As you begin considering ways to approach Lent of 2021, we’d like to make you aware of the following resources from ChurchNext.

Classes 

Your church and families within your church may find the following classes helpful during Lent:

Introducing Lent with Maggi Dawn: This class offers people new to the church and anyone who wants a refreshed understanding of the season an overview of Lent. Author, priest, scholar, and teacher Maggi Dawn discusses Lent’s history in the church and ways that we observe and commemorate the Lenten season today.

Lent for Families with Kim Baker: In this class, longtime educator and priest Kim Baker discusses ways that families can celebrate a rich Lenten season together.

Walk in Love Part 2: Marking Time with Scott Gunn and Melody Shobe: This course is part of our Walk in Love series. It goes through the church year as a whole, including a lot of focused discussion about Lent and Holy Week. This class is another one that people new to the church might find particularly useful.

Making Sense of the Cross Parts 1-3: These three courses  offer David Lose’s examination of how to understand Jesus’ death on the cross in the context of our life experiences (part one), the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and death (part two), and theological interpretations (part three).

Curricula

ChurchNext offers several 5-week themed curricula and course series that we hope will enrich Lenten observances for both congregations and individuals.

The Five Core Practices of Being a Disciple with Christopher Martin: Do you long to grow in your relationship with Christ? Take a ‘lenten challenge’ and join The Rev. Christopher Martin on an inspiring and informative journey, in which he offers insights into discipleship that can be truly transformative. In this course he touches on various habits and disciplines that can easily be incorporated into our walk with Christ.

A Spring in the Desert with Frank and Victoria Logue: This curriculum, based on Frank and Victoria’s book A Spring in the Desert, examines the seven Christian virtues through the lens of the desert. Using historical accounts of the desert fathers and mothers, meditations based on plant life and imagery of the desert, and scriptural references to the desert, Frank and Victoria walk participants through the Lenten season.

God the Son: In this series of courses, scholars, authors, and theologians discuss the life of Jesus and particularly his death on the cross in terms of how different people have understood it over time.

• In the first course, Who Is Jesus?, Jason Fout examines the life of Jesus, who he was, and how the church understands him today.
• In the next three courses, Making Sense of the Cross parts 1-3, David Lose examines Jesus’ death through the lens of human experience, gospel accounts, and theological interpretation.
• In the final course, Exploring the Biblical Christ, a variety of scholars discuss each of the evangelists’ and St. Paul’s understanding of Jesus.

Daily Spiritual Practices: In this series, priests and authors discuss various ways to make spiritual practices part of our everyday lives.

• Laurel Dahill discusses ways to bring Benedictine spirituality into everyday life with Introducing Benedictine Spirituality.
• Keith Anderson discusses creative spiritual practices we can work into our day-to-day lives with Everyday Spiritual Practices.
• In The Spirituality of The Book of Common Prayer, Karl Ruttan examines the prayer book’s rich resources for daily spiritual practice.
• In Developing a Rule of Life, Hillary Raining discusses realistic and creative approaches toward building your own rule of life.
• In Finding the Resurrected Jesus, Bishop Susan Goff discusses ways to look for Christ in the people and culture we experience on a daily basis.

Lent for the Family: Looking for family resources  to celebrate a holy Lent? This series offers five courses on building spiritual practices on a familial level.

• In Lent for Families, Kim Baker suggests creative ways for families to experience a holy Lent together.
• Allison Liles talks about teaching about religion and worshipping at home (both during and outside the context of the pandemic) in Teaching Kids at Home.
• Approaching Scripture offers Vicki Garvey’s excellent introductory approach to understanding scripture as a library of different kinds of resources that can be very helpful in teaching older elementary-aged kids, middle-schoolers, and teens about scripture.
• In Start a Family Devotional Time, Anne Kitsch describes ways to do daily family devotion with the family.
• Finally, in Holy Habits for Children, Valerie Hess offers ideas on helping children build basic Christian spiritual practices into their lives.