Dear friends,

I am sat at my computer, in front of a roaring fire, gazing on my Christmas tree. We keep our Christmas tree up until Candlemas which marks the end of the Epiphany season and already I am having to consider Lent

I am not ready!

Easter is early this year and it seems before the crib has been put away, we are moving toward Jesus` death

We start February with one of my favourite festivals – Candlemas where people would bring candles into church to be blessed and we remember Simeon and Anna, old people who had been waiting for the Messiah – showing how mightily God moves in older people

Then on we have Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on Valentines Day.

Shrove Tuesday was the day when people would use up all the scrummy food they still had in before Lent started – in other countries there is Mardi Gras, Carnivals marking Fat Tuesday.

What exactly is “Ash Wednesday”? It has its origins in the early Christian Church – In the Bible, ashes were always associated with humility and mortality, fasting and remorse. If you had sinned against God, and you felt remorse, then sometimes, in the Bible, you would sprinkle ashes on your head as a sign of sorrow and repentance – Around the 10th century, all believers showed their need for repentance by having ashes placed on their foreheads in the shape of a cross and as a reminder of baptism. Ashes were supposed to remind you that you were mortal, that you would eventually become ashes after you die. When we impose ashes we say

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.

Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ. “

Humbling words, words to make us think of the brevity of our lives and our purpose here to glorify God in all that we think, say, and do. The ashes on our forehead should be a symbol of what’s going on in our heart, what’s going on in our soul. For every Christian, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the sombre season of Lent. Lent is a forty day span of time from now until Easter.

Why 40 days? Right after Jesus was baptised, the Bible tells us that he went out into the desert to fast and to be tempted by the Devil for 40 days. For Jesus, those 40 days were a time of introspection, a time when he battled the temptations of the Devil. For us, Lent is a time when we make that journey with Christ. We think about our temptations, our sins, and we repent.

Lent is a time to evaluate ourselves in light of God’s Word. It’s a time to abandon the sins we have grown accustomed to committing in our lives. It’s a time to receive God’s forgiveness and strength to lead a Christian life. It’s a time to renew our desire to serve God, and to be the Christians that God has made us to be. Lent is a time for spring cleaning on the inside.

There are so many resources. The Church of England and Chester Diocese have daily reflections. You may give something up and explore something new. There are so many ideas to keep a Holy Lent, pray for people who don't like you, be silent every day, look outside until you find something of beauty, call an old friend, read Psalm 139 everyday but the one thing I don't want you to do is to beat yourselves up if you give something up and don't stick to it.

Richard Chartres wrote an article as to why the world needs Lent?

He wrote “The whole world needs lent – while millions go hungry others are living in a perpetual carnival without any ensuing Lent”

He looked at the damage we are doing to the world in our disposable society with its increasing carbon footprint and obsession with stuff

“My prayer for each one of us and our church is that we will use this time of Lent to accept the searing and transforming love of God and by accepting that love, go out in his power to transform our world”

Have a Holy Lent.

Love Christina