We invite you to celebrate Shrove Tuesday with us before we begin our Lenten Discipline on Ash Wednesday and take our annual journey with Jesus to the Cross.
Shrove Tuesday is another name for Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. It’s a day in the life of the church when we celebrate the end of the Season of Epiphany and look ahead to the start of the Season of Lent, which is a time of fasting and repentance. Traditionally in the life of the Church, believers consume all of the fatty foods in their homes on this day in preparation for 40 days of Lent, which is why we celebrate with pancakes, sausage, bacon, Paczki (jelly doughnuts), or even King’s Cake.
On this day, or on the final Sunday in Epiphany, Christians also hold a “Burial of The Alleluias,” since we do not say the word, “Alleluia,” again in worship until Easter. This practice echoes that of the early Israelites, who stopped singing joyful songs while they were in exile. (By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? Psalm 137:1-4) The word, “Alleluia,” means “Praise The Lord,” and we lift high our praises again on Easter morning, celebrating our Lord’s resurrection, which conquered forever our greatest tormentors: sin, death, and the grave!
Come and join us for this family fun event as we prepare for our 40 days of Lent ahead as we journey with Jesus to the cross.
