Holy Week Explainer Videos
Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent
The journey through Lent into Easter is a journey with Jesus. We are baptized into his life, self-giving, and death; then, we rise in hope to life transformed. This Lent, communities are invited to walk with Jesus in his Way of Love and into the experience of transformed life. Together, we will reflect anew on the loving actions of God as recounted in the Easter Vigil readings. Together, we will walk through the depths of salvation history into the fullness of redemption. Videos, adult forum curriculum, calendar, publicity materials, and quiet day curriculum available in English, Spanish, and French.
Use bulletin inserts from Sermons That Work to help your congregation participate in the “Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent” calendar. We provide printable Word docs or PDFs in either full-page or half-page formats with suggested practices for each week of Lent. Available in English and Spanish.
Invitation
Add seasonal service times, descriptions, and languages to your church’s pin on the Episcopal Asset Map. You don’t need a log-in to suggest the change; just find your Episcopal place, click on it, and select “Update This Place.” Need help updating more? Check out our video playlist from Episcopal Relief & Development.
Gratitude
Join us for a 5-session book club on The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri. This is a perfect book to explore during Lent because it can encourage us to think more deeply about the experience of refugees. We’ll explore this book together and see what we can learn about gratitude as a way to receive the stories and experiences of others. While reading the text prior to the meeting will enhance your experience, it is not required. You’re also welcome to attend all 5 sessions or just the ones when you’re available or where a topic interests you.
Each Lent, UTO offers a variety of resources for congregations, families, children, and individuals. This year, UTO is proud to partner with Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) to present: 40 Days of Welcome and Gratitude: a call to giving thanks for the ways we are welcomed in the world and the ways that people offer welcome to us and to our communities. UTO and EMM are excited to partner together this Lent to provide a multi-faceted program to help people of all ages consider ways we experience and provide welcome that we are grateful for.
Racial Reconciliation
Across our church and our society, we are having profound dialogues about race, truth, justice, and healing. “Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community” explores where that dialogue intersects with our faith. Join us and our invited guests as we share prophetic voices and explore the lectionary through the lens of social justice. Available in English. This season launches in early 2025.
Organized around the four sections of the Becoming Beloved Community labyrinth (telling the truth, repairing the breach, practicing the way, proclaiming the dream), this Lent curriculum can help your small group or congregation to engage in racial reconciliation and reflect on Jesus’ coming among us. Available in English, Spanish, and French.
Formation
Designed to follow the Revised Common Lectionary, these lesson plans are written by experienced church school teachers using practical approaches to respond to the needs of volunteer teachers. Available in English.
These devotions are written by ministers, professors, students, teachers, missionaries, denominational leaders, and others who work with and care for students. Typically, an author writes on a single theme for one week. In these devotions, you will read honest struggles and questions, all in the context of real faith. As you read the thoughts of the writers, think about your own response to the Scripture for the day. Let the writer’s words serve as background for your own conversation with God.
These devotions are written by ministers, professors, students, teachers, missionaries, denominational leaders, and others who work with and care for students. Typically, an author writes on a single theme for one week. In these devotions, you will read honest struggles and questions, all in the context of real faith. As you read the thoughts of the writers, think about your own response to the Scripture for the day. Let the writer’s words serve as background for your own conversation with God.
Sermons That Work
Use bulletin inserts from Sermons That Work to help your congregation participate in the “Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent” calendar. We provide printable Word docs or PDFs in either full-page or half-page formats with suggested practices for each week of Lent. Available in English and Spanish.
Sermons That Work is pleased to once again present a compilation of this year’s Holy Week and Easter sermons from some of the best preachers in The Episcopal Church. Whether you use this book for private devotionals and inspiration, small group study, or reading from the pulpit, we pray that you will journey with us to the foot of the Cross. Available in English and Spanish.
From Our Partners
From Church Publishing: “Living the Way of Love offers forty brief reflections about the seven Jesus-centered practices identified by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in ‘The Way of Love’ initiative. [Mary Bea] Sullivan tells stories from her own and others’ experiences as a starting point for discussion about how to seek and find a deeper connection to God. Rotating through each practice so that each is covered once a week, going deeper into the practice throughout the forty days, each reflection ends with questions designed to spur further discussion and assist readers in making the practices their own. Perfect for using as a Lenten devotional or at any time of the year, the book includes a guide for creating a personal rule of life, and a downloadable Facilitator’s Guide.”
From our friends at Forward Movement. Join Tim, Scott, and celebrity bloggers for 2025’s Lent Madness. Fill out your bracket on the Saintly Scorecard and get ready to vote for the Round of 32, the Saintly 16, the Elate 8, the Faithful 4, and ultimately, the grand prize, the Golden Halo itself.
From Episcopal Relief & Development: “Reflect on your newness in Christ as you journey through Episcopal Relief & Development’s Lenten Meditations, written by Miguel Escobar, and discover new ways your faith is guiding you through the world. Available in English and Spanish, resources include daily meditations delivered directly to your inbox and a small group study guide.”