Lent 2024: Resources for Living in Faith
“The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self-giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, you are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life.” —from the invitation to “Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent”
New for 2024: A Word from Bishop Rob on Good Friday Liturgies
At the Clergy Conference in October 2023, we were privileged to hear from the Rev. Dr. Dan Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, an Episcopal priest who is now the director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College. At that conference, we discussed the legacy of antisemitism in the Christian Church and how that legacy is still evident in our lectionary and worship, especially in our Holy Week liturgies.
I want to be sure that the clergy preparing our worship services leading up to Easter this year know that they have my permission, allowed by resolution of our General Convention, to use the alternative Good Friday liturgical texts. These resources were developed by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas while Dr. Joslyn-Siemiatkoski was on the faculty of the Seminary of the Southwest.
You can access the texts and Gospel for these liturgies here:
May Jesus, the source of all healing and life, be made known to our worshippers this Lent and through the upcoming Holy Week.
In Christ,
+Rob
Congregations and faith communities: Are you making plans to offer a shared Lent program for your community? The first set of resources below are well suited for use by congregations and other groups who plan to travel through Lent together. (Confirm delivery dates with publishers, plan to order early, and/or consider digital delivery options.)
Individuals and households: Are you looking for a guide along your personal Lenten journey, or for your household’s or family’s path? The second set of resources below work well in that context.
No matter what your context, please review all that’s offered here: many resources will adapt to larger or smaller numbers of participants.
Scroll through for Passiontide & Holy Week resources.
Questions, reactions, or recommendations? Please contact Dean of Formation and Vocation, the Rev. Canon Kelly Sundberg Seaman.
You are invited to visit this page often to see what new ideas and resources have been added.
Resources for congregations and faith communities
A full range of resources from The Episcopal Church, including links to “Life Transformed – The Way of Love in Lent,” a “Becoming Beloved Community” Lent curriculum, and “Journey to the Cross,” the Lent series of d365, a daily devotion written for youth and adults. Click here.
The Way of Love
Lent Course: Life Transformed—The Way of Love in Lent. Course sessions connect scripture readings from the Easter Vigil to the seven practices of the Way of Love. Offered in two formats: arranged for weekly sessions and as a day-long retreat. Resources also include a downloadable calendar with daily practices, scripture passages, and reflection questions for Ash Wednesday through Easter 2022 Click here.
Weekly “Life Transformed” bulletin inserts include daily prompts from “Living the Way of Love” by Mary Bea Sullivan (Church Publishing, 2019) Click here.
Living Compass
“Order our Lent devotional as a printed booklet in English and Spanish while supplies last. Download our Lent devotional as a free PDF file in English and Spanish. Download our Lent Facilitator Guide with additional prayers, quotes, and Scripture verses. This guide is great for leading retreats and small groups, as well as an enrichment for individuals.” Click here.
Salt
Creative Lenten resources—many rooted in art, poetry, and the natural world—for groups and individuals. Click here.
Building Faith
Lent resources, many with an all-age/intergenerational focus, from this ministry of the Virginia Theological Seminary. Click here for access to Building Faith’s seasonal archive.
Forward Movement
Search the publisher’s website for seasonal books and devotionals. Click here.
Lent Madness
This light-hearted exploration of the lives of the saints modeled on sports tournament brackets asks each year, “Who will win the Golden Halo”? (Offered through Forward Movement.) Click here.
Church Publishing Company
Search the publisher’s website for seasonal books and devotionals. Click here.
Resources for individuals and households
Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day at home
from Lily Lewin, Free Range worship. Click here.
Ash Wednesday Bonfire at Home
from Building Faith at Virginia Theological Seminary. Click here.
Weekly Lenten Sunday Worship with the SpiritBound Digital Mission Sundays at 7 pm
You can join the livestream of Gathering the Spiritually Curious on Sunday Evenings for the Season of Lent Worship weekly at 7 pm via Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/DigitalMissionNH.
The Way of Love
Lent Course: “Life Transformed—The Way of Love in Lent.” Course sessions, which tie scripture readings from the Easter Vigil to the seven practices of the Way of Love, work for individual study and mediation as well as for small group use. Way of Love in Lent resources also include a downloadable calendar with daily practices, scripture passages, and reflection questions for Ash Wednesday through Easter 2024. Click here.
Edible Theology
“Bake with the Bible,” a Lent-appropriate curriculum co-written by NH’s Linnae Himsl Peterson, plus other food-focused, interactive resources for mixing bread baking into Lenten spiritual practice. Click here.
Daily Lenten meditations
Subscribe and/or download for daily messages and meditations.
Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE): “For Lent, the Brothers of SSJE invite you to take on a simple practice that draws on the rhythm and richness of the monastic life – yet fits into your day. ‘Brother, Give Us a Word’ has been helping people to start the day with prayer for over a decade. Click here. This Lent, the Brothers are offering “In the Midst,” five mediations to hear, read, or watch. Click here.
Episcopal Relief and Development: “Psalm 51:10 reads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” Reflect on your newness in Christ as you journey through Episcopal Relief & Development's Lenten Meditations, written by Miguel Escobar, and discover new ways your faith is guiding you through the world.” Click here.
Living Compass: “Living Well Through Lent 2024: Practicing Forgiveness With All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind. You will receive 47 daily emails, one for each day of Lent, plus Easter. The emails will begin on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024.” Downloadable resources suitable for individuals and groups include a Lent Facilitator Guide with additional prayers, quotes, and Scripture verses. Click here.
Weekly reflections for Lent from the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire
A seven-part series of videos and text. Made here in NH for 2021, these reflections are evergreen. Return to them this year or experience them for the first time. Click here for the playlist.
For Passiontide and Holy Week
Stations of the Cross: Images, poetry & prayers from poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama
A 20-minute video made for Good Friday 2020. Click here.
The Visual Commentary on Scripture: Themes for Passiontide and Easter
“Holy Week and Easter rehearse Christianity’s great exodus narrative, in which the tribulations of an enslaved people are relived in the sufferings of one man. His going through the ‘deep waters’ of death recalls the ancient Israelites’ passing through the Red Sea, and the morning of the resurrection marks the glorious dawn of liberty after captivity. These exhibitions illuminate the journey of Christ to the cross, to the dead, and into the glory of a new creation.” Click here
(The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS) is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art. It helps its users to (re)discover the Bible in new ways through the illuminating interaction of artworks, scriptural texts, and commissioned commentaries.)
The Way of the Cross: Resources from Building Faith
Finding The Way of The Cross in Nature: “These guides provide children and adults a way to discover that the story of Good Friday and the cross is written into the natural world about them if they only know where to look! “Stations” are very common natural occurrences and not hard to spot – such as a flower or fallen log. The guide allows the experience of the stations to be self-directed and done at one’s own pace. Each station includes a relevant scripture passage, a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, and a reflection question. In the children’s guide, each station has a summary of the story of the station, a sentence from scripture, a simple prayer, a wondering question, and a simple activity for an embodied response.” Click here
Way of the Cross Video Reflection: “The Department of Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary is pleased to offer a video version of The Way of the Cross and a reflection guide in both English and Spanish. Through scripture, art, and music, the video invites us to walk with Christians of every generation on a virtual pilgrimage, meditating on our Lord’s passion and death. Permission is granted for unlimited use of this video.” Click here