On Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 a.m. Pastor Peter Sung will be leading a forty-five minute Ash Wednesday service at Mercer Island Covenant Church. His meditation, "Death Is A Door" will be based on Jonah 3: 1-10. The church is located at 3200 78th Avenue SE. The community is invited to participate in spiritual preparation for Lent and Easter.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline.
Ash Wednesday emphasizes two themes: our sinfulness before God and our human mortality. The service focuses on both themes, helping us to realize that both have been triumphed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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The pastor will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship. Historically, ashes signified purification and sorrow for sins. The ash cross on the forehead is an outward sign of our sorrow and repentance for sins.