Whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome in this place!
Our Mission: To Welcome All People, Share Christ's Love for One Another, and Help to Make Christ Visible in Daily Life
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Jerusalem Western Salisbury
3441 Devonshire Road
Allentown, PA 18103
Church Contact Information
Office: 610-797-4242 or 610-791-4979
Fax: 610-797-2899
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Cemetery-Related Questions
Robert Eisenhard
Office: 610-797-0396
Email: robertjwsc@gmail.com
We will again celebrate "Shrove Tuesday" here at JWS on Tuesday, February 9, at 5:30 PM in the downstairs fellowship hall with a supper (sausage, potatoes and green beans) provided by our Fellowship Committee. The meal will be followed by fellowship time and brief worship service.
Shrove Tuesday is not a title that we officially find on our Liturgical (church) Calendar, but it is one that has come into common usage in many places. The terms "shrove" or "shriven" are words that meant having your sins forgiven in the sacrament of reconciliation. It used to be a custom in many areas for Roman Catholics to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation the day before Lent began, which is where we get the term Shrove Tuesday. This celebration is always held on the last day of the season of Epiphany and the day before the beginning of Lent. This term is now used by people of all denominations to describe the day before Ash Wednesday, together with Mardi Gras, Carnivale, and other regional designations. Shrove Tuesday is a day in which it is traditional to eat foods that use up milk, eggs, and other products that in the past people abstained from eating during Lent, and to have a final celebration before the solemn time of Lent.
In our area, the Pennsylvania Germans call it Fastnacht Day. Traditionally, the Pennsylvania Dutch made Fastnachts on this day to get rid of the rich lard and sugar before the beginning of Lent, when these things were supposed to be given up as a sacrifice. Eating a fastnacht on this day was also supposed to bring good luck to the person who ate it. Fastnachts today come in a variety of forms, but traditionally they were square with a slit cut into them. The doughnut form with the hole in it has become the more popular version in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Join us for this event, where you can have your fill of fastnachts and enjoy the new "Best Apron Contest" (be sure to bring yours along) and the annual "Fastnacht Flipping Relay Race."
Please RSVP to the church office if you plan to attend: 610-797-4242 or 610-791-4979.
Spencer Schade and Karen Jensen running in the annual "Fastnacht Flipping Relay Race" in 2015
