Lent 2010

During the six weeks of Lent, services at St Mary's assume a more serious character in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. The statues of the saints, which adorn the church, are covered. On Ash Wednesday, 17 February, we remember our mortality by having ashes smeared on our foreheads. Now, following Jesus’s forty days of temptation in the desert, the Sunday service draws our attention to the importance of the commandments of God and of our need for penitence. Apart from the hymns, the service is said, not sung. There is no singing of the Gloria at the beginning of the service. The Stations of the Cross are said each Friday evening. Only on Mothering Sunday, 14 March, do we relax when, at the midpoint of Lent, we give flowers to the children (for them to give to their mothers) as a symbol of our gratitude for our nurture both as children and as Christians.

Passiontide, which begins on 21 March intensifies our keeping of the season of Lent. We turn to the theme of death and resurrection. The gospel for that day is the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus’s friend Lazarus, in preparation for Palm Sunday, the following week, 28 March. On that day we receive palm crosses blessed in preparation for the reading of the whole the Passion story, this year according to St Matthew.

Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week.

Traditionally, Lent is a time of preparation for Easter. There are various ways of keeping Lent both in church and at home. These are some of them.

• Give up some luxury, or cut down on our food, as a sign of our good intentions. Calculate what you save in terms of money and give away what you save. The Diocese of Norwich supports the work of several missionary societies including USPG and the work of the church in Papua New Guinea.

• Set aside some time each day to read the Bible using a commentary or notes to guide you in your reading.

• Attend a study group. This year a group will meet weekly starting on Thursday 25 February 7.30 pm at the Taylor's house, Easter Cornhill in Church Lane. Discussion will centre on Dom Christopher Jamison's book  'Finding Happiness'.

• The Bible is the basic source of all Christian belief and practice. The Vicar would be very pleased to suggest a scheme of readings for each day in Lent.

• Lent is a time for self-examination and confession of sins. Try to overcome at least one sin in your life. The rector will be pleased to help.

• It is a time to make a friend of an enemy.

• Come to Church each Sunday fifteen minutes early, to prepare ourselves properly for worship and for Communion.

• The devotional service of Stations of the Cross is held in the parish during Lent. It has been called a pilgrimage to the Cross with Jesus. Various forms are used, with meditations that aid our own self-examination and repentance. This year, 2010, the devotion is undertaken on Fridays in Lent: 19 and 26 February, 5 and 26 March at 7 pm.  If you prefer click here Stations of the Cross above for a virtual Stations of the Cross