2014 Lenten Calendar
Illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Jay Sidebotham, an Episcopal priest, Join the Journey invites spiritual reflection through gentle humor and is a wonderful companion for the Lenten season.
Episcopal Relief and Development Lenten Devotional
We invite you to commemorate Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday on the first Sunday in Lent, March 9, 2014, or you may choose another convenient date during the Lenten season. To help your congregation prepare for this special Sunday and for the Lenten journey, we encourage you to order the 2014 Lenten Meditations guide. Available in English and Spanish, this year’s devotional focuses on creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities, with a particular focus on empowering women. The daily readings are co-authored by a group of leaders from across the Anglican Communion, who bring a range of perspectives as they reflect on Scripture and other sources of spiritual wisdom. You can also sign up to receive their meditations via email each day.
Journey to the Cross from d365.org
The d365 daily devotional site includes seasonal devotional series like Following the Star and Journey to the Cross to help readers journey through Advent and Lent. These series are written especially for students and seek to provide reflections on themes that impact our faith journey. We hope that in the midst of busy or boring days, these sites will create a quiet space in your life for contemplation and prayer.
Living Compass Lenten Meditation Book
This 30-page booklet, which is available in both English and Spanish, contains readings and reflections for each day of Lent, which connect the Scriptures of the week to a life of wellness in the 21st century. These booklets can be used by individuals as a spiritual practice, in a small group setting, or by an entire parish. The booklets will be available on this website several weeks before Lent each year. Booklets are shipped in packs of 25 or are available to be read online.
Love Life
Innovative Free Formation Resource for Lent 2014: “Love Life,” a mobile accessible video series and workbook for Lent 2014 the Brothers of The Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE) have developed an easy-to-use video series and accompanying workbook “Love Life: Living the Gospel of Love.” The daily series runs from Ash Wednesday, March 5th, to Palm Sunday. Subscribers will be emailed each morning with a mobile-friendly video and evocative question. The daily email subscription is free, as are all the supporting materials which are available to download for free. A printed version can be purchased through www.SSJE.org/lovelife.
Seeing Ourselves in Those Confronted by Jesus
In this new six-session study, “Seeing Ourselves in Those Confronted by Jesus,” adults will learn about groups who encountered Jesus, ranging from the Pharisees to the Essenes to the disciples. Some followed him and others challenged him. In each session readers will be asked to consider how they and others in the twenty-first-century church are like the members of each group and how Christians today can avoid making mistakes similar to those who encountered Jesus. Each session includes a Participant Handout and a Leader’s Guide, which features prayers, activities, discussion questions, and more.
Curricula
Lesson Plans that Work – Lent
Lent invites us to step off our mental treadmills, take a breath, and look around. Lent invites us to ask: Where are we demanding solutions? Where can we risk staying in tension? Where are we blind and just not noticing? What do we thirst for? Where are we bound or stuck? What will we risk doing during these 40 days of Lent to clear a space in which Easter can break through?
Teaching your Congregation How to Forgive
This five-week program that teaches people how to forgive and live in love with one another. In this teaching series you will not only teach people to forgive, but also to live in love with God, their neighbor, and themselves. This low-cost program includes program materials, session outlines, and sermon outlines.
What Wondrous Love DVD: Holy Week in Word and Art
Holy Week and Easter come alive in these challenging video commentaries by academic luminaries, coupled with masterpiece illustrations by John August Swanson. The DVD features six individual “chapter” commentaries by the scholars plus a Swanson work of art, focused on a familiar Scripture passage. The accompanying Discussion Guide depicts the Swanson artwork from the DVD, along with thought-provoking questions, to spark fresh insights into the Bible story.
Making Sense of the Cross with David Lose
Whatever we say about the cross, we are also saying about God. So what does the cross mean? What can it tell us about God? How can it help us approach, understand, and know God better? In Part One of this three-part series, David Lose invites us to think about how we understand God and the cross; he helps us explore what each of the four gospels can teach us. Take this course with a class of ChurchNext students from around the world. Registration includes:
- 24/7 access from March 5 – March 12, 2014 including all video lectures, downloads, and course content.
- This class opens on March 5 and you will be able to take it for free through March 12. We’ll send an email to remind you as the date approaches.
- Video lectures with The Rev. Dr. David Lose.
- Downloadable Discussion Questions for groups and The Takeaway, for personal study.
- A free Launch Plan for congregations is available on the blog if you would like to take this course with members of your church.
- Interaction with other students through discussion questions and sharing notes.