Ash Wednesday 13, marking the beginning of Lent (Kwaresima),

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Today, February 13, 2013 is Ash Wednesday,  marking the beginning of Lent (Kwaresima), a 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.    

I thought it would be important to be reminded ourselves what LENT means. I would encourage those of you with young stars in our families to share this short explanation to them. 

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.

This practice is common in much of Christendom, being observed mainly by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, alms-giving, and self-denial. This purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week (starting on Palm Sunday March 24, 2013), marking the death and Resurrection of of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which recalls the events of the the Bible when Jesus is crucified on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Sunday, March 31, 2013).

Please let use this time of Lent to Meditate on God's Word, Praying and Fasting. I have personally found this practice very fulfilling in my Christian journey. 

We are reminded in the Word of God as written in Matthew 4:1-11 that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and when the devil tempted Him three times, Jesus did not yield into temptation because He had the strength, which could be traced to  "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry" (Matthew 4:1-2)

May you experience God's Blessing as you enter this Lent period.

Please remember to come for our monthly fellowship meeting on Sunday, February 17, 2012 at 4:00 pm.

Rev.Aba Mpesha.

4198 Packard St, Apt#3

Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Phone: 616 884 8143

Email:abampesha1@gmail.com