There is a steady march to the liturgical calendar regardless of weather patterns, cultural festivities, or our feelings. It is a grounding for Anglicans worldwide as we see that indeed, this is our Father’s world; not subject to whims and fancies of the world, but rather bending to the framework and timetable of our sovereign Lord who spans the centuries—of eternity.
As we turn from the celebratory days of Epiphany, which includes World Mission Sunday, and Transfiguration Sunday, we prepare for the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday and the forty-day period leading to Easter. Lent is an opportunity. It is more than just an exercise in self-disciplined stoicism with the added benefit of cutting back on calories or caffeine; we have the opportunity to commune more deeply with God and to follow the church’s traditional focus on almsgiving with our resources and lives. Throughout the Anglican communion there are resources to help during this period. Below we are providing resources to aide you and your parish going into this season. We hope this is helpful as you prepare for the upcoming Lent.
+ Matthew 25 Initiative (M25i)
This Lent, we invite you to join us on a journey of normalizing Anglican Justice and Mercy by thoughtfully engaging the historic Christian season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The focus on almsgiving is not only that of giving from our resources, as the Church has done throughout her history. Almsgiving is also a giving of our lives.
Over the coming forty days of Lent, we will take our cue from the Good Samaritan who both saw a shared kinship in the vulnerable man and stopped traveling the path he was on in order to show the injured mercy. It begins with being able to see and understand, which is what we will be doing together: see, stop, show.
Each day of Lent you are invited to receive an inspiring, beautiful, and theologically-provoking reflection on Christ’s heart for his children living in poverty, in at-risk families, and as refugees and immigrants far from home. M25i has also partnered with the Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF) to provide a global perspective on how we relate to these issues in our parishes, cities, countries, and world. You can see what was provided in last year’s Lent here and subscribe for this year here.
Fr. Tim Clayton of Trinity North Shore (Boston, Massachusetts) has curated, Lent with John Donne, a journey through the Lenten season with Donne’s beautiful poetry, prayers, meditations, and sermons. John Donne’s sacred writings with Lent in mind. It can be purchased here.
+ Lent Series: 40 Days in the 39 Articles
Lee Gatiss of the Church Society offers a Lent series exploration of the foundational 39 Articles written by the English Reformers.
+ The Good of Giving Up: Discovering the Freedom of Lent
Fr. Aaron Damiani of Immanuel Anglican Church (Chicago, Illinois) offers a good introductory book for those who are interested in Lent but do not know where to begin.
+ Family resource ideas for Lent from Ashley Tumlin Wallace
Ashley is a homeschooling mom married to an Anglican priest at Apostles By-the-Sea (Inlet Beach, Florida). Her ideas and resources help with children and families prepare and practice Lent within the home and church.
+ Lent: A Guide For Prayer & Reading
Church of the Incarnation (Harrisonburg, Virginia) puts out a Lent guide for prayer and reading every year. They have generously offered to provide their 2023 guide as a template for which you can use in your church. The guide will be available Friday, February 17th. If you are interested contact Rev. Wilson West
+ Photos & Images for Lent
Heidi Reichart, Communications Coordinator at Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (Woodbridge, Virginia), has generously offered access to social media postings, samples of photos to use for Ash Wednesday, and a helpful guide for where you can find photos legally.
