It’s hard to fathom how fast the days fly by – it’s almost time for our next retreat! We are so pleased to announce that our next online retreat will be Finding Beauty in the Ashes of Lent. Prepare your hearts for a meaningful Lenten journey with Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin on Saturday, February 26th from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm PT (check my timezone). It’s just a few weeks away, so consider registering today! Click here to get started: https://tinyurl.com/GodspaceRetreat
What do you need this Lenten Season?
What are you longing for as you look towards Easter?
How can we create Beauty from the Ashes of the past two years?
Now entering the third year of pandemic, we are weary and in lament. Lent is the perfect time to grieve, reflect, and yet find hope and beauty. Lent is meant to prepare our hearts, not just for the celebration of Easter Sunday, But also for that celebrative attitude and the celebrative deeds of new life in Christ that should fill our hearts and our lives at all times. Consider downloading and reading our Lenten guide Hungering for Life: Creative Exercises for Lent as a preparation.
This retreat is designed to hold space for the lament while journeying through to the joy of Easter via activities, contemplation, reflection, and more. If you’ve been to any of Christine and Lilly’s past retreats, then you know there is lots of fun and nourishment in store! On that note, if you have attended a retreat before, do remember that we offer a discount. Email us for the code – or email us for a code if you plan on attending or watching later with a group, as we do also offer a group rate.
Those who register for the event will have the option to watch and participate live or watch the video at their convenience and participate via survey later (plus following along with the activities whenever it is watched). The best benefit of registering? Even if you cannot attend live, you get all the resources plus the video to keep forever and work through at one’s own pace, rather than a course that has a set amount of days to complete. However, the retreat WILL also be available as a course – so if you miss it initially, you’ll still have time this Lenten season to journey from ashes to joy with Christine and Lilly!
note: this is a repost. The original (updated for 2022) post can be found here.
With Lent fast approaching, I realize that it is time to update my resource lists. This is one of several posts on resources for the season that you might find helpful. You can check them all out here. Enjoy.
My Favourite Resources: Old and New
Here is a sampling of ideas from around the world some new, some from previous years, that I find myself revisiting each year.
A good place to start is with this mini Lenten retreat:
- Now check out the resources I have posted on Pinterest for Lent Easter and Pentecost. I add to these regularly so there are always new ideas to look at.
- In 2015, Rachel Held Evans published a great list of 40 ideas for Lent that is still one of my favorites.
- Cabad.org has an excellent outline for a Christian Seder celebration.
- Lent Event: “bringing people together to build peace and beat poverty. Pledge to live simply for the 40 days of Lent and help make a difference for people striving to be free from poverty and injustice.”
- The Episcopal Church has a great section on Lenten Resources.
- Ascetic Life of Motherhood shares Lenten resources from the Orthodox Christian perspective.
- Franciscan Action Network shares a free download called 40 Days; 40 Ways A Guide to a Green Lent.
- Growing a Rule of Life – a very interesting course that encourages us to develop a rule of life as a Lenten discipline. It uses garden metaphors and some fun exercises. I used this a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
- His Mercy is New offers Praying Psalm 51 for Lent free download prayer cards.
- Godspace writer, Lilly Lewin, also has this excellent resource called Experiential Stations of the Cross.
And, of course, Godspace has several free downloads:
- 40 Ideas for Lent
- Hungering for Life
- Gospel Eyes – Download: Poetry by Jeannie Kendall – new in 2021
- Maundy Thursday Love Feast and Liturgy by St. Andrew’s Episcopal church Seattle
And check out the other resource lists, videos and prayers accessed through our church calendar resource page.
Lent at Home Resources for 2022:
- Mennonite Church USA – Worship Guide download
- St Nicholas Center – Lent in the Home
- Catholic Icing – How To Set Up A Lent Table- Lent Home Altar Ideas
- Building Faith – Lent in a Bag
- Real Life at Home – 50+ Lent Ideas Printable
More resource lists can be found on these websites below:
Looking for A Little Fun During Lent?
