How are you spending the next 40days?
Lent is a season of 40 days, not counting
Sundays, which began on Ash Wednesday
and ends on the Saturday before Easter.

Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word
lencten, which means "spring". Historically,
Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation
for baptism by converts and then became
a time of penance by all Christians.

The First Sunday describes Jesus' temptation by Satan and the Sixth Sunday (Palm Sunday), Christ's
triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his subsequent
passion and death.

Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the resurrection (The United Methodist
Book of Worship).

One reason I enjoy this time of the year (in addition to the warmer weather) is that the
Lenten season causes me to once again focus upon my relationship with God. As many people
began the New Year trying to recondition their bodies, I am trying to recondition my
spiritual life and especially my relationship with Jesus Christ.

I know that many of you are as well. Some of you will do so by abstaining from a particular food or drink. Others may be adopting a new habit or behavior. Whatever you do, I am sure that it
will be worthwhile and beneficial. We started out this Lenten season by joining Central UMC for an excellent Ash Wednesday Service at their church. On Holy Thursday, April 1, they will join us at Mt.
Zion at 6:00 p.m.

So, how are you spending the next 40 days?

In Christ,
Kurt