{"id":13169,"date":"2026-02-07T11:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T19:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mem-umc.org\/mem-umc\/?p=13169"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:38:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:38:05","slug":"ash-wednesday-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mem-umc.org\/mem-umc\/ash-wednesday-2026","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A Circuit<\/abbr> Ecumenical Service<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

February 18 at 7pm<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

First Congregational Church (UCC)
\n<\/strong><\/span>also known as the Big Red Church<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2131 N. Van Ness Blvd,
\nFresno CA 93704<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

ASH WEDNESDAY AT MEMORIAL<\/abbr><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday, February 18 at 1 pm<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Memorial<\/abbr> UMC<\/abbr> will hold a simple 30 minute service for the imposition of ashes by <\/span>Pastor Falamao Samate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Through the\u00a0service of ashes<\/a>\u00a0on the first day of Lent, we come before God recognizing our humanity, repenting of our sin, and remembering\u00a0who we are and who we can be<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Christian season called Lent. Lent originated in the 4th century, and was initially a time of preparation for those being baptized at Easter.\u00a0The ashes symbolize our humility before God, and our recognition that we are mortal.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is a time when we reflect on what we need to change in our lives in order to live responsibly and lovingly as a member of the created world. We look more deeply at the observance of Lent over the next 40 days, take a fearless moral inventory of our lives, and look for ways to find more love, peace, and fulfillment in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Last updated: February 20, 2026 at 11:38 am<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Circuit<\/abbr> Ecumenical Service February 18 at 7pm First Congregational Church (UCC) also known as the Big Red Church 2131 N. Van Ness Blvd, Fresno CA 93704 ASH WEDNESDAY AT MEMORIAL<\/abbr> Wednesday, February 18 at 1 pm Memorial<\/abbr> UMC<\/abbr> will hold a simple 30 minute service for the imposition of ashes by Pastor Falamao Samate. […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,44,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-what-happened-event-over","category-announcements","category-special-services","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t