How to get to St. Peter's Westfield.

Our church is located on the Park, just east of the intersection of Routes 20 and 394 in Westfield, NY. There is free public parking on the street in front of the church on Main Street (Rt. 20) and beside the church on Elm Street as well as a public lot across Elm Street from the Church.

From Buffalo: Take Interstate 90 West to the Westfield/Rt. 394 Exit. After the toll both you will come to a stop sign. At the stop sign turn left and go two traffic lights (the first is a blinking light). At the second light, turn left. Turn right at the first street (Elm) and the church is the second building on the right.

From Erie, PA: Take Interstate 90 East to the Westfield, NY/Rt. 394 exit. From this point on, please follow the directions above for Buffalo.

From the south side of Jamestown: Take NY Route 394 west approximately 25 miles to the light at Route 20. Turn right onto Route in the Village of Westfield then follow as above.

From the north side of Jamestown: Take Interstate 86 west towards Erie, PA. Exit Interstate 86 at the Route 394 exit at Stow just after going over Chautauqua Lake. At the stop sign at the end of the exit turn right. Follow Route 394 west approximately 16 miles to the light at Route 20. Turn right onto Route in the Village of Westfield then follow as above.

Some Episcopalian Vocabulary

Lent

Early Christians observed "a season of penitence and fasting" in preparation for the Paschal feast, or Pascha (BCP, pp. 264-265). The season now known as Lent (from an Old English word meaning "spring," the time of lengthening days) has a long history. Originally, in places where Pascha was celebrated on a Sunday, the Paschal feast followed a fast of up to two days. In the third century this fast was lengthened to six days. Eventually this fast became attached to, or overlapped, another fast of forty days, in imitation of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. The forty-day fast was especially important for converts to the faith who were preparing for baptism, and for those guilty of notorious sins who were being restored to the Christian assembly. In the western church the forty days of Lent extend from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, omitting Sundays. The last three days of Lent are the sacred Triduum of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Today Lent has reacquired its significance as the final preparation of adult candidates for baptism. Joining with them, all Christians are invited "to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word" (BCP, p. 265).