For many area Episcopalians, pancakes were the centerpiece for last night’s menu.

The tradition, known as Shrove Tuesday, happens each year on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and is a time of confessing sins and asking for absolution in preparation for the Lenten season.

The Rev. Margaret Ayers of St. Mary’s said the point of Lent is to bring people closer to God.

“Lent is reminiscent of the 40 days that Jesus was out in the wilderness, which is tied to the 40 years the Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness,” she said. “They had to give up things to get closer to God, and that’s what we do.”

Ayers explained people can either give something up or take something on as spiritual discipline.

“You’re doing things for others or just separating yourself from things so you can take away the things that distract you,” she said.

Mariam Richardson gives up sweets and bread every year, and this year she plans to take on daily Lenten readings.

“We can never sacrifice like Christ sacrificed, so these are just sacrifices to keep him in the forefront of our minds,” she said. “That’s all you can do.”

Richardson attends Church of the Holy Trinity, but she and her family have been attending the pancake dinner at Christ Episcopal since the moved to Vicksburg from Baton Rouge, La. more than 20 years ago.

“When (Richardson’s son Jack) was about two or three, he said he was giving up ketchup,” she said. “We said, ‘Jack, you hate ketchup,’ and he said, ‘I know.’”

Since then, Jack has come to terms with making a sacrifice for Lent, and this year he said he’s giving up sodas and fast food.

For Carolyn Bradford, this Lent was about giving up her beloved chips. Bradford attends Bethel A.M.E. and was visiting St. Mary’s with a friend.

“I eat Lays barbecue and plain,” she said, adding she thought she could make it 40 days. “I’ve got a substitute. I’m going to eat an apple every night when I feel that urge coming on.”

Jennifer Harper said rather than giving something up, she plans to lift up her seniors at the Senior Center where she is the director.

“I see so many of them struggling, and getting to know them personally, I can’t really benefit by giving something up, but I can benefit by getting personal. I feel good about it.”

Harper attends St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Bovina, but said she was out at St. Mary’s to support another area Episcopal church.

One of Harper’s seniors and St. Mary’s member Eunice Lewis said she was planning to read the Bible more.

“I’m going to try to stay awake long enough to read the Bible,” she said. “I go to sleep every time I start, so I’m trying hard to stay awake.

Norman Francingues of Christ Episcopal said he was giving up his favorite drink, single malt scotch, for Lent.

“It’s a tradition,” he said. “You do it every year because it’s something that you really like, so if you can do without it, that’s OK.”

Francingues said for a Cajun, it’s hard to give up.

“This is sipping whiskey,” he said. “Once a week, my buddy and I always have one or two and socialize. He actually gives it up too because he doesn’t have anyone to drink it with.”

Still others like Sandra Cason at St. Mary’s hadn’t decided by the pancake dinner.

“I’ve been thinking about it, but I’ve got until midnight,” she said.

In the past, Cason said she’s given up sodas, but she’s never made it all 40 days.

“It’s hard. It’s very hard,” she said. “It’s like in the beginning of the year when you make resolutions to do this and this and then all of the sudden within three or four weeks you slip back into your old ways.”