Join us for Lent, a season of repentance and reflection
Quick Links
What is Lent?
Ash Wednesday
Lenten Sermon Series
Lenten Art Installation
Spiritual Formation Opportunities
Devotional Resources
Holy Week & Easter
What is Lent?
Lent is a 40 day season of spiritual discipline and preparation that starts annually with Ash Wednesday—which falls this year on March 5— and anticipates the death and resurrection of Christ at Easter (this year, April 20). During this time, individuals will often fast from something, or take on a new discipline as part of their preparation, all with the ultimate goal of deepening their relationship with God.
“What can I fast from?”
When we think of fasting, food is typically the first thing that comes to mind, and some choose to fast from a certain food. However, there are also media fasts (social media, television, and/or video games), spending fasts (eating out, new clothing purchases, miscellaneous shopping), and personal fasts (complaining, gossip, busyness). As you fast, you are encouraged to take the time and/or money typically devoted to that thing and use it in connection with and service to God.
“What are some examples of disciplines I can take on?”
There are many spiritual disciplines you can add to your Lenten observance: prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, service, connection with others. We’ll also be doing a sermon series to introduce some lesser-observed disciplines!
“But when I count the days on the calendar, there are more than 40!”
Sundays are seen as “little Easters,” and thus they are not counted in the liturgical 40 days. Some choose to make Sundays a rest day from their Lenten fasts; others choose to include those days.
Ash Wednesday (March 5)
The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday, which falls on March 5 this year. During worship on this day, ashes are used to mark a cross on the forehead or hand of each worshiper as a reminder of our humanity and mortality.
We will offer the imposition of ashes in worship in the Sanctuary at 7:30 pm (livestream available at upcch.org/live). Rev. Jarrett McLaughlin will preach.
**Drive-Thru Ashes are canceled due to the predicted stormy weather. Evening worship is still on.**
All are welcome to join us for Ash Wednesday worship.
Lenten Sermon Series
You’re invited to join us for worship each Sunday in Lent (March 9-April 13) at 8:30 am or 11:00 am. Our 11:00 service is also livestreamed.
Lent is the season when we ask ourselves, “Who is this Jesus, anyway? What is he about? Why should I want to follow him?”
Nowhere is Jesus more clear about these questions than in the Gospel of John. He comes right out and says who he is through the seven “I am” statements. Jesus says “I am…”
the Bread of Life
the Light of the World
the Door for the Sheep
the Good Shepherd
the Resurrection and the Life
the Way, the Truth, and the Life
the True Vine
These statements are more than ancient words; they are promises that meet us in our questions, fears, and longings. As we walk through the season of Lent together, we will consider how Jesus’ identity shapes our own and calls us to also be bread, light, open doors, good shepherds, etc. The journey begins at our Ash Wednesday service on March 5.
Music Sunday (March 23)
As part of our Lenten sermon series, one of our Sunday worship services will be a special music-centered service led by the Chancel Choir. On March 23, the choir will present selections from Handel’s Messiah alongside a contemporary arrangement of Charles Wesley’s beloved hymn “And Can It Be.” This inspiring service will also feature a string quartet, our organ scholar Hania Kantzer, and mezzo-soprano soloist Carlee Baldwin. Join us for this moving time of worship through music at both the 8:30 AM and 11:00 am services.
Lenten Art Installation
A few weeks ago during the 11am worship service, Dr. Dallin Baldwin, all 6 ‘5 of him, stood up from the piano bench during the last verse of the hymn Kum Ba Yah. The congregation sang acappella: somebody’s praying, Lord, kum ba yah. O Lord, come by here.
It was a response to the Word proclaimed (Luke 18: 9-14). Meg said in that sermon:
This is a time for prayer.
This is a time for weeping, for lumps in our throat.
This is a time to put our trust – not in ourselves – but in God–
the one who is outside the limits of our own knowledge and comfort and control.
So, we want to make good on our commitment to trust, to lament, to pray during this season of national angst and this holy season of Lent. As we journey toward the cross, our worship series will be about the I AM statements of Jesus.
In the parlor, there will be an art installation inviting your prayers. Sticky notes will be available for you to write your prayers, each will begin with the words I AM.
I am feeling. . .
I am praying for. . .
I am. . . .
All of those prayers will be posted– and indeed layered– onto the words I AM on the wall of the parlor, as we trust that all our pleas for redemption are subsumed into the very being and body of God.
Feel free to stop by the parlor, week after week, to add your prayers. Sticky notes will also be available in the pews. Please add your prayer to the installation throughout this holy season, confident in the one who hears our prayer.
Spiritual Formation Opportunities
Sunday School (9:45 am on Sundays):
(Please note that our Lenten classes will not begin on the first Sunday in Lent, due to schedule adjustments for our January/February series. Full class details are available at upcch.org/adult-education.)
Beginning March 16: Dust to Dust: Questions about Death and Dying (Dunham Hall)
A series about some of the theological, emotional, and practical questions of death and dying. Guest speakers each week will thoughtfully guide us through these conversations.
March 16: Guest Speaker, Leon D’Orleans (Vance Barron Hall)
Pastor Leon D’Orleans leads Haiti Outreach Ministries, one of our global outreach partners.
Beginning March 23: Lent in Plain Sight (Vance Barron Hall)
A Lenten Bible Study based on Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion through Ten Objects by Rev. Jill Duffield. No pre-reading is required.
Devotional Resources
Tread Lightly for Lent:
a daily reflection/action calendar centered around earth care – click the image to access the download
Journey to the Cross:
a daily online devotional offered by d365.org, an ecumenical devotional for students and adults
The Hardest Part:
a free daily devotional by Kate Bowler; click the image to access the downloadable file (the “Daily Guide”)
Holy Week & Easter
Holy Week Labyrinth
(April 14-18)
Mon-Thurs, 9:30 am-3:30 pm
Fri, 9:30 am-12:00 pm
There will be a labyrinth available in Vance Barron Hall during Holy Week for you to walk and pray. Instructions will be available for this self-guided practice; we advise planning to spend about 30 minutes walking and praying. Please park on the street or in the parking deck, and enter via Henderson St.
Maundy Thursday
April 17, 7:30 pm
Maundy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, when he washed their feet. Join us in the Sanctuary for a contemplative service, including handwashing and Holy Communion, to reflect on how Jesus proclaimed the gospel through service and love. Rev. Hadley Kifner will preach.
Good Friday Worship
April 18, 7:30 pm
On the Friday of Holy Week, we will worship together in a Service of Tenebrae. Tenebrae is the Latin word meaning darkness. Sometimes we learn things in the dark, in the shadows, that we could have never learned or appreciated in the bright light of day. On Good Friday, we will read the story of Jesus’ passion (his suffering and death) and extinguish lights until we leave the sanctuary in complete darkness, awaiting the glorious light of Easter morning. Rev. Jarrett McLaughlin will preach.
Easter Sunday
April 20
8:30 am: Worship
9:45 am: Potluck Easter Brunch
10:15 am: Easter Egg Hunt
11:00 am: Worship
For more about our what to expect on Easter, click here.