
As attendees enter the Mardi Gras Jazz Luncheon & Lenten Reflection, they will be welcomed by a jazz band quartet. The attendees will begin the Lenten Reflection by literally donning a mask. This mask will represent the figurative mask that people wear. Lead pastor, the Rev. Christopher Wurpts, will offer up a Lenten Reflection that will suggest that everyone take off their masks. These are the figurative masks of self-deception, self-control, as well as the literal masks people are wearing. The reflective prayer will ask people to lay down the things that keep them from connecting to God.
After the opening reflection the attendees will enjoy live jazz music and partake in a traditional New Orleans’s meal of homemade gumbo and Popeye’s chicken. The meal will end with King’s cake, New Orleans style.
Lent is the period of 40 days which precedes Easter in the Christian calendar. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days.
Come celebrate with pre-Lenten merriment!