PHOTOS: Ash Wednesday at St. David's

Christians around the world begin Lent today, a period of fasting, prayer and repentence.

St. David's Episcopal Church has three services for Ash Wednesday today with the Imposition of Ashes and the Holy Eucharist. The first was a 7 a.m., the second at 9:30 and the last at 7 p.m.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar and this year, Lent ends on Saturday, March 30 and is followed by Easter Sunday.

According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.

Www.catholicism.about.com says Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.

At Masses and services of worship on this day, ashes are imposed on the foreheads of the faithful (or on the tonsure spots, in the case of some clergy). The priest, minister, or in some cases officiating layperson, marks the forehead of each participant with black ashes in the sign of the cross, which the worshipper traditionally retains until it wears off.

Check the Ledyard Patch directory for a listing of churches in Ledyard and Gales Ferry.