- Lent Madness: This looks like fun, 32 saints are placed into a tournament-like single elimination bracket. Each pairing remains open for a set period of time and people vote for their favorite saint. Sixteen saints make it to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen; eight advance to the Round of the Elate Eight; four make it to the Faithful Four; two to the Championship; and the winner is awarded the coveted Golden Halo.
- The Walk to Jerusalem is a fun way to increase physical activity during Lent!
- Chalice Press has their 2018 Lenten materials including this helpful Lenten Colouring Book.
- Another great resource is this: Twenty Reflective Movies for Lent.
Litanies for Lent
I love this series of litanies for Lent and Easter by Fran Pratt:
- Litany for Lent, Week 1 “Temptation”
- Litany for Fat Tuesday
- Litany for Ash Wednesday
- Litany for Lent, Week 2 “Mercy”
- Litany for Lent, Week 3 “Hunger”
- Litany for Lent, Week 4 “Thirst”
- Litany for Lent, Week 5 “Waiting”
- Litany for Palm Sunday, “Fulfillment”
- Litany for Good Friday, “Death”
- Resurrection Sunday: “Life”
Liturgical writers we love
Black liturgies on Instagram and Facebook
Disrupt worship project
John Van De Laar – Sacredise
Need Some Daily or Weekly Reflections?
- Bread for the World always produces wonderful Lenten resources, as well as very helpful information on poverty that challenge us to face the issues of hunger.
- Episcopal Relief and Development devotional focuses on creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities, with a particular focus on empowering women. They are available in both English and Spanish and can be downloaded for free.
- From the Australian Board of Mission: Into the Desert and other Lent resources.
- Another great list of resources that is so rich you can get lost in anglicansonline.org.
- Gaye Boss wrote Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing, where readers can gain insight and lament for the “profound loss of species”.
- From Dust to Triumph: Reflections for a Holy Lent – an inspiring collection of Lenten reflections that you can read online.
- Also, from the Uniting Church Australia, this excellent free download of Lenten reflections for 2019.
- Biola University shares a great resource called The Lent Project with daily reflections.
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have some good study courses available for Lent: Their 2022 theme is: Following Christ in the Footsteps of the Saints – Guided by the story of St Winefride/Gwenffrewi. Older studies include: Parables and Possessions a six-session study resource based on 2012 the Church of Scotland report of A right relationship with money.; Walking and Praying with Christians of the Middle East and the 2016 addition Pilgrimage. In 2017, they have added Returning Home: Christian Faith in Encounter with other Faiths and for 2018 their emphasis is on Hope. I love the theme for 2019, The Mystery of God, encouraging us to look more deeply into the wonder and mystery of God. For 2020, they asked “What biblical text sets your heart on fire?” in Opening the Scriptures course.
Looking for A Devotional?
- Eloheh provides a free Lenten Devotional: Drawing Closer to Creator & Creation: An Indigenous Journey Through Lent. Sign up on their website and they will send it to you!
- Joy Lenton, a Godspace writer, just published this incredible book for the Lenten season: Experiencing Lent: Sensing the Sacred in Our Midst.
- In recent years, I have used Walter Brueggemann’s A Way Other Than Our Own for Lent.
- You might also like to check out Richard Rohr’s Wondrous Encounters: Scriptures for Lent.
- Or, The Little Book of Lent with a variety of reflections from authors such as Desmond Tutu, Sheila Cassidy and Rowan Williams.
- Renovaré, one of my favourite spiritual formation sites has some excellent Lenten devotionals.
- Ave Maria Press has a broad array of Lenten resources available.
- Chalice Press also has an excellent array of Lenten materials.
- InterVarsity Press also has a very expansive and important list of books for Lent.
- Our devotional A Journey into Wholeness: Soul Travel from Lent to Easter, which may also be purchased in a downloadable bundle here
Want to Focus on Simplicity and Sustainability?
- From Simple Living Works: Let’s Get Ready for a Simpler Lent and Easter.
- Eco-Palms: The University of Minnesota Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) is working together with the Rainforest Alliance TREES program and Smartwood to certify palms harvested from the forests of Mexico and Guatemala for sale to Christian congregations in the United States and Europe.
