LENT

The Season of Lent

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which means “spring”. The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians. The First Sunday describes Jesus’ temptation by Satan; and Jerusalem and his subsequent passion and death. Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the Resurrection. (From The United Methodist Book of Worship)

Lenten Sermon Series

Christian Leadership: During the weekends of Lent prior to Palm Sunday, Pastor Jeff will be giving a sermon series on Christian Leadership. Christian Leadership can appear complicated and even paradoxical in the eyes of the world, but a reflection on our relationship with Jesus Christ and seeing leadership through the lens of that relationship can simplify and inspire us all to be Christian leaders in whatever way God call us.

Lent 2013 Special Worship Services

The beginning of the holy time of self-reflection on our relationship with Jesus Christ as Christians and as a Church (commonly known as Lent) begins Wednesday, February 13 on "Ash Wednesday." Ash Wednesday is a Christian tradition where God's children may be anointed with the ash of palm branches (from the previous years' Palm Sunday) to remind them of their mortality and the importance of and the hope found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ash Wednesday, February 13 at Noon and 6:00 p.m. Centenary UMC will have two Ash Wednesday Services this year in order to accommodate as many people receiving the ash as possible. The first service will be Traditional at noon, and the second will be Contemporary at 6:00 p.m. Both services will be held in the sanctuary (if it is complete); otherwise they will be held in the Fellowship Hall in the basement.

Worship Schedule

February 13, Noon & 6pm
Ash Wednesday Services

March 13, 6pm
Passover Banquet

March 23, 7pm
March 24, 8 & 10:15
Palm Sunday Services

March 28, 6pm
Maundy Thursday Service

March 29, 1pm & 7pm
Good Friday Services

March 30, 7pm
Holy Saturday Service

March 31, 8am & 10:15am
Easter Sunday Services

Palm Sunday weekend, March 23 & 24: Come and wave palms to celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at all three worship services this weekend.

Maundy Thursday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m.:  Feet or Hand Washing, Communion, and The Stripping of the Church Sanctuary.  A powerful worship
experience that connects us to the story surrounding Jesus and the Apostles at the Last Supper. This will be followed by communion, and then everyone will strip the church in silence as Pastor Jeff reads the 22nd Psalm aloud; all of this in preparation for Christ’s sacrifice the next day.

Good Friday, March 29: 2 Services
·  1:00 p.m. - Good Friday Service featuring traditional hymns and liturgy
·  7:00 p.m. - Awaken will be hosting a Good Friday Passion Concert. This will feature Rock'n praise and worship songs that follows the Service of Shadows tradition of reading scriptures and extinguishing candles until the sanctuary is in complete darkness.

Holy Saturday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. A somber, reflective service that ends with the hope and the excitement of anticipating Easter Sunday by moving everything back into the sanctuary for the Easter celebration.
Easter Sunday, March 31: Come celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
·  8:00 a.m. - Traditional Liturgy that will be held in the Serenity Room
·  10:15 a.m. - Rock’n Praise service featuring the Awaken Praise Band in the Sanctuary