Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Supper

Tuesday March 4 6:00pm Parish Hall

Why is it called Shrove Tuesday?

It comes from the word ‘shrive’, which means to give absolution after hearing confession. So Shrove Tuesday is the day when people went to confession to prepare themselves for Lent, which begins on the following day, Ash Wednesday.

Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?

It was the last chance for a spot of indulgence before 40 days of fasting, and also an opportunity to use up food that couldn’t be eaten during Lent. This included eggs, fat and milk, which were made into pancakes and eaten on that day.

The earliest known English recipe dates from the 15th century, although pancakes had been eaten in other countries for centuries before that. In the French-speaking world, the day is known as ‘Mardi Gras’ or ‘Fat Tuesday’.

Although Shrove Tuesday isn't mentioned in the Bible, it's the day before Lent, which is a 40-day period of fasting. Lent is said to mark the time Jesus fasted in the desert. The number '40' is significant and appears often in the Bible: Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert.

Shrove Tuesday is also known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras

To celebrate Mardi Gras, people dress up in eye-catching costumes – featuring the colors purple, green and gold, and feathered masques.

This year we are going to join in this fun tradition and decorate the Parish Hall, dress up, and have entertainment! Please join us in making this a celebration and fun evening for all!

Imposition of Ashes

Wednesday March 4, 2025

8:30am and 6:00pm service

Ash Wednesday is the day in which Christians gather to receive the imposition of ashes.

Ashes on the head have signified repentance from biblical times. Job said, “I repent in dust and ashes.”

Ashes also represent mourning, as Tamar in the Old Testament used them to mourn her abuse which was not in any way her fault, but which devastated her.

Ashes are the result of burning. This burning in our lives is from our own sins and follies and from the abuse of others, and ashes represent both. They remind us that we are living in this mortal world, this fallen world, and that we are made from dust, when all else is burned away. We are mortal and will return to our maker.

Christians believe, rightly, that God is good and that he loves us. We believe that through the death and resurrection of Christ we can be forgiven and “boldly go before the throne of grace.” We know that even though we don’t understand exactly how God will make the wrongs of the world right, he will.

And yet we live in a time in which all of those promises are not yet fulfilled. We feel the pain of sin and brokenness. Ash Wednesday and Lent remind us that we still live in this fallen world, and that we are a part of that fallenness. No one is free of sin. It gives us permission, in fact it calls us, to acknowledge the reality we see within ourselves, and around us.