From Ashes to Alleluia
Lent and Easter at
“Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
Joel 2:12-13
What is the Season of Lent?
If you’ve ever wondered about Lent, it’s a 40-day season (Sundays excluded) in the Anglican Church that prepares us for Easter—celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. It starts with Ash Wednesday and wraps up just before Easter Sunday. Rooted in Jesus’ 40-day wilderness journey of prayer and temptation, Lent’s a time to reflect, reset, and realign with what matters.
Ash Wednesday sets the tone. You might spot people with ash crosses on their foreheads as the priest says, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.” It’s not morbid—it’s a gut-check. Life is fleeting, so why not focus on something bigger than the daily grind? For Anglicans, it’s a call to intentionality.
Lent traditionally emphasizes prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer’s about carving out space for honest conversation with God—maybe wrestling with your purpose or seeking clarity about life. Fasting isn’t just ditching coffee (though it could be); it’s letting go of distractions that keep us from leaning into faith. Almsgiving’s about generosity—think donating to a cause or helping a friend out. These aren’t mandates but tools to live more like Jesus, who prioritized love over comfort.
Sundays break the fast—mini-Easters that nod to joy amid discipline. The season peaks in Holy Week: Palm Sunday’s triumphal entry, Maundy Thursday’s Last Supper, Good Friday’s sacrifice—all building to Easter’s big Celebration. For Anglicans, Lent’s less about guilt and more about transformation. It’s a chance to ditch autopilot, reflect on Jesus’ radical love, and maybe tweak your habits—less scrolling, more serving.
Think of it as a spiritual reboot. Lent offers a framework to reanchor yourself in God's plan. How might it fit into your story this year?
2025 Lent and Easter Calendar
Lent
Ash Wednesday
Two Services: Noon and 7pm
Lent 1
Saturday evening service @ 5:30 pm
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am, with fellowship between and after services
Children and Adult Sunday School @ 9am
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Lent 2
Saturday evening service @ 5:30 pm
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am, with fellowship between and after services
Children and Adult Sunday School @ 9am
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Evensong for the Feast of St. Joseph
5pm in the Sanctuary
Music from Thomas Tallis
Lent 3
Saturday evening service @ 5:30 pm
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am, with fellowship between and after services
Children and Adult Sunday School @ 9am
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Lent 4
Saturday evening service @ 5:30 pm
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am, with fellowship between and after services
Children and Adult Sunday School @ 9am
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Lent 5
Saturday evening service @ 5:30 pm
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am, with fellowship between and after services
Children and Adult Sunday School @ 9am
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Holy Week
Palm Sunday
Saturday evening service @ 5:30 pm
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am
* NOTE: Assemble on the cross at 10am for the Liturgy of the Palms. We will process around the church once before entering together. Those unable to march may go directly to the sanctuary.
Children Sunday School @ 9am. NO Adult Sunday School.
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Maundy Thurdsay
7:00pm Service, including footwashing. Service will end with the Stripping of the Altar.
Garden Watch
From 9pm to 7am the next morning in the Library.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. As a remembrance of this evening, we will be keeping watch with the Reserved Sacrament of Christ in our Garden Altar of Repose in the church library. We will be praying in 1 hour shifts through the night. The sacraments will be processed to the Sanctuary at 7am for the Good Friday service.
To sign up, please click here.
Good Friday Veneration of the Cross
7:00am Service including Eucharist from the Reserved Sacrament and Veneration of the Cross.
Stations of the Cross
In the Sanctuary @ 11am
Good Friday
Noon Service culminating with Veneration of the Cross
Great Vigil of Easter
8pm to 9:30pm
Solemn Easter Vigil beginning with the New Fire and lighting of the Christ Candle. Listen to the story of how God has saved his people through history. Service ends with a celebration of the Resurrection and Eucharist.
Remember to bring your noise makers!
Easter Sunday
Sunday morning @ 7:30 & 10:15am, with fellowship between and after services
NO Children or Adult Sunday School. Children gather at 10am on the cross for the flowering of the cross.
Nursery from 9am to Noon
Special Lenten Services
Sunday, March 16th @ 5pm
Evensong: Feast of St. Joseph
As the sun sets, our hearts and bodies settle into the vulnerability of rest. We approach prayer with the longings of our hearts and unmet needs. A choral evensong allows us to enter into prayer and remain present with the Lord. Join us for an evening prayer service with the Renaissance music of Thomas Tallis.
Fridays @ Noon and 6pm
Stations of the Cross
Every Friday from March 7th through April 11th, meet in the Sanctuary to walk the Way of the Cross. Follow Christ's footsteps as he was condemned and sent to the cross.
Service lasts approximately 30 minutes. Liturgy is provided.
One more Stations of the Cross will be celebrated on Good Friday at 11am.
Holy Week Services
Sunday, April 13 @ 7:30 and 10:00
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week as we commemorate Jesus Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On this day, Jesus rode into the city on a donkey while crowds welcomed him as a king, waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna." By the end of the week, those same voices would be shouting, "Crucify!".
Join us outside at the cross at 10am for the Liturgy of the Palms and procession into the sanctuary.
hursday, April 17th @ 7Pm
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday commemorates the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet. The service ends with the Stripping of the Altar.
The Stripping of the altar is an ancient custom symbolic of the humiliation of Jesus at the hands of the soldiers. As His life was stripped from Him, so we strip our altar of the signs of life to symbolize His purposeful, redemptive suffering and death "for us men and for our salvation". It also represents the despair felt as Christ was taken away from the disciples’ presence.
Maundy Thursday ends with the starkness of the empty, bare altar. Our souls are bare as well, as we begin to walk through the rest of the weekend.
Thursday, April 17th through Friday, April 18th @ 7am
Garden Watch
"Then He returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. 'Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?'”. Matthew 26:40
At the end of the Maundy Thursday service, the remaining consecrated elements are processed to an Altar of Repose in the Garden in the Library. The Garden Watch continues through the night until 7:00 am on Good Friday. In the morning, the remaining sacraments will be processed into the early Good Friday service and fully consumed.
Friday, April 18th @ 7am and noon
Good Friday Service and Veneration of the Cross
Saturday, April 19th @ 8pm
Great Easter Vigil
The Great Vigil of Easter, also known as the Paschal Vigil, is a solemn liturgy held as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. At the vigil, passages are read from the Old Testament telling the story of God's people and our need for salvation.
Traditionally, the service starts after sunset on Holy Saturday and continues throughout the night to celebrate Easter Sunday at sunrise.
Our service will only be an hour and a half long. It concludes with our first shout of "Alleluia" since the beginning of Lent, and the celebration of Eucharist. In celebration of the Alleluia, we also make a "Great Noise," so don't forget to bring noisemakers - bells, instruments, etc.!
Sunday, April 20th at 7:30am and 10:15am
Easter Sunday
Matthew 28:5-6
“Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said."
Join us in celebrating the Risen King!
