For a holy Lent in 2023

Worship, retreat and resource offerings for the diocesan community for Lent in 2023.

"A Woman's Testimony" Lenten Preaching Series at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston:  

This Lent, which marks the 100th anniversary of the first sermon by a woman at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, five female-identifying preachers have been invited to open up the story of the Samaritan woman's encounter with Jesus in John 4.  Join at the cathedral or by livestream at 5:15 p.m. on the Tuesdays in Lent for a service of lamp-lighting with Taize chant, featuring the sermon. Refreshments and conversation with the preacher follow.  All are welcome.

The emerging St. Paul Center for Theology and Prayer, “housed” at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston with regional centers at St. Paul’s Church in Newburyport, St. Thomas's Church in Taunton, and online, is offering  a "Learning to Pray" video series and a small-group workshop series, "Meeting God in Our Busy Lives: The Theology and Practice of Zimzum" beginning March 1 (in person at St. Mark's Church in Southborough) and March 2 online.

"What is Truth?" This study series commissioned last year by the diocesan Racial Justice Commission's Subcommittee on Reparations is still available for use, this Lent or later in the year.  The six-session series for small groups, congregations, ministry teams and other communities offers "an opportunity for a communal and embodied experience, encouraging participants to go past thinking about the concept of truth to really experiencing the practice of truth-telling."

Find the study series at www.diomass.org/reparations-toolkit.

Stations of the Cross at St. Barnabas’s Church (91 Main Street) in Falmouth:  

St. Barnabas's Church has planted 14 simple crosses on the path entering its Chapel Garden and invites all to walk these Stations of the Cross.  A brochure is available to use as a devotional while walking the church grounds.  

St.  Barnabas's will also offer Lenten meditations on the Stations of the Cross
on Wednesdays at noon, in person in its All Saints' Chapel. These meditations on the Stations of the Cross present an opportunity to contemplate the needs of people suffering today in God’s creation. The devotions will challenge us to think about how we – the ministers of God’s reconciliation in Christ – can honor the sacrifice of Jesus by offering ourselves to the healing and repair of the world God sent Jesus to save.

The Rev. Dr. Maggie Arnold, the rector of St. Stephen's Church in Cohasset, has prepared a Lent resource sheet, “40 actions you can take against personal violence,” in response to recent incidents of domestic violence and suicide around Massachusetts.  It's being offered to the local community through the Cohasset Clergy Association and is available to everyone here.  

The Creation Care Justice Network invites us all to explore a variety of Lenten spiritual practices that embody the longing for creation justice and the Beloved Community and help us restore our minds, bodies, communities and planet as we journey to Easter.  Find resources, suggested activities and ways to get connected at www.diomass.org/creation-care.

"Healing Judgment": A Lenten Online Retreat, Saturday, March 18, 9:30 a.m.-noon

Lent invites us to look deeply into our lives and into the society in which we participate. How is God stretching us to live at our best? How is God calling us to wake up from our dull habits of thought and behavior and to see clearly where love urges us to change? Many people dread (and avoid) the traditional Lenten practices of self-examination and repentance because we fear that these practices will drag us into harsh self-criticism and self-attack.

Led by the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, this free, online retreat will encourage participants to question kneejerk self-judgment and instead to open ourselves to the healing judgment of a loving God who sees our preciousness and seeks our wholeness.

Through silence, guided meditation, personal reflection and small group sharing this retreat aims to create a space in which to grow in self-awareness, self-acceptance and compassion for ourselves, each other and our wounded, magnificent world.

Participants are asked to have at hand a candle, Bible, paper/pen for journaling, art supplies (if available) and comfortable clothes for an optional walk outside.  

Register here.

This retreat is sponsored by both Episcopal dioceses in Massachusetts and by Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ.

In the something-for-everyone spirit, there's also "Lent Madness" which annually offers members of the voting public a light-hearted way to learn more about the saints during Lent.  Vote online daily for favorites from among a selection 32 saints who are paired off in a tournament-style bracket.  The last saint standing at the end of Lent wins the game's golden halo.  Find it all at www.lentmadness.org.  

More Episcopal Church and partnering organization resources for Lent: 
Find them collected at www.episcopalchurch.org/lent-resources.