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Lent 2012 Mid-Week Services Northwestern Minnesota Synod Wednesdays at 7:00 at First Lutheran Church
February 22 Ash Wednesday "Listen" Exodus 3:1-12 God speaks to Moses via a burning bush. Solemn Service of Ashes and Communion. February 29 "Look" Ezekiel 37:1-14 Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. Solo by Macyn Lofstrom "O What a Day that Will Be." March 7 "Respond" Luke 10:1-24 Jesus Sends Out 70 Disciples. Solo by Ruth Halverson "The Lord Now Sends Us Forth." March 14 "Forgive" Luke 15 Finding the Lost. Solo by Shawn Collins "The Old Rugged Cross" March 21 "Love" Matthew 22:34-40 The Great Commandment. Solo by Maxine Regalado. March 28 "Go" Matthew 28 The Great Commission. Solo by Corienne Jacobson April 5 Maundy Thursday April 6 Good Friday
Lent 2012 Suppers served by the First Lutheran Youth (aka: FLY) Wednesday at 6:00 at First Lutheran Church
February 22 Ash Wednesday - No Supper February 29 Leap Day - Menu: assorted Minnesota hotdishes, pickles, buns, desserts served by the 6th & 7th grades. March 7 Menu: assorted soups and sandwiches, pickles, and bars served by the 4th & 5th graders. March 14 Menu: barbeques, macaroni salad, potato salad, chips, pickles, ice cream with toppings served by the 8th & 9th graders. March 21 Menu: meatballs, cheesy hash brown potatoes, and bars served by the 10th & 11th graders. March 28 Menu: April 4-5-6 no suppers served during Holy Week Please give a donation to the youth group for the supper. This is the big fundraiser of the year for the whole youth group - as opposed to the group going to the national youth gathering in 2012. Your support and encouragement are greatly appreciated. organized by Laurie Lofstrom
Lent 2012 Ashes Evangelical Lutheran Church in America website February 22, 2012
Ash Wednesday is the Wednesday of the seventh week before Easter and the first day of Lent. The day is named for the practice of imposing ashes, a practice which many Lutheran congregations have found to be a very meaningful part of the Ash Wednesday liturgy. Using ashes as a sign of repentance is an ancient practice, often mentioned in the Bible (e.g., Jonah 3:5-9; Job 42:6; Jeremiah 6:26; Matthew 11:21). The early Christians adopted the use of ashes from Jewish practice as an external mark of penitence. Ashes symbolize several aspects of our human existence: - Ashes remind us of God's condemnation of sin, as God said to Adam, "Dust you are and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).
- Ashes suggest cleansing and renewal. They were used anciently in the absence of soap. On Ash Wednesday ashes are a penitential substitute for water as a reminder of our baptism.
- Ashes remind us of the shortness of human life, for it is said as we are buried: "earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
- Ashes are a symbol of our need to repent, confess our sins, and return to God.
In the Ash Wednesday liturgy from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, pages 251-255, the confession and imposition of ashes follow the proclamation of the Word of God in biblical readings, sermon, and song. This confession marks the beginning of a season of penitence. The Maundy Thursday absolution is the structural response to the Ash Wednesday confession, marking off Lent as a penitential time. At the conclusion of the Ash Wednesday confession and imposition of ashes, a declaration of grace is used, coupled with a plea for mercy. elca.org
Lent 2012 Fasting Creighton University online ministries February 2012
There are two primary fast days of the year - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On these days, fasting means something very specific and limited. It means that one eats only one full meal in a day, with no food in-between meals. It is understood that two other meals, if one eats three meals a day, should not total one full meal. One might fast in a more complete way, i.e., eating only a portion of a single meal. Of course, anyone is free to fast at any time that it is helpful for their prayer and reflection. It is not recommended that anyone with impaired health should fast in any way. It is also important to note that everyone who fasts should drink enough fluids on a fast day. Fasting is not recommended for children younger than 14 years of age or for many of the elderly depending on their general health. Many Christians, primarily Roman Catholics, do not eat meat on Fridays in Lent. This is not fasting but abstaining. Many Pentecostals and Evangelicals fast or abstain at other times of the year. When many of us were children, we might remember our giving up candy for Lent. And, it seemed like a real sacrifice. As we grew up, it was often more difficult to decide what special thing to do, to make Lent a special season - to get our attention and to prepare ourselves for deeper sacrifices. What would help me grow in freedom? That's the question to ask. For some of us, it could be, committing ourselves to give up judging others, every single day of Lent. For others, it could be giving up a bad habit we've developed. For still others, it is obvious what seems to be the important choice for me during Lent. For many of us, the choice may not be to give something up, but to add something to our daily lives during Lent. We may commit ourselves to extra prayer time. We may decide to do some service to the poor, once a week during Lent. We may choose to increase our almsgiving to the poor - perhaps related to something we choose not to do, e.g., some might choose not to go out to eat one night a week, and to give that total amount to the poor. Whether it is fasting, abstaining or other acts of penance, the whole desire we should have is to use these means to help us grow closer to our Lord and prepare ourselves "to celebrate the paschal mystery with minds and hearts renewed." (First Preface of Lent)
May our Lord bless us all on this journey ahead. onlineministries.creighton.edu
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Lent 2012 Reading the Book of Acts Northwestern Minnesota Synod February 22, 2012
- Acts 1:1-11 (Feb. 22)
- Acts 1:12-26
- Acts 2:1-13
- Acts 2:14-42
- Acts 2:43-37 (Feb. 27)
- Acts 3:1-26
- Acts 4:1-12
- Acts 4:13-37
- Acts 5:1-11
- Acts 5:12-42
- Acts 6:1-7 (March 5)
- Acts 7: 1-60
- Acts 8:1-40
- Acts 9:1-31
- Acts 9:32-42
- Acts 10:1-48
- Acts 11:1-30 (March 12)
- Acts 12:1-25
- Acts 13:1-12
- Acts 13:13-43
- Acts 13:42-52
- Acts 14:1-28
- Acts 15:1-35 (March 19)
- Acts 15:36-16:15
- Acts 16:16-40
- Acts 17:1-14
- Acts 17:15-34
- Acts 18:1-17
- Acts 18:18-28 (March 26)
- Acts 19
- Acts 20
- Acts 21
- Acts 22
- Acts 23
- Acts 24 (April 2)
- Acts 25
- Acts 26
- Acts 27
- Acts 28:1-15
- Acts 28:16-31
For Lent 2012 the Northwestern Minnesota Synod has called for a Season of Renewal and Prayer. Part of this call is to read the Book of Acts over the forty days of Lent. Lent begins on February 22 and ends on April 7. Sundays are not included in the days of Lent. There is a line between Saturday and Monday on the chart below. Consider the following questions for each day’s reading · What is God doing in this story? · What is God saying to me through this story · What is God saying to us (our congregation)? · What are we hearing God ask us to do? Please know that many others in the synod will be reading the same passage on the same day as you are if you stick to the schedule. These passages will be used for devotions at any weekday meeting in the parish such as council and WELCA.
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