The St. Barnabas Choir will once again host the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper in the undercroft on Tuesday, March 5, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Come join us for good food, fun, fellowship, and an all-around good time! Costs are $6 for adults, $3 for children, with a family maximum of $20. The money raised goes to the Music Fund which benefits the entire music program for the church.
So what does "Shrove" mean? Shrove is the past tense of shrive, which means to gain absolution of sins by confession and repentance. Shrove Tuesday originated during the Middle Ages. Food items like meats, fats, eggs, and milk were regarded as restricted during Lent. To keep such food from being wasted, families would have big feasts on Shrove Tuesday in order to consume those items that would inevitably become spoiled during the next forty days. The English tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday came about as a way to use as much milk, fats, and eggs as possible before Ash Wednesday began. In France, the consumption of all fats and fatty foods on this day coined the name "Fat Tuesday" or Mardi Gras.