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.