Episode 264: Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras

Increasingly in church communities, people are familiar with Ash Wednesday as the beginning of the season of Lent for Christians, with its somber call to repentance and fasting, and the characteristic ashes marked on people's foreheads.  And even more well-known are the festivities around the world on the day before known as Mardi Gras, Carnival, Fat Tuesday, or--slightly less well-known--Shrove Tuesday.  People have a hunch that these two days are connected somehow, but that backstory isn't always easy to tease out.  So in this episode, on the day before Lent begins, pastor Sarah, Steve, and Erica will be taking a look at this day on the calendar, its history, and where we might find glimpses of grace between pancakes and bacon, beads in New Orleans, and the ashes to come.  Check out this week's Crazy Faith Talk!