Lent
Lent
Lent is a 40-day observance beginning with Ash Wednesday where Episcopalians and Christians around the world acknowledge their failings, faults and sins. On Ash Wednesday, Clergy impose ashes on worshipers’ forehead, making the sign of the cross. The liturgical color of the season is purple. The color purple represents the penitent mood of Lent.
Lenten Events and Activities
Shrove Tuesday
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
5-7:30 p.m.
Bagby Parish Hall
All Parishioners are invited to attend this family gathering, which will include a traditional pancake dinner, red beans and rice, live entertainment, children’s activities and prizes. A dazzling fireworks display will follow the ticketed dinner.
Ash Wednesday Services
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024
The first day of Lent is a special day of Holy Obligation that begins a 40-day observance where Christians around the world acknowledge their failings, faults and sins. In these somber services, Clergy will impose ashes on your forehead, making the mark of the cross.
Traditional Worship
Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes*
7 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.
The Church
Riverway Contemporary Service
Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes*
6:30 p.m.
Parish Life Center
*NOTE: The ashes are made from 2023 palm crosses.
Student Ministries Ash Wednesday Supper
and Riverway Eucharist Service with Imposition of Ashes
5:30 p.m.
Student Life Center, Dinner
Parish Life Center, Program
Join our Student Ministers for a light soup supper followed by worship at the Riverway Ash Wednesday service in the Parish Life Center.
Stations of the Cross
Sundays, before and after the morning services.
Wednesdays, Feb. 21-March 20
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Holy Week
Monday-Thursday, March 25-28
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Good Friday, March 29
11 a.m.-noon and 1-2 p.m.
Parishioners and guests are invited to make their pilgrimage along the Via Dolorosa, or “Way of Sorrows,” during Lent and Holy Week 2024. The Stations of the Cross depict the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus and the devotion commemorating the Passion.
For more information, contact Barbara Piana at 713-830-4116 or [email protected].
Lent Adult Sunday School Class
PEOPLE OF THE PASSION
First-Person Monologues of Characters Near The Cross
with the Rev. Dr. Jim Jackson, Jr.
Sundays, Feb. 18 and 25; March 3, 10 and 17
10:15-11 a.m.
Bagby Parish Hall
During Lent, join us for a Sunday school class series that explores the experiences of characters from near The Cross, in first person monologues.
Wednesday Evening Adult Lenten Series
Holy Eucharist, Dinner and Adult Bible Study
“Lord, Teach Us to Pray …”
With the Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr.
Wednesdays, Feb. 21-March 20
5 p.m., St. Martin’s Café opens for dinner, Bagby Parish Hall
5:30 p.m., Holy Eucharist · The Church
6:30 p.m., Program · Bagby Parish Hall
Join us weekly as Dr. Levenson offers this fivepart review of our Lord’s most well-known sermon. Each class is a class of its own, so weekly attendance is not necessary … but preferred!
Feb. 21: “Our Father”
Feb. 28: “Hallowed be Thy Name …”
March 6: “Thy Kingdom come…Thy Will Be Done …” with Special Guest: Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts
March 13: “Forgive Us … As We Forgive …”
March 20: “For Thine is the Kingdom, Power and Glory … Amen!”
Thursday Afternoon Lent Series
Thursdays, Feb 22-March 21
4 p.m.
Chapel Reception Hall
St. Augustine famously said that a Christian who sings prays twice. Hymnody and musical worship is an integral part of our growth in Christ. How has God used a special song or hymn to change the lives of our Clergy? What did He teach them about Himself? How did their souls grow from strength to strength? During Lent, join St. Martin’s Clergy as they share a favorite hymn or song that transformed their lives and their faith, and learn how this drew them closer to Christ.
Lenten Quiet Day
Lenten Quiet Day is a reflective day of prayer, meditation and contemplation. This day is central to St. Martin’s Lent traditions and is sponsored by St. Martin's Chapter of OSL.
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024
9 a.m.-noon
Parish Life Center
Just before he was driven into the wilderness for 40 days and nights, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. Perhaps that is why the penitential 40 days of Lent seem to have a baptismal quality about them. Or maybe it is from St. Paul’s claim that those “of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (Romans 6:3) which supplies baptism with a flavor of Lent and Holy Week. Regardless, the Church has long associated the season of Lent with the preparation for the sacrament of baptism and for living a baptismal life.
Supported by the Rev. R. Wesley Arning’s recently published book, “Waters of Baptism,” he and the Rev. Sharron Cox will supply three meditations the baptismal nature of Lent, pondering the intersection of this foundational sacrament and living a Holy Lent.
In between the reflections, there will be quiet time for journaling, prayer or walking through the grounds of St. Martin’s. Coffee and muffins will be available, and the Quiet Day will end with the renewal of baptismal vows.
A Very Special
Lenten Retreat
Icon Writing with Teresa Harrison
Monday–Thursday, March 18-21
8:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.
Friday, March 22
8:30 a.m.– 2 p.m.
Teresa Harrison returns to St. Martin’s to lead a course in the ancient technique of icon writing.
This year, retreatants will work on a beloved biblical story, the Annunciation. It will feature the moment of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, announcing God’s favor. It is Mary’s “Yes” to God in this encounter that brings salvation to humankind.
This four-day retreat includes Eucharist, chant, prayer, silence and lively conversation, free time and social hours. Icons will be written in acrylic paint and gold leaf, a medium that resembles traditional egg tempera. Watch ‘The Star” and E-News for registration details..
Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday
Stripping of the Palms and Palm Cross Making
Friday, March 22
8:20 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Student Life Center
Join members of the Altar Guild as volunteers strip, divide the fronds and make palm crosses to distribute on Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. This annual tradition is a fun and meaningful time of fellowship and service. Please bring scissors.
