Ash Wednesday
I write this having had a great sleep at home after three days away with the Year 8 Students “on Camp” up at Hanmer. They are a wonderful group of students and I am sure they will have a very special final year at St Mark’s School with their two very gifted teachers. For me it was a time to get to know them each a little better, to join their laughs (and a few tears) as well as their cooking........ A huge thank you for those who have filled the gaps with me being away, especially Jenny, Glennys and Nicky.
Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of the Season of Lent. In biblical times the use of ash has been a symbol of repentance and also times of mourning. Christians have prepared for Easter by taking the “journey of Lent” which itself looks to Jesus’s own temptation in the wilderness. By the 6th Century ashes were an important part of the Lenten journey in public acts of penance. The practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of all believers on the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday) became common by the 10th century. We continue this tradition here at St Mark’s at services both at 10am and 7pm on Ash Wednesday and also with the school students early afternoon.
Lent, as we know is a time of repentance, fasting (restraint) and self-reflection, but most importantly this is done within the certainty of God’s love and grace to all of us through his Son Jesus Christ. This means that the Season of Lent and Ash Wednesday are not about our condemnation. Lent is a time when we can be confident in our forgiveness and absolution through Christ and focus on being honest with God and ourselves, without fear. It is our honesty with God that allows us to heal and become whole.
God Bless you
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From the Vicar
