A time of sacrifice: Catholics, Protestants recognize season of Lent

Some weeks ago, she decided she wanted to have a dinner party. It had been too long since she had seen her friends.

But when the Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler looked at the calendar, she remembered, oh yes, Ash Wednesday was approaching. She realized she wouldn't be partying with friends until after Easter.

Lent is the 40-day period preceding Easter Sunday. Many Christian churches take part in this collective remembrance of the events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Over her lifetime in the Episcopal faith, the Rev. Nestler says she has seen little change in the way Lent is observed within her church. Then, as now, it is a time for solemnity. Episcopalians usually won't schedule a wedding during Lent, she explains. Attendance at the Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services is high, as it always has been.

Even in families where Lent is not discussed much, she has no doubt that the children are thinking about what they've heard in Sunday School, are thinking about Christ's sacrifices and are, with no fanfare, making sacrifices of their own.

"Lent is so much a part of who we are as Episcopalians," she says. Yet, she also believes the secular world is changing, in regards to Lent.

The stores are increasingly full of baskets and candy, she says. At the community center where she exercises, the Rev. Nestler saw a sign advertising an Easter egg hunt for children that was to be held on March 21, which is Good Friday.

Good Friday is not a day for celebration, she points out. In her home, eggs are dyed, with little fanfare, on Saturday. Then, on Easter Sunday, comes the egg hunt, the huge dinner, the glorious singing, the joy of the resurrection.

The Rev. Nestler explains that Catholics, Lutherans and Episcopalians long have observed Lent in the same way. If you were to visit any of these churches during Lent, you would hear much the same liturgy.

This year, the solemnity of the season was in the news because, for the first time since 1940, St. Patrick's Day falls during the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. March 17, this year, comes on the Monday of what many Christians consider to be the holiest week of the year.

Parade organizers in many