Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day coincide this year. With two service times—12:15 PM and 6:00 PM—you can still make a Valentine’s dinner reservation.

The ashes for Ash Wednesday are made by burning the palm branches from last Palm Sunday. With the words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return,” we are reminded of our mortality.

On the Sundays in Lent, the appointed Hebrew Scripture readings in Year B focus on covenants: the covenant with Noah on February 18, the covenant with Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah on February 25th, the covenant with Moses (the 10 Commandments) on March 4th, the covenant in the wilderness on March 11th, and the new covenant that Jeremiah foretells on March 18th.

Biblical covenants were partnerships initiated by God with God’s people, and they looked forward to a more hopeful future together. At Holy Trinity, we are in the middle of a strategic planning process, which could be characterized as a renegotiation of our community’s covenant with God regarding our own future.

The homilists on the five Sundays in Lent will be members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, with the exception of March 4th, when Rabbi Tina Grimberg of Congregation Darchei Noam will be with us to reflect on the covenant with Moses. (There will be no Eucharist that day.) The other homilists will be the Incumbent, Jennifer Henry, Michael Creal, and Jo Connelly.

Holy Week begins on March 25th with Palm Sunday. Holy Week details will be sent at a later date.
— Sherman Hesselgrave, Incumbent