- The Oil Lamp has shared several helpful links to sites that suggest ways to incorporate a carbon fast into your Lenten practices. They also have some good basic suggestions for a carbon fast here.
- I particularly enjoyed this link recommended by Archbishop Thabo Magkoba, of the Anglican Environmental Network in South Africa: A Carbon Fast for Lent from 2016. An updated version from 2020 comes from the St. Dennis Parish.
- Earth Ministry’s LeAnne Beres wrote this helpful article about taking a Carbon fast which includes links to other great resources.
Need Resources for Church Worship or Lenten Studies?
- Lent and Beyond – an Anglican prayer blog has some of the best reflections and devotionals around. I particularly enjoyed the Ash Wednesday index and Lent and Ash Wednesday Activities for Families.
- Presbyterian Mission Agency also has good resources for Lent.
- Jonny Baker in the UK always has great resources available for worship. Here is his Lenten link.
- The Lenten resources at textweek.com, as usual form, has one of the most comprehensive resource lists available.
- From Australia: Per Crucem Ad Lucem.
- In New Zealand, Bosco Peters always has good resources listed.
- And from South Africa, John Van deLaar at Sacredise is worth checking out.
- Work of the People has produced some great Lenten studies, reflections & video resources this year too.
- The Ignatian Workout for Lent online retreat is well worth participating in.
- “40 Lent: What do you give up when the world gives out?” from the Jesuits at Loyola Press. It’s a social media series focusing on the way a group of adults copes with the aftermath of a disaster.
- I highly recommend the resources on the Busted Halo website for Lent. Start with this 25 Great Things You Can Do For Lent video and spend some time thinking about what you can do for Lent this year.
Please check out our complete list of Godspace resources for Lent through Holy Week including our free downloads.
Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list so if you know of other resources that you think should be added, please leave a comment here.
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Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash
I come into awareness of myself in your presence
seated with you in my blue rocking chair.
I come into the stillness of the room,
light a candle of simple faith.
I place every worry that comes to mind into your care
and stretch out my thoughts into prayer,
mindful of the sounds of the listening morning
and the waking of dawn.
The song of the hour is gentle
and soft, as night eases to day.
There is no hurry in the calling of birds
and the crashing of waves on the shore.
I lean back into your full knowing of me
and allow each blockage release
from off of my mind with the love of your hand
on my head, and the sound of your singing.
I think of your movements in my life;
no hindrance is too big for you, each worry recedes
as you part wide the waters, on clear golden pathways
of peace, you are walking me home.
public domain painting from rawpixel, by Claude Monet
Our next Facebook Live will be delayed a week – Christine and Lilly will talk about Celtic Christianity, as Lilly has the opportunity to attend a retreat with John Philip Newell! Join Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin on Wednesday, February 23rd 2022 at 9 am PT (check my timezone) for our next FB Live happening on our Godspace Light Community Facebook Group! Can’t make it? No worries–we upload the sessions on our youtube channel so you can still enjoy the lively discussions and interesting topics. And catch us live for the next session–happening here!
These last couple of weeks have been very important for me. Two weeks ago Tom and I went on one of our regular retreats to Anacortes, about an hour north of Seattle. We stayed in a B&B that looks out over the water. We enjoyed a beautiful few days of sunshine after a long stretch of dark rainy days and I spent much of my time delighting in the changing light of the day. The low-hanging sun glistened on the water and painted the heavens with sunrise and sunset colours of pink and red and orange. And in between sparkling water patterns danced with me through the day. It took my breath away.
Anacortes – winter sun photo Christine Sine
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. I read in Psalm 113:3 NIV or as it translates in The Passion Translation From sunrise-brilliance to sunset beauty, lift up his praise from dawn to dusk (113:3)
There is something very special about the winter sun in places that are as far from the equator as Anacortes is. Even when it shines through the clouds it quickly catches my attention, sometimes hanging like a great orb of light on the horizon. And when it is hidden behind gloomy rain clouds I am still aware of its life-giving presence.
