the Easter season.
This Lent, Saint Mark encourages you to reflect on what it means and looks like to live a centered life. We hope that you will find ways to nourish your own soul and encourage others as well.
Easter Worship
Palm Sunday Procession
Lenten Resources
Various resources including devotional materials and the labyrinth will be available throughout the season of Lent in room 204 in the Education building both on Sunday mornings and during the week. For more information, contact Mandy Flemming, mflemming@stmarkumc.org, 404.873.2636 x13, or Jackie Jenkins, jjenkins@stmarkimc.org, 404.873.2636 x24 in the church office.
Portrait of The Passion: A Progressive Gallery of Easter Paintings
During Lent, Saint Mark member Bobby Strickland has been painting a series entitled Portrait of the Passion. The paintings can be viewed in the narthex on Sunday mornings. Bobby will be discussing the series at the Wednesday Fellowship Dinner on March 12. Here are some of Bobby's thoughts:
Even the most beloved religious icons can lose their impact if they are seen over and over in the same way. Sometimes it takes a fresh interpretation to allow us to recapture the power and pathos of these important images. Portrait of the Passion is a visual narrative of Christ's last week of suffering, taking the viewer down the Via Dolorosa, through the crucifixion and ultimately to the resurrection. Rather than painting Jesus over and over, I chose to include portraits of the ordinary people swept up in these extraordinary events, and their emotional response to Christ's suffering and death. Perhaps these paintings will allow us, as ordinary viewers, to identify empathetically with these historic characters, and provoke a fresh, contemplative journey as the series unfolds week after week. Join me at the Wednesday Fellowship Dinner on March 12 to learn more about my journey as an artist and as a Christian, and what happens spiritually and emotionally as I render these powerful images. I believe that all of us are creative beings, and that all art is self-portrait. Hopefully you will be encouraged to embrace yourself, just as you are, as a masterpiece crafted by God, His self-portrait...as we discuss these paintings together.
Bobby Strickland
Malcolm Archer's Requiem
The Chancel Choir will be presenting Malcolm Archer's Requiem at both worship service on Palm/Passion Sunday, March 16.
Club MARK is sponsoring an Easter brunch on Easter Sunday, March 23 following the 11:15 Morning Worship service in Wade Hall.
Adult cost - $15
Children 6 to 12 - $8
Children under 6 - free
Family ticket price for (2 adults & 2 or more children) - $45
The meal will be provided by Keith Hand’s Bridge Catering.
Fresh Fruits of the Season
Assorted Pastries
Individual Quiche and Chunky Home Potatoes
Salmon with Capers
Roasted Prime Rib and Crisp Bacon
Grilled Vegetables
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Sugar Glazed Spiral Baked Ham
Apple Pear Bread Pudding
Assorted Mini Sweets
Juice, Coffee, and Tea
Reservations must be made by March 17. Contact the church office for reservations. To make a reservation, contact the church office, office@stmarkumc.org, 404.873.2636 x50.
Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20 in 2008). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. Here's the interesting information.
This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see. Only the most elderly (95 or older) of our population have seen it this early and none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:
The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913, so if you're 95 or older you were around for that.
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!
Ash Wednesday, February 6, marked the beginning of the season of Lent, the forty-day season leading up to Easter day and the Easter season. Because the church considers every Sunday to be a little Easter, Sundays are not counted as part of the forty days and instead are referred to as "Sundays in Lent." 
