On Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 25, Union United Church of Christ, Neffs, will host a free pancake supper with the menu including not only pancakes, but sausage, applesauce and fastnachts as well.

Youth of the church will help serve the meal which begins at 6 p.m.

Shrove Tuesday is traditionally a time for merry making and eating before the penitential season of Lent.

On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, all are welcome to stop by the church office during the day for ashes and a blessing from the pastors.

Worship times are noon to 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for a quiet time of prayer, communion, and distribution of ashes.

***

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Laurys Station, will have a 7:30 p.m. Ash Wednesday service on Feb. 26.

On that evening, a special offering will be accepted for Heifer International, a program which seeks to reduce world hunger through farming.

Through Heifer International, a needy family is given an animal such as a cow.

The recipients use the milk, breed the animal and donate the offspring to another family in need.

This procedure is done with a wide variety of animals depending on the climate and circumstances.

***

Union Lutheran Church, Schnecksville, has scheduled services at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Ash Wednesday.

In a recent message, Pastor Gordon Camp reported a study from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health that found youth who were raised with religious practices tend to have better physical and mental health as they age than those who did not have church experiences.

“If church attendance and prayer can keep our kids healthier as they age, then surely they have the same effect on adults,” Camp said.

The pastor added more comments on the benefits of church going.

“It helps individuals to think better thoughts. It gives language to nobler things. It exposes us to principles that we don’t get anywhere else.

“In the face of all that’s broken and bad in our world, let’s make sure we expose ourselves to things of love, goodness, truth, and beauty.”