A gathering place for all the Lenten resources C4SO has developed and curated.
We are always on the hunt for Lenten resources you’ve created or found helpful. Share your resources with the diocese.
Devotionals and Books for Individual or Group Study
Open and Unafraid: A Set of Psalm Prayer Cards by the Rev. W. David O Taylor and Phaedra Taylor
The Rev. W. David O. Taylor and his wife Phaedra just released Open and Unafraid: A Set of Psalm Prayer Cards. These Psalms Prayer Cards are designed to help individuals, families, small groups and communities pray in light of the Book of Psalms. The Taylors hope they are a helpful aid to prayer during the season of Lent and beyond.
Each of Phaedra’s original watercolor illustrations corresponds to a specific theme in the Psalms and the text on the back offers an opportunity to reflect on your life in the light of the good news that we discover in the Psalms.
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by the Rev. Esau McCaulley
“Lent is inescapably about repenting.” Every year, the church invites us into a season of repentance and fasting in preparation for Holy Week. It’s an invitation to turn away from our sins and toward the mercy and grace of Christ.
Often, though, we experience the Lenten fast as either a mindless ritual or self-improvement program. In this short volume, priest and scholar Esau McCaulley introduces the season of Lent, showing us how its prayers and rituals point us not just to our own sinfulness but also beyond it to our merciful Savior.
Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.
The Psalm on the Cross: A Journey to the Heart of Jesus Through Psalm 22 by the Rev. David Roseberry
“My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?”
As he hung dying on the cross at Calvary, Jesus spoke these haunting words, which come from the opening verse of Psalm 22, a psalm written by King David over a thousand years prior. While the words depict the anguish of suffering, Jesus knew that the complete psalm was one of triumph and hope. The moment that began in darkness and despair eventually ends with a proclamation of confidence and victory.
Discover the heart of Jesus with author and pastor David Roseberry on a deeply moving journey through Psalm 22. In this illuminating study, you will uncover the insights and lessons hidden within the psalm and experience a personal connection with the Lord. As you journey through the entire psalm, you will find strength and inspiration for your own journey of faith.
Includes a reading guide that can be used for Lent and Small Group Discussion questions for each chapter.
Lent: The Journey from Ash Wednesday through Holy Week
We invite you to join Christians around the world in observing the ancient tradition of Lent—40 days of preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent is for all Christians, and this book is your guide on the journey from Ash Wednesday through Holy Week to Easter Sunday.
Lent: A Journey of Discovery by Addition, Subtraction and Introspection by the Rev. Erik Willits
This isn’t just another devotional book. This is a guide to a 40-day journey to resurrection. Lent? What is Lent? Is it that stuff you dig out of the depths of your pants pocket or your belly button? (No. That’s lint by the way). Maybe you think Lent is something only other churches do. Even if you’re not familiar with Lent, you can probably agree that Easter is essential to the life of the followers of Jesus. It’s the time of year when we are intentional about retelling and rehearing the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Because Christ invites His followers to not just hear about the resurrection, but to participate in it, Christians have historically taken the 40 days leading up to Easter to prepare their hearts and minds to enter the story of Jesus. This little book is a guide…a help…a companion on the 40-day journey of prayer and Christian practice known as Lent.
The Wondrous Cross – Lent & Easter Devotional from Christianity Today
Reflect on Christ’s sacrifice drawn from the songs and hymns of Easter through CT’s 2022 Easter devotional.
The Wondrous Cross includes an 8-week reading plan, each delving into Scripture and core theological ideas related to Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Good of Giving Up: Discovering the Freedom of Lent by the Rev. Aaron Damiani
Lent can often seem like an empty ritual. But what Aaron Damiani, Anglican priest in the Chicagoland area, came to find, and what he describes inside, is something else entirely. Something exceedingly good. It has been described as a “springtime for the soul,” a season of clearing to make room for growth. The Good of Giving Up will show you why, encouraging you to participate in what many know as a rich spiritual journey.
In Bishop Todd’s own words: “Lent, like any unfamiliar practice, is best explored with a competent guide. The Good of Giving Up is just that. Aaron beautifully sets forth the practices of Lent as a gentle harness, yoking us to the goodness and power of Christ. Get in a Lenten yoke with Jesus and you’ll discover that is not heavy or ill-fitting, but food for the soul.”
40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast by Alicia Britt Chole
Via readings, reflection questions, daily fasts, ancient quotes, and more, 40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast has helped many churches, including in our own diocese, and individuals reframe how they approach the Lenten discipline of fasting to help enter into the season with greater awareness and intentionality.
As you are planning out the Lenten season at your church, consider using 40 Days of Decrease as a guide. Along with the book are many additional free resources (Group discussion guides, sermon outlines, reading plans, etc.) that will make this journey an easy one for you to prep for.
