Resources for Lent

Lent is a season of preparation—an intentional, prayerful journey with Jesus toward Easter. Whether you’re brand new to Lent or returning with fresh hunger, we’ve gathered resources to help you take a next step.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 days, Lent is a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter. It mirrors Jesus’ forty days of fasting and testing in the wilderness—and invites us to re-center our hearts through classic Christian practices like prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.

A simple way to think about it:

• Advent prepares us for Christmas
• Lent prepares us for Easter

Not sure where to start? Choose one practice that feels doable, and commit to it with gentleness and consistency.

This Lent, we’ll study N. T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope, a powerful guide to Christian hope rooted in the resurrection—hope that shapes both our future and how we live right now.

What we’ll explore:

• What Christians mean by resurrection (and why it matters)
• How “hope” isn’t escapism—it forms faithful, courageous discipleship
• How Easter changes ordinary life: work, justice, prayer, and love

Details
Dates: Sundays from Feb. 22 to March 29
Time: 9:15 AM
Location: Upstairs classroom at Central Commons
How to join: Just come join us! No advance reading required.

Spiritual direction is a simple, powerful way to pay attention to God’s presence in your real life. A spiritual director offers a safe, gracious, confidential space to notice what’s happening in your soul, name what you’re longing for, and discern where God may be drawing you.
It’s also intentionally unhurried—because God’s transforming work is often slower and deeper than we expect.

Fasting is one of the Church’s historic gifts—an embodied way to pray, repent, and re-order our desires. In the words of Anglican Compass, Lent is commonly practiced through prayer and fasting as a season of preparation—remembering Christ’s temptation, suffering, and death.

What is fasting?
Fasting is a form of abstaining—from food (in whole or part) or from something else that’s become too central—so we can become more attentive to God.

Types of fasting (and a wise caution)
Not everyone can fast in the same way, and it’s wise to consider health needs and consult a medical professional if needed.
Common approaches include:

• Absolute fast (no food or water for a period—rare and requires serious caution)
• Solid-food fast (water/juice, no solid food)
• Partial fast (abstain from certain foods/drinks, or even from non-food habits to make room for prayer)

How to begin (simple, sustainable)
Start small: one meal a week, one day a week, or one specific “giving up”
Pair your fast with a prayer: “Lord, meet me in my hunger—fill me with what is good.”
Keep it humble: Jesus warns against fasting for attention; let it be quiet and sincere.