What better way to kick off the season of Lent than with a pancake and sausage potluck supper, beautiful beads, and an amazing candlelit labyrinth?  On Tuesday, February 9th – the night before Lent began on Ash Wednesday – 20 children and their parents joined us in North Hall for a Shrove Tuesday celebration and introduction to Lent.  After a short talk about the season of Lent and a delicious meal of pancakes, sausage, and fruit (do you know why we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?), we introduced our exploration stations: Lenten prayer bead-making, coloring of a big poster with the message “Listen,” and a walk through a candlelit labyrinth with a blessing of ashes at the end.  Our beads help us to count the 40 days and six Sundays of Lent, with themes and prayers for each Sunday: Listen, Sorry, Kindness, Fear, Hope, and Love.  Many children (and parents!) walked our labyrinth several times without shoes and in silence, eager to get another ash blessing on foreheads and hands, finishing the evening with many ash crosses all over their bodies! The intergenerational mix of adults and children engaged in all activities was a joy to watch, and we all left the event feeling full of food, fellowship, and faith, and ready to begin this new season of Lent together.