Ash Wednesday

Today we had a child-friendly Ash Wednesday service in our pre-primary chapel. In my box I put a palm, and a container of ashes. On Palm Sunday we wave our palms in the air, remembering the crowds who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. Those palms are saved, and on Shrove Tuesday at our Pancake Supper we burn them and use the ashes to mark our foreheads on Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the days we spend in preparation for Easter. The word "Lent" is not from the Bible, but is simply from an Old English word which means "long". The term came into use not because we think the 40 days of Lent are such a long period of time, but because Lent occurs in the spring when the days are getting longer. Jesus came to bring more light into our lives, and during Lent we prepare our hearts for the incredible brightness of Easter morning. Lent lasts for 40 days, a number which appears in many times in the Bible, and is the number of days Jesus prayed and fasted in the wilderness preparing for his public ministry.

There are many ways families can observe Lent together. Here are a few easy ones to get you started.

Prayer
Pray with your children during Lent. Grace at meals is a good place to start. Bedtime also works for many families. Take advantage of other times, such as when you are in the car with your children. Here's a handy way to pray: tell your children about ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Adoration means telling God how much you love Him. Confession involves admitting to God what we have done wrong so that we may be forgiven. Thanksgiving is a time to count all our blessings and thank God for all we have been given. Supplication is where we ask God to help ourselves and others.

Giving
Make a “mite box” with your children. This is an excellent rainy day activity. A mite box, which comes from the Biblical story of the widow’s mite (see Luke 21:1-4) is essentially a sacred piggy bank. All that you need is a discarded milk carton or plastic bottle. Decorate the outside of the bottle or carton with paint or markers. Help your children contribute to the box daily or weekly and then donate the total amount at the end of Lent to a charity of your choice.

You can also turn a regular trip to the grocery store into a spiritual exercise and teaching moment. One item that is always needed by our local food banks is peanut butter. Tell your children that you are buying extra food for those in need. Bring any food donations with you on Sunday or to chapel on Wednesday and have your children place them in the baskets in the back of the church.

Fasting
Both Jesus and his disciples fasted, and it is a spiritual practice that helps us to remember our dependence on God. It also cultivates a spirit of thanksgiving, which is at the core of Christian life. Invite your children to give up one of their favorite foods, or something they really enjoy doing. My older boys are giving up Facebook and texting respectively. My younger son wants to give up chocolate, despite the 15 boxes of Girl Scout cookies that were just delivered. Instead of giving up a particular food item during Lent, adults may want to consider fasting one day a week, perhaps from sunrise to sunset. An alternative to fasting is to do something you might not ordinarily do during Lent, such as attend church every Sunday, or volunteer as a family.

Read Bible Stories with Your Children
Lent is a wonderful time to set aside a moment of each day to read Biblical stories to your children or guide older children in the reading of Scripture. This can be used as part of a daily devotion time and linked to prayer or it can be done separately. There are wonderful Bibles for children and youth, as well as other books and devotion guides available at the St. Mark’s Bookstore.

I closed the service today by telling our children that the cross of ashes on our forehead reminds us and others of the love of Christ in our heart. What will you do this Lent to show Christ that your heart is ready for him?