Gather your family members and friends to enjoy the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church Hayesville on Tuesday, March 4, between 5 and 7 p.m. Then join us on Ash Wednesday to usher in the Lenten season.

The supper menu of made-from-scratch buttermilk pancakes, Jimmy Dean sausage, applesauce, juice, coffee and tea will be offered for $5.00 for those ages 12 and older and $2.50 for children 11 and younger. Proceeds will benefit Hayesville youth activities.

Good Shepherd's pancake supper is put on by the young men of the Order of St. George and the youth of the Lifesavers group. The church's young people will serve the tables. There will be plenty of room and parking.

The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, which began in the Middle Ages, is still observed throughout the Christian world. Pancakes were cooked in order to clear the larder of milk, fat, and meat on the day before Ash Wednesday. The solemn day of Ash Wednesday ushers in the penitential season of Lent, the forty days and nights before the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday.

Good Shepherd will observe Ash Wednesday with services at noon and 7 p.m. In addition, the church will offer “Ashes to Go” between 7 and 8 a.m. in the church courtyard for those people who would like the imposition of ashes on their way to work or school. All are welcome.