Have you thought about journeying through Lent differently this year? Maybe you are adding an Ash Wednesday service or weekly prayer and worship as we journey to the cross together, in person or digitally this year.
While some are back to meeting, at some level, in person, many are still predominantly online. Take time to see how you might expand your normal Lenten activities during this continued season of separation. Here are some ideas and resources for your Lenten season as we journey together towards Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday!
St. Luke’s Midland shared great resources of how they are re-creating their Lenten season. After adapting their Advent Journey to an outdoor event, Rhonda Becker, Evangelism and Outreach Ministries, knew they needed to create a new meaningful way to remember and assist those during the Lenten season. Based on Matthew 25:35-36, she created different ways for the church to participate in a church-wide fast throughout Lent.
They will kick off with a pancake supper on Shrove Tuesday but with a new twist. They filled Mardi-Gras themed bags for people to take home with pancake mix, a small bottle of syrup, Mardi-Gras beads, game suggestions for families or small groups, and a booklet containing a Shrove Tuesday prayer, scripture, devotion focus, and action throughout the six weeks of Lent. The Lenten activities conclude with a Stations of the Cross for Good Friday. These resources are below for you to use in your congregations as well! What a great way to journey to the cross as a church body together and at home.
Download these resources from St. Luke’s Midland!
Here are some other ideas on how you can help your congregation journey through Lent at home!
Lent in A Bag
Prepare a bag filled with symbols of the season to assist those practicing Lent at home. Here are some things you can fill in your bag from Building Faith - A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary
Instruction Sheet
“Here are two suggestions for using the contents of this bag:
1. Choose one night of the week and invite those around your table to pick one of the symbols as a starting point for conversation for the whole group, including children.
2. For your own devotion, daily or weekly, choose one of the symbols for your own reflection as you make your way through the season of Lent.”
Sand
Place a sealable baggie filled with sand. Include the following (or similar) reflection:
“Just between his baptism and the beginning of his adult ministry, Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days, ‘to be tested’. What constitutes wilderness in your life? What have you learned there? What might you learn there?”
Rock
Place a rock inside the bag. Include the following (or similar) reflection:
“While in the wilderness, Jesus was invited to transform stone into bread. Though he resisted the temptation there and then, he became justly renowned for feeding people who were hungry for food, or for love, or for a word of encouragement, or for simple acceptance. Might there be a stony place in you that needs transforming? Some attitude or habit that, with a little attention, might even become a gift for you and others?”
Human Figure
Use a clothespin or wooden figure. Place inside the bag with the following (or similar) reflection:
“Because Jesus was, as we confess, fully human, he gets us, understands us from inside our skin, and knows from experience that we’re each capable of great things, Godly things. And no matter what we do, he keeps on inviting us to join us in his work which has become our own. As you enter this Lent, what might you plan to do over these 40 days so that come Easter you will more closely reflect the Christ who lives in and through you?”
Candle
Place a candle inside the bag. Include the following (or similar) reflection:
“Lent begins in the dimness of late winter and ends with the burst of bright spring. Jesus is, according to John’s gospel, ‘The Light of the World’ and that Light insists: ‘You are the light of the world. Don’t be hiding under some bushel basket.’ So where do you shine? How do you keep your light lit?”
Make A Circular Lent Wreath
If you love gathering around the Advent wreath during the Christmas season, then consider making a circular Lent Wreath. Or make take-home kits of these for your church families to take home with daily scripture or devotion focus. Include Lenten symbols in the wreath like purple cloth, burlap, rocks, candles etc.
This blog shares how to make one from molding clay. You could also use tea lights or small candle holders to hold the stones. Or just lay the stones down along the path each day.
Simple Family Plan
Here’s a quick but creative way for your church families to celebrate Lent at home and during the week.
Use Candles
Follow a Lenten wreath or make up your own candle pattern to journey through the season.
Do Something Daily
Do some candle lighting, story reading, special food or craft, or prayer activities.
Talk About Jesus … Like, Out Loud
Do the people in your life know why you follow Jesus? Create space to talk about it!
Try Lenten Meals
Try a weekly simple meal where you donate the money you save or cook extra to give away.
Engage All The Senses
Light candles, make a gratitude wall or prayer tree, watch videos that bring the Bible to life, act out stories about Jesus, use a big map to pray for the world.
Recruit A Team
Lent has always been a community activity so if you can’t do it together in person, gather digitally!
Share the Love
Make sure your Lent practice is focused outwards as well as inwards.
Grab other Lenten and Easter Resources from Resource UMC!
My favorite Easter tradition from my childhood was counting down to Easter during Holy Week with the Resurrection Eggs! Here is a great blog post on how to put these together.
This at home Station of the Cross display is so beautiful! You can grab in on Etsy through the link below or recreate your own. I just couldn’t help but share it.