Methuen Parish uses wristband to mark Lent

By Yadira Betances
Staff Writer

METHUEN — Silicone wristbands in yellow, pink, purple and orange adorn the arms of people of all ages to promote awareness of different illnesses and issues.

Now, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish wants to use them to highlight the season of Lent.

“The bracelet is a sign, a visual and a witness for others to learn what Lent is,” said the Rev. Bill Waters, pastor of the Roman Catholic church.

While parishioners receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads today, on Sunday, parishioners will be given purple wristbands imprinted with the words, “OLGC (Our Lady of Good Counsel) Lenten Renewal.”

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of reflection and repentance leading to Easter, which will be celebrated April 16. The ashes come from the burning of palm fronds given on Palm Sunday last year.

“The ashes wear off,” Waters said. “When we wear (the bracelet), it serves as a reminder of our focus, prayer and how to be different from now to Easter.”

The idea for the bracelets came during a meeting three weeks ago, when a committee planning Lenten activities was looking for a theme, said Mark Friedrich, director of religious education at Our Lady of Good Counsel, which draws members from Greater Lawrence and Salem, N.H.

“I think it’s great because purple is the color of Lent,” Friedrich said.

Parishioners such as Arthur Brien of Lawrence like the idea of wearing the bracelets throughout Lent.

“It will be a wonderful reminder that we’re in the midst of this wonderful season in preparation for Easter,” Brien said. “Hopefully, it will make us think of prayer, fasting and almsgiving more than we usually do.”

In addition to the bracelets, church members will receive prayer stones, which they will exchange with fellow parishioners as a reminder to pray for each other.

“By having the stone in your pocket or on your bureau at home, you can have a moment of prayer you have not thought of,” Brien said. “It helps us build community and helps us realize that we’re in this journey together and it makes Lent that much richer.”

Unity is a theme at many local Protestant churches as they get together with other congregations to celebrate the beginning of Lent.

In Derry, N.H., St. Luke United Methodist will worship with parishioners from Londonderry United Methodist Church; in Haverhill, Good Shepherd United Methodist joins members of First Church of Christ in Bradford and First Congregational.

The same collaboration between denominations will happen in Methuen.

The Revs. Sharon Holt and Linda Kreil of Methuen will join their congregations at a service of anointment and communion today at First Church, Congregational. Holt is pastor of First Baptist Church, and Kreil is pastor of First Church, Congregational.

“Ash Wednesday, it’s a great day to honor the beginning of Lent,” said Holt. “Protestant churches have overlooked it, but we’re beginning to be more sensitized and focusing more on it.”