Lent Contemplative Mornings

Come as you are!

If you have never experienced contemplative practices, Lent is a perfect time to begin the contemplative journey. It is a season in the Church calendar in which we are invited to grow deeper in our thirst for Jesus. Lent commemorates and invites us into Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, and it is a time for us to engage in self-examination and reflection on our mortality, in preparation for the resurrection life of Easter. This series will provide gentle space within community to engage the Lenten season with our hearts, together.

Using Henri Nouwen’s book Can You Drink The Cup? as a guide, we will participate in a variety of contemplative practices together, including Lectio Divina, Visio Divina, Immanuel Prayer, and more.

Join us!

[Umm, remind me again. What is Lent? We are glad you asked! The season of Lent is the forty days between Ash Wednesday, on February 17 and Easter, on April 4 this year. In the church calendar, a special meaning is attached to the forty-day period: it is a time set aside to connect with God. The forty days of Lent mirror the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert praying and preparing for his public work and the forty days that Moses was with God in the wilderness receiving the Law. (Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a ‘mini- Easter’ during which the penitent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the resurrection.)

Typically, people think of Lent as a time to give up something, like chocolate or binge-watching TV, but the big question is not what we will give up but, “How will I return to God with all of my heart?” Lent is a time of self-examination and the contemplation of our mortality. A time to come to a deeper understanding of ourselves. During this season of prayer, repentance, and contemplation, we are humbled and reminded that our life and our hope depend entirely on the power of God to raise the dead.]