Listen to Him (Youth Teaching Plans) by the Rev. Aaron Buttery
Each week, Listen to Him will help you and your youth lean into a habit of listening to Jesus. This resource is intended to be a trail sign for each week, providing direction as youth leaders guide students through Lent. With a reading from Luke, a brief reflection, an introduction for a weekly habit, and a sinner-to-saint prayer of identity, you can integrate this into your current ministry offerings. Use the reflection in a Sunday school as the conversation guide. Or, on a Wednesday night, read the weekly scripture and let the reflection be the outline for your student sermon, while the habit forms your breakout discussion. Throughout the week, you may challenge your students to post how they are practicing the habit with the hashtag #ListentoHim on your student social media platforms.
The Common Rule for the Season of Lent
The Common Rule was created by Justin Whitmel Earley. It’s a set of daily and weekly disciplines specifically designed to help modern people create a life with enough space for God to shape us in his love. Earley came out with a book that dives deep into his work on the Common Rule.
The Common Rule is a great way to practice your Lenten disciplines this year. Read these “5 Reasons to Try The Common Rule for Lent.“
Posts on the Season of Lent
The Gift of Lent 2022
Forty days of content about justice and mercy from The Matthew 25 Initiative, which seeks to equip and sustain Anglicans working alongside the vulnerable.
Three Liturgical Shifts for the Season of Lent
In less than a month, we will begin the Lenten journey towards Easter. In the Anglican tradition, this Lenten journey is marked by a number of different liturgical changes to our Sunday morning services. Laura McClain offers three simple, but profound liturgical shifts that can help us enter into this Lenten season more fully.
“Lent: A Rookie Anglican Guide” at AnglicanPastor.com
What is Lent? Beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting for 40 days, Lent is a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter. For the “rookies” out there, check out this guide to learning more about this significant penitential season.
“A Time To Turn” Lenten Blog Series
In 2016, we hosted a Lenten series titled: “A Time To Turn,” featuring C4SO’s Canon Theologians, clergy, and laypeople in the diocese, all reflecting on the theme of repentance and the season of Lent. Refresh yourself on these beautiful reflections as we enter into the season once again.
C4SO Reads for Lent
The Revelation 7:9 Task Force for Racial Diversity and Inclusion invites you to join them in reading and reflecting on the book Prophetic Lament by Soong Chan Rah during the Lenten season. One of the [...]
Lent—A Joyous Season of Examination
By Bishop Todd Hunter We recently got a puppy—a beautiful little Scottish Terrier. This is our fifth Scotty, so I can tell you that terriers can be, well, terriers! They are curious, determined and full [...]
Repentance: The Journey Home
By the Rev. Canon Dr. Dennis Okholm Sometimes on the street corner near the university where I teach a man will be holding a sign telling passersby to "Repent!" At other times we see two [...]
The Heart’s Hard Turning
By Nicole Mattke “There are no events but thoughts and the heart's hard turning, the heart's slow learning where to love and whom. The rest is merely gossip, and tales for other times.” – Annie [...]
Lent for the Non-Planner
By the Rev. Janna Ziegler I always pack at the last minute. I forget to bring snacks to the park for my kids. I’m finishing this blog past the deadline in between tutoring kids in [...]
Reflecting on Repentance with Donald Trump
By the Rev. Jon Ziegler Don’t Blame Yourself About fifteen years back, I was home from college for the weekend and I decided to get a haircut. And while I was waiting—I did what most [...]
The Life of Repentance
By Michael Thorne Jarrett There is a handbook of Christian teaching from the first century that was likely written even before some of the New Testament books were written. It is called the Didache, “the [...]
Lent, Week 3: You’re Not A Good Person (And Other Lenten Secrets)
A reflection by Eugene R. Schlesinger. Christianity is full of odd juxtapositions. I suppose our central belief in the Incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth should prepare us for this. If God and humanity [...]
Music for Worship Prep and Individual Listening
“Lent,” Album from Liturgical Folk
Liturgical Folk, led by Dallas-area Anglican and friend of C4SO, Ryan Flanigan, has released an album with songs beautifully and thoughtfully written for Ash Wednesday, each Sunday of Lent, and Holy Week, featuring many well-known artists such as Josh Garrels and Liz Vice. The lyrics to each “poem” could stand on their own as prayers for the Lenten season.
“You would not use the gift of bread
To cover man’s true need for grace,
The resurrection of the dead,
The gift to ‘waken Adam’s race.
For Caesar’s ways you had no care.
The way of pow’r you would not trod.
Instead you took old Satan’s dare
And let him think that he killed God.”
– From “Lent 1: Refuse the Bait” (feat. Liz Vice)
If you are looking for a concise way to share Lent with your folks, consider this great introduction to the season of Lent as well!
Songs for the Season of Lent – C4SO on Spotify
If you are an avid listener of great music (in this case, particularly in the folk/singer-songwriter style), we’ve curated a playlist of songs for the season of Lent, both from songwriters and musicians from within C4SO (Marty Reardon, Patrick Schlabs, Wes Crawford, Sandra McCracken, Rob Patterson, and more!) and some that are writing music for the church more broadly. If you have music for Lent that you’d like to share, let us know!