Ash kits available soon

On Ash Wednesday the Church calls its members throughout the world to begin their observance of a holy Lent, a season of 40 days that leads to the celebration of our Lord's Passion and resurrection on Easter.

During Lent, we offer ourselves, souls and bodies, to God, "by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word" (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 265).

The liturgy of Ash Wednesday is solemn, shaped by elements of penitence and fasting. The distinctive element of the liturgy is the act of marking on our foreheads the sign of the cross with ash, made from the embers of last year’s Palm Sunday palm fronds, with the disquieting exhortation, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The palms we once waved in celebration of the victory of Christ the King, and with which we affirmed our fidelity to him, become the dust and ashes of our sins that crucified the Lord of glory.

This year we observe Ash Wednesday on February 17, and the 40 days of Lent to follow, with an acute awareness of the global pandemic that continues to rage. We are put in mind of the fragility of life and our common call to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We make a humble and realistic assessment of where we stand. We grieve and mourn the dead, intercede for those who are sick and those who tend to their needs, and bid God’s grace to bring the pandemic to an end.

Although we are unable to gather in person this year on Ash Wednesday, we still embark together with Christians everywhere on our Lenten journey. We gather with our siblings in Christ, near and far, in spirit.

With that in mind, there are several ways we will mark the occasion of Ash Wednesday (February 17) and the season of Lent.

First, Saint Philip's will provide Ash Wednesday worship packets that will include a brief order of service for individuals and families to pray at home, with a small amount of blessed ashes to impose on oneself and family members. These packets will be available for anyone to pick up outside the Parish Office between 9:00am and 4:00pm Wednesday, February 10, through Wednesday, February 17.

Second, at 12:15pm on Ash Wednesday, we will live-stream a simple liturgy of the day on Facebook and Saint Philip's homepage (www.stphilipstucson.org).

Third and last, Saint Philip's will be mailing parishioners a devotional booklet, with a collection of daily prayers, readings from holy scripture, and reflections from the Anglican tradition, for individuals and families to use throughout Lent.

We hope these occasions for worship and prayer will gather our hearts as one community as we journey toward Easter.

For more information, please contact Fr. Peter Helman, Parochial Vicar (peter.helman@stphilipstucson.org).