Our days away were the perfect introduction to the celebration of Candlemas. On February 2nd, here in the northern hemisphere, it is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This festival marks the celebration of Christ’s presentation in the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth where Simeon’s beautiful prayer in Luke 2:32 proclaimed him as bringing light to the Gentiles. As a symbol of this, traditionally the candles that would be used throughout the year were blessed on this day. In the northern hemisphere, Candlemas also celebrates the coming of the first signs of spring. In fact I discovered with delight this year that snowdrops – one of the earliest flowers of spring – are known as Candlemas bells. What was even more delightful was that when I raced outside for a look see, I found my snowdrops flowering beautifully in my own garden.
Snowdrops
This week I merged my joy in the winter sunshine with my celebration of Jesus as the light of the world and my discernment journey for the year. This is an important season to take note of the light of Christ shining in us, through us and around us. John Philip Newell in his book Sacred Earth Sacred Soul reminds us that “Light is woven through all things like a thread of gold.” Think about it. Without the light of the sun there would be no physical life on earth. Without the light of Jesus there would be no spiritual life. There is indeed a thread of light in all things.
I am lighting extra candles each morning as I begin my day and reciting the words of Psalm 113:3 in the Passion Translation at the same time. I have some exciting ideas taking shape in my mind and look forward to sharing them with you in the near future.
As I do so, I am also aware that in the church year this is the last celebration of light before we enter the painful journey of Lent in a few weeks’ time. So it really is time to both celebrate the light and prepare for the dark journey of Lent. In a couple of weeks, Lilly and I will facilitate our Lenten virtual retreat Finding Beauty in the Ashes of Lent to help us do just that. We will go on a journey together from the ashes of Ash Wednesday to the beauty of Easter Sunday. This retreat will be a time of great discussion, reflection and creativity that will enrich all of us as we begin the journey of Lent. It’s time to sign up now! If you would like to participate as a group contact us for group rates.
So today let’s celebrate the light before we take off the festive clothes of Christmas for the last time. In our Facebook live session last Wednesday (now available on YouTube) Lilly and I talked about some fun ways we can celebrate this festival in our own homes – like with candlelight dinners. As well as that you might like to take time this week to bless the lights that will see you through the year – not just the physical lights but the spiritual lights too. What are the resources you expect will illumine your darkness and give you light? And to start your journey reflect on this beautiful Celtic prayer from the Northumbria community Morning Prayer:
Christ as a light, illumine and guide us.
Christ as a shield, overshadow and cover us.
Christ be under us, Christ be over us.
Christ be beside us, on left and on right.
Christ be before us, Christ be behind us.
Christ be within us, Christ be without us.
Christ as a light, illumine and guide us
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Another beautiful contemplative service for us to enjoy. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below:
“Atme In Uns”, “O You are Beyond All Things (O Toi L’au-dela de Tout)”
Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Shepherd Song”
Words adapted from John 10:11-18
Music by Kester Limner
Creative Commons copyright–free to use with attribution (CC-BY)
“Wisdom of Saints”
Words and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Kyrie”
Text and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Parable Song”
Music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers, text by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
Last Wednesday’s Facebook Live on the Godspacelight Community group with Lilly Lewin and myself was the most fun one we have done. I must confess that neither of us knew much about Candlemas until we decided this should be the focus for our last Facebook Live session. So we both did some research and soon we were hooked. Lilly and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and shared some fun suggestions of how to celebrate the festival. I hope you enjoy it too.
Our next Facebook live session will be in three weeks instead of the usual two. We will talk about Celtic spirituality. The reason our conversation is delayed is that Lilly has the opportunity to attend a retreat next week with John Phillip Newell, the author of Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul, the book I am currently reading and describe as the most important book I have read for a long time. You can imagine how jealous I am. I am excited to be able to discuss what she’s learning with both her and all of you.
Photo of actual panels from the Berlin Wall at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Picture taken by Michael Moore on January 26, 2008.
