Shrove Tuesday Traditions Continue to Serve Our Community

This Tuesday Christian people around the world will celebrate the beginning of the Lenten season under a variety of names. In most English speaking countries the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is known as “Shrove Tuesday” from the Old English word “Shrive” which referred to one’s confession of their sins. Due to the influence of the French, the day is also known as “Mardi Gras” or “Fat Tuesday”. Since the Middle Ages this was the day that cupboards were cleared of the fat, rich foods which would not be eaten during the 40 day long fasting season of Lent leading up to Easter Sunday. In England the day also became known as “Pancake Day” as pancakes were a dish prepared with the eggs, fat, and sugar which would not be eaten for the next 40 days.

Come this Shrove Tuesday, February 12th, St. John’s Episcopal Church, at 515 W. Beech, invites the community to come and join in its annual Pancake Supper and Silent Auction from 5-7pm. The cost is free, although donations will be accepted. The funds raised from this annual event help to serve a variety of community outreach programs. Each year St. John’s sponsors several families during the Christmas holidays to help ensure that hot dinners will be served to their families. The Church congregation also actively contributes to the food bank at St. William’s Catholic Church helping to provide food relief throughout the year. Lunches are sponsored several times a year at Southeastern University’s Wesleyan Center for students craving a bit of Christian fellowship and a hot, home cooked meal while they are away from home. One of the most touching community outreach programs of St. John’s is the Guild of the Christ Child. The Guild of the Christ Child provides care packages filled with a variety of items ranging from baby blankets to bibs that are given to new mothers of need at the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma. The goal of the Guild of the Christ Child is that every newborn be welcomed and received into this world embraced with warmth and love. Bishop Andrew Doyle wrote recently that, “The Episcopal Church welcomes all and we have a tradition of putting into action the words of Isaiah, which Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18-19): ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’” Come and celebrate the tradition of pancakes this Shrove Tuesday and enjoy the richness of St. John’s cupboards as the Church in turn strives to serve and enrich the community.

For information call 560-924-1332.