Lent is a getting ready time. The color of this season is purple. What other season uses the color purple? Advent! Advent is four weeks of getting ready for the Mystery of Christmas (language from Godly Play), and Lent is the getting ready time for the Mystery of Easter. It takes even longer to get ready for Easter because it is such a great mystery.
One way we started getting ready was our "Making Heart Bread" retreat on March 1. Check out and buy the book we used to guide this theme! Three all-ages groups traveled through four rotations.
Bread making with David- this hands on activity was interactive and meaningful as it related to the rest of the day. Seeing the process of making bread from start to finish is satisfying-- especially when you get to eat it during Eucharist!
Retreat attendees made bread with Rev. David Wantland. Painting rocks with Kelly- this rotation was more than arts and crafts. The rocks were a tactile tool for praying the Examen. One side is the "consolation" and one side is the "desolation." We made the card/bookmark below to take home as a guide.
Godly Play with Susanne- in the Little Church classroom, everyone sat in a circle to hear the Parable of the Leaven. It's a very short parable, but we easily filled twenty minutes with wondering and discussion.
Care Packages with Deacon Debbie- We packed bags for folks experiencing homelessness. They were filled with things like snacks, water, hygiene items, and handwritten notes.
One of the groups packs care bags.
What is Lent?
The Church Year is divided into two cycles of preparation, celebration, and proclamation (check out this post). During Lent, we prepare individually and communally to enter into the celebration of Easter.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and is a season of fasting (or giving up), penitence, and almsgiving. We remember that everyone comes from dust and reflect on our mortality. The word Lent means "spring" and lasts for forty days, not counting Sundays. Sundays are like "little Easters" and allow for a break in fasting.
Maybe you're wondering if this is all a bit to dark and depressing for kids. Well, kids know that life is fragile and being human is hard and sad sometimes. They know it whether or not we talk about it with them. Lent is a time when we can talk about death and dying honestly, but it doesn't need to be super dismal all the time. Springtime is also full of flowers, birds, and bugs! Nature is a great lesson for all of us. Everything comes in seasons. Even plants die and come back every year. And just like animals have to prepare for winter without much food, we do without certain things during Lent. And then when Easter comes we find so much joy!
The sadness of Jesus dying meets the happiness of him rising again and turns to joy and celebration for the season of Eastertide.
Ideas for Lent
Pray the Examen together as a family. Talk about your days in the car after school or work, at the dinner table, or at bedtime.
Give up something that might take time away from relating to God or each other. Maybe you can do a different thing each week (devices, sweets, TV, shopping, meat, etc.)
Hand out care bags to folks experiencing homelessness.
Volunteer at one of our service projects.
Donate food to a food pantry or the drive through food drive.
Pick up trash at a nearby park or neighborhood.
Attend morning prayer or compline on Zoom.
Use a daily devotional or story Bible.
Keep a gratitude journal as a family.
Plant seeds in your garden or a community garden.
Order caterpillars and watch them grow into butterflies.
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