I first came across Dietrich Bonhoeffer in seminary through his book The Cost of Discipleship. Admittedly it wasn’t easy to read but the message did come through clearly for me. I also came to realize that he had played a role in the development of one of the Confessions in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Book of Confessions. “The Theological Declaration of Barmen was written by a group of church leaders in Germany to help Christians withstand the challenges of the Nazi party and of the so-called “German Christians,” a popular movement that saw no conflict between Christianity and the ideals of Hitler’s National Socialism… Most Germans took the union of Christianity, nationalism, and militarism for granted, and patriotic sentiments were equated with Christian truth. The German Christians exalted the racially pure nation and the rule of Hitler as God’s will for the German people.” (PC(U.S.A.) Book of Confessions (2016 printing) p. 280)
While reading a book by the daughter of Reinhold Niebuhr (a theologian whom I had studied in seminary), The Serenity Prayer: Faith and Politics in Times of Peace and War, I was interested to discover that Niebuhr was on the faculty of Union Theological Seminary in New York City while Bonhoeffer spent a year (1930-1931) studying there. She recounts the times when a group of German professors and theologians would gather for social evenings at Niebuhr’s home with Bonhoeffer. Following his year at Union, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany where he was very involved in “The Confessing Church” which was the church that rose to speak out against Hitler and the “German Christians” who supported him. He founded an underground seminary at the church’s request in 1935. “In 1939 Bonhoeffer considered taking refuge in the United States but returned after only two weeks in New York City, writing to his sponsor, the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, that ‘I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people.’” (Britannica.com Biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Bonhoeffer personally showed by his life the cost of discipleship. He was arrested in 1943 and imprisoned first in a Gestapo prison in Berlin and then was imprisoned in the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Flossenbürg. When the Nazi government discovered that Bonhoeffer was involved in the failed plot to assassinate Hitler, he was executed alongside other conspirators mere days before the American Army liberated the camp. His last words were “This is the end—for me the beginning of life.”
In Bonhoeffer’s life, ministry, and death he lived out the words of Jesus in John 15:13 – “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4th, 1906, and he died on April 9th, 1945. In his thirty-nine years he made a huge contribution to the Confessing Church and to the resistance movement at a critical time in Germany’s history.
Why is it important that we remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer today? Why are his writings still as relevant today as they were during his lifetime? Bonhoeffer’s writings and life are a stark reminder that Christians and the Church have a responsibility to speak out against the union of Christianity, nationalism, and militarism that was on full display during the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
The church is at a critical crossroads in these times of chaos and uncertainty. Jesus himself spoke out against the “wedding” of the temple and the empire. I believe the church and individual Christ-followers have a responsibility as well to speak out against today’s blending of faith, nationalism, and militarism. During my 26 years in uniform as a USAF Chaplain (1985-2011) I saw the results of such a blending. It appalled me to read how chaplains were writing scripture verses in chalk on bombs that would be dropped by our military aircraft on Iraqi troops and civilians during Operation Desert Storm (1991). It also worried me to see a growing number of chaplains who felt no discomfort as faith was blended with nationalism and militarism. For me, the bottom line is found in Joshua 24:15 – “Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
I will close with these words from the “Theological Declaration of Barmen” – “We reject the false doctrine, as though the church, over and beyond its special commission, should and could appropriate the characteristics, the tasks, and the dignity of the State, thus itself becoming an organ of the State… The church’s commission, upon which its freedom is founded, consists in delivering the message of the free grace of God to all people in Christ’s stead, and therefore in the ministry of his own Word and work through sermon and sacrament.” (PC(U.S.A.) Book of Confessions (2016 printing) p. 284)
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Looking toward Lent and Easter? There are resources available in the Godspace Shop–from free exercises, daily ideas, poetry and more to prayer cards and devotionals! Additionally, we have compiled many posts and other resources together for your convenience on our Lent & Easter Resource Page!
As an Amazon Associate, I receive a small amount for purchases made through appropriate links.
Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
When referencing or quoting Godspace Light, please be sure to include the Author (Christine Sine unless otherwise noted), the Title of the article or resource, the Source link where appropriate, and ©Godspacelight.com. Thank you!