SSJE | Rows of Sharon

Lent is just a week away, so hopefully your congregation has planned the programming and ordered the needed resources. But perhaps it came up on you too quickly or you are looking for a personal resource for devotion on your own.

Download these ideas I put together for Church Publishing’s In Service e-newsletter for February 2016: ChristianFormationIdeasLentYearC

Below are the resources I will personally be using this year. Brand new (for 2016), you may also want to consider them – there is still time!

Under the Fig Tree: Visual Prayers and Poems for Lent by Roger Hutchison is a short little book with an image and reflection for each day of Lent. Scripture verses are offered for each of the 40+ days also if you desire to dig deeper into the scripture that Roger focused on in creating his painting and poem. Continue reading Lent Picks for 2016 →

There are plenty of great ideas created by others for delving deeper into the meaning of Lent and making a space at home and church for reflecting on this penitential season. Here are some of my favorites!

Lent in a Bag by Shawn Schreiner and Vicki Garvey involves distributing small bags (cloth, paper, or ziplock bags) with symbols of the season to assist individuals and families in practicing Lent at home. In addition to the items, you can include instructions, and reflections (on purple paper of course) to go with each item.

Lenten Giving Calendar for 2015 from Jenifer Gamber offers a colorful poster to download and print (free!). Jenifer shares, this Lenten Giving Calendar is an opportunity to practice the act of giving. Each day the calendar invites you to acknowledge and give thanks for God’s abundance in your life and return that abundance in gratitude as a gift of pennies, nickels, and quarters to others. This Lent, let’s clean house, replacing habits that keep us from new life in Christ to a practice of gratitude and giving. Continue reading More Links for Lent →