OBSERVING LENT: PRACTICES DIVERSE AMONG AREA DENOMINATIONS

Since the Vatican II council of bishops met in the 1960s, the rules have been eased for Roman Catholics observing Lent, but among other Christian denominations the observance of Lent has been less formal, at best.

Vatican II established two fasting days during the Lenten season, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and made the other Fridays during Lent as days of abstinence, meatless days.

It seemed silly back in the 1960s, said the Rev. James Patrick Wissman, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Scott City, to make starving parishioners have to fast. The new rules let the people decide what they can do for Lent.

But few other denominations formally practice fasting or abstinence. In fact, few churches observe Lent in a formal way beyond Ash Wednesday services.

Most Christian churches observe Holy or Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

Lent is generally described as the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday, excluding Sundays, and the Thursday before Easter. To many Christians, the 40 days represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan.

What does Lent represent?

The season has been described variously as a time of prayer and spiritual renewal, to a time of denial and sacrifice, to a period of preparation of people for baptism. The word Lent comes from a variety of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic words that mean spring, a time of budding with new life and hope, according to information from the Chapel Web page.

In a letter to his congregation, the Rev. Philip Curran of the First Christian Church in Cape Girardeau called Lent "a time to prepare ourselves to say goodbye" to Christ.

Another source calls Lent a time of fasting that precedes Easter.

With so many interpretations of Lent, it's no wonder churches treat Lent differently.

The Rev. Grant Gillard, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, said that on a spectrum of the formal observance of Lent, with the Catholic church at the high end and the Baptist church, which doesn't observe Lent, at the low end, his church is about in the middle.

Baptists don't observe Lent because they don't believe there is any basis in the Scriptures for Lent and consider the observance situational ethics, according to a tract written by Dr. L.K. Landis.

Gillard said Presbyterians aren't "real big" on Lent, saying it's a man-made holiday. Presbyterians observe it kind of casually, they recognize the significance of Lent but don't find its full potential.

Presbyterians recognize Lent for people's sinfulness and weakness, Gillard said, adding that that's "really why Christ died," for man's sins. Easter is a joyous occasion for Presbyterians.

The Lutherans observe Lent on a voluntary basis, said the Rev. Barry Pfansteil, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Chapel in Cape Girardeau.

Pfansteil said that when an action is required it takes away from the spirit of the act, adding that between a third and a half of his congregation does something special for Lent. Members might spend extra time praying or reading the Bible. Others might visit or help someone in need.

At the Ash Wednesday service to begin the Lenten season, about 80 percent of those attending received the ashes, he said.

At First Christian, Curran not only sent a letter to encourage his congregation to participate in Lent, he included a daily prayer schedule, daily devotions and literature on abstinence and sacrifice.

The Rev. Scott Lohse of the New McKendree United Methodist Church of Jackson has used Lent to encourage members to perform and record daily acts of kindness.

He passed out small notebooks for church members to use as a diary to record the good deeds, asking them to return with the notebooks full on Easter. He admits he's not sure what kind of a response he will get.

Being kind is part of the reconciliation and redemption process, Lohse said.

Creating discipline

What Vatican II did, Wissman said, was recognize parishioners as adults and encouraged them to make their own rules beyond the rules prescribed by the church.

Vatican II maintained some rules on fasting and abstinence, which are forms of penance and are meant to change the inside of the heart, Wissman said.

Parishioners are encouraged to do the works of mercy during Lent, he said, adding: "It's not a time when Christians should be restraining themselves; it's a time for people to be the best Christians they can be. The internal being is important, not just the external."

The idea of giving up something for Lent is to share what was gained from what you gave up, Wissman said, telling the story of a monk who loved sausage and decided to give it up for Lent.

Sausage was the monk's favorite food, and to demonstrate his resolve, the monk hung the sausage where he would be constantly reminded of it and reject it. But the temptation became too great and the monk ate the sausage on Good Friday.

Wissman said, "Lent isn't to push yourself so far you fail. It is to clear your mind to see God better -- not to prove how strong you are. Giving up something is disciplining yourself for Easter."

Some Methodists practice fasting, Lohse said, adding that it's a way of adding discipline to their religion.

"It's meant to be sacrificial because of Christ's sacrifice," he said. Lent is a time to add some discipline to life.

Curran emphasizes that if a person is giving up something it helps them spiritually, and he encourages people to give up something for Lent.

The message of giving up something for Lent is for people to continually investigate their relationship with God and deepening that relationship, Curran said.

"Probably a lot of people don't challenge themselves enough," Wissman said about observing Lent. "God doesn't want an empty stomach; He wants your heart."

Lent isn't to prove "how wonderful you are by fasting or losing weight but how good God is," he said.

That goes along with the Catholic church's concept of the rice bowl where the money saved from giving up something special goes into a special ministry of the church.

Ready for baptism, confirmation

While there is a divergence in the observance of Lent, most Christian churches do hold some form of confirmation or baptism during Lent and the Easter season.

In the Catholic church it's called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in which people planning to join the church go through intensive study about the church.

At First Christian, nine children are attending six weeks of classes in preparation for baptism the Sunday following Easter. Those baptized will choose a mentor from the church to meet with monthly over the next year to discuss faith issues, Curran said.

Confirmation at Good Shepherd is a two-year program for sixth- and seventh-graders. The classes meet Tuesday nights beginning in September. Sixth-graders start the class, and when they become seventh-graders they are confirmed in the church on Palm Sunday. Eleven children will be confirmed on Palm Sunday, Pfansteil said.

At New McKendree two babies will be baptized on Easter, Lohse said, adding that Easter is meant to include all the sacraments.

New McKendree's confirmation class consists of 21 sixth- and seventh-graders who began their study in January. The class runs a semester into April.

A part of the confirmation class is to travel to a synagogue in Carbondale, Ill., where members of the class will take part in a Jewish service.

Lohse said the goal is to remind class members that Christian traditions have a background in the Jewish religion.

Rhythm of church's life

Tradition is a big reason Christian churches observe Lent.

The goal of Lent in the Methodist church is to take the church through the life of Christ during the year. It is an appreciation of a Protestant tradition.

The calendar of the church gives rhythm to the church's life, Curran said of why First Christian observes Lent. In the course of the year, the calendar takes the church from the birth, to the betrayal, to the death and resurrection, to the ascension of Christ.

Pfansteil said the church maintains the important history of the season that the early church developed.

Just as moods for various seasons of the year vary, he said, seasons of the church's year are moods and times of emphasis.

The seasons of the church are times of emphasis on the certain moods of the church, he said.

During Lent the passion narratives from the suffering portions of the gospel are read, the music is solemn and in minor key, Pfansteil said. At times the mood is maudlin and somber.

Lent is Pfansteil's favorite season because it reminds him of his need for salvation and of God's grace and love.

"Lent is preparing for Easter, and for me, is a powerful season," he said.

Lent is a time of simplicity for Gillard, a time for people to take stock of themselves. It's a time before people can say "Wow!" when Easter and the resurrection are celebrated.

Curran calls Lent a period of self-examination and repentance that reminds people of things in their lives that need to be "burnt to ashes," that need to be moved out so God "can more fully take up residence" in their lives.

It also reminds people of Christ's dying and of his salvation, Curran said.

In the Catholic church, there are no flowers on the altar during Lent, and the word hallelujah is not spoken. People do without until Easter.

Lent is the preparation for Easter. "It's a way of putting off the gratification that Easter brings," Wissman said.