Lent/Easter

Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection.  In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism.  Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or volunteering and giving of themselves for others.  The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan. Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter” celebration of the Jesus’ victory over sin and death.

Ash Wednesday, in the Western Christian calendar, is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days (forty days not counting Sundays) before Easter. It is a movable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of repentance.

At Blacksburg United Methodist Church (BUMC) an Ash Wednesday service is held, and there are opportunities for members to use the Lenten season to make individual sacrifices.  Some opportunities may be presented to the congregation prior to the Lenten season.

Easter or Resurrection Sunday is the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus the Christ from the dead. Even before theologians explained the death of Jesus in terms of various atonement theories, the early church saw his resurrection as the central witness to a new act of God in history and the victory of God in vindicating Jesus as the Messiah. This event marks the central faith confession of the early church and was the focal point for Christian worship, observed on the first day of each week since the first century (Acts 20:7; Sunday was officially proclaimed the day of Christian worship in AD 321). Easter as an annual celebration of the Resurrection that lies at the center of a liturgical year has been observed at least since the fourth century. Even in churches that traditionally do not observe the other historic seasons of the church year, Easter has occupied a central place as the high point of Christian worship.

For more information about the Easter celebration go to the international United Methodist Church site and read about the Lent and Easter season.

At Blacksburg United Methodist Church (BUMC), Easter Sunday starts off with a sunrise service at the Blacksburg Municipal Golf Course and is followed by regular services in the main church and in the Whisner Building.

Details about the offerings at BUMC will be on the web site and in the weekly announcements.