What is Lent?

Lent is many things. It is the 40 days leading up to Easter. It is a spiritual pilgrimage. It is a great fast before the great feast. It is a giving up and a putting on. It is ancient and new. Lent is a project of restoration. 

Like contractors examining the foundation, support beams, and roofing, we are invited to ask where our soul finds support and shelter. This is not works-based righteousness; instead, it is allowing the Carpenter of Nazareth to walk through each room of our soul, clearing away the dust, replacing rotten pillars, and installing new windows—for the sake of growing in our dependence on Him and letting in his life-giving Light!

Be blessed by the presence of Jesus. We pray that he will meet you in your fasting, generosity, and prayers. May your heart be stirred and your soul fed during this beautiful season of Lent.

This Lent, join other families at Restoration as we prepare to enter the Easter mystery. Each family's needs and experiences differ, so we have provided many options and resources. We are positive you will find something that feels right for this time. You can find these resources in the fellowship hall after each February 11th and 18th service.

In addition, some helpful books to jumpstart this discussion as a family are Making Room: A Child’s Guide to Lent and Easter and The Liturgical Home: Lent by Ashley Wallace.

May the Lord meet your family in unexpected ways as you practice fasting, giving, and praying together.

Good Friday Offering

Each Lent, we take up a special offering for a ministry outside of our local congregation to communally participate in the ancient practice of almsgiving.

We are excited to partner again with the Anglican Relief and Development Fund this year. The specific project we’ve selected is a Community Center in the Brazilian diocese of João Pessoa.

“When you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
— Matthew 6:2-4

There is no one way to observe Lent.

In some seasons, we might seek to add elements to our faith journey: new prayer practices, intentional service opportunities, or daily liturgies. 

Other times, we might want to strip away —to take up a fast, to grow in generous giving, or to prune our schedules to make room for silence and solitude.

Perhaps it’s a mix of both. In compiling this list of resources, we hope there’s something here for everyone regardless of your life stage. Lent is an opportunity to enter the wilderness and prepare for our most celebrated day of the year: Easter. Walter Wangerin Jr. says, “If you do not interrupt your life with the convictions of the death to come, then neither shall your death, when it comes, be interrupted by life.” 

Let us allow ourselves to be interrupted so that, ultimately, we may live and live life to the fullest. 

  • The Good of Giving Up→
    Fr. Aaron Damiani
    Why should we practice Lent? How do we practice Lent? This is a great introduction or refresher for people who might still have questions about Lent’s value. 

  • Reliving the Passion →
    Walter Wangerin, Jr.
    In this daily devotional, Wangerin’s compelling narrative pulls you into the story, making it come alive in new and powerful ways. If you choose one book on this list, make it this one!

    The Good Dirt →
    Lacy Finn Borgo & Ben Barczi
    Another daily devotional for families that spans from Ash Wednesday through Pentecost. Lots of activities and questions to help even the youngest of children enter into the story.

    Word in the Wilderness →
    Malcolm Guite
    For every day from Shrove Tuesday to Easter Day, Malcolm Guite chooses a favourite poem from across the Christian spiritual and English literary traditions and offers incisive seasonal reflections on it.

  • Power and the Glory →
    Graham Greene
    The story of a “little whiskey priest,” in Mexico during a time of religious persecution. Greene’s gritty novel explores themes of abandonment, guilt, redemption and endearing faith.

    Silence →
    Shusaku Endo
    Endo explains it best “I did not write a book about the silence of God. I wrote a book about the voice of God speaking through suffering and silence.”

  • The Tech-Wise Family →
    Andy Crouch
    Perhaps you want to take Lent as an opportunity to reassess the place of technology in your life? There’s wisdom here for every person in our modern digital age, not just for families.

    The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking →
    Brother Rick Curry
    Bake your way through the church calendar with the Jesuits! They begin each Lent with simple, hearty breads and then add fruit/nuts as Easter approaches. Signs of hope coming from the oven!

    Last Supper →, Crucifixion →, Descent →
    Phaidon Press
    Are you seeking a more contemplative, visual experience of Lent? This series contains masterpieces of Holy Week, spanning the centuries from Raphael to Picasso to Chagall.

    Death On A Friday Afternoon →
    Richard John Neuhaus
    This is an invitation into a spiritual and intellectual exploration of the dark side of human experience with the promise of light and life on the far side of darkness.

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A beautiful Resurrection Sunday as we celebrate our risen Savior and enter into a season of feasting and joyous worship!