Lent is a 40-day season (not counting Sundays) marked by repentance, reflection, and a journey with Jesus to the cross. Traditionally, the 40-day period represents Christ’s time of temptation in the wilderness. It is also a time for Christians to make an honest assessment of their relationship with God and of their commitment to the Way of Christ.
An Ash Wednesday service will be held in our sanctuary at 7:00 p.m. on February 22. This will include readings, prayers, and special music. At the close of the service, those who wish to do so may have their foreheads marked with ashes in the sign of the cross, as is traditional on this date.
This year, artist Chuck Parson, will provide a temporary art installation in the sanctuary for Ash Wednesday. Chuck describes it as “an outline of a Christian cross image, approximately 10′ x 20′, with the shape defined with 40 candles on small Plexiglass ledges, placed on the east brick wall of the sanctuary. [There] is a small amount of ash, reflected onto the bottom of the ledge above each ledge; seen as one looks up…skyward.” When asked about the symbolism, Chuck said, “Ash Wednesday commemorates birth, death, resurrection and sacredness. In many religions, it focuses one on the uncertainty of life and transience. Forty candles are used, representing Jesus’s 40 days in the desert. Candles lit at the time of death give light to the darkness of death and symbolize the light in the Afterlife. Candlelight is a symbol of consciousness in a holy, protective space…the Sanctuary. The ashes reflect the quote from Genesis 3:19 ‘…for dust you are and to dust you shall return.'”
Join us on Wednesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. to see Chuck’s art installation as an enhancement to the Ash Wednesday worship service.
Photo courtesy of https://www.5280.com
CHARLES (Chuck) PARSON studied at the A.E. Backus Studio in Florida from 1962-66; he received his BFA in 1970 from the Kansas City Art Institute with a major in Painting and Drawing and a minor in Printmaking. He was awarded an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1972 with a major in Painting and a minor in Materials Technology. He has over 80 One-person exhibits throughout the U.S., along with an extensive participation in group exhibits, as well as largescale installations and monumental public sculptures which have been seen in places such as New York City, Chicago, Kansas City to name a few. His artwork has been extensively reviewed and feature profiles seen in local, regional and national newspapers, magazines, books, radio and television. He additionally worked for 25 years as a contract illustrator and graphic muralist for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
He has performed workshops, taught classes, and lectured nationally on the state of the arts and the diverse role of creativity in our culture. He has just retired this spring as a Professor of Art at an urban college in the Denver area after teaching many years throughout the region. He is also a musician, performing on the guitar and bass.