What is Lent?

Lent is a time in the church calendar when we prepare for Easter through fasting, reflection, and giving to those in need. It starts about 40 days before Easter, culminating in the final week, Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday.

The church year centers on two main celebrations: Christmas and Easter. Each one begins with a time of preparation. Advent leads up to Christmas and helps us get ready for Jesus’ birth and return. Lent leads up to Easter and helps us remember his death, burial, and resurrection.

How can you participate in Lent?

During Lent, people often fast or give up things Monday through Saturday, with Sundays as days of worship and celebration. This year, our congregation will practice different forms of self-denial each week. You'll find practical ideas for individuals and families to intentionally disrupt your normal routine and focus on Christ. Use our resources however they fit your life, adapting as needed.

When we give up certain wants or needs, we learn to resist our natural impulses. This isn’t because food or entertainment is wrong, but so that we can practice self-discipline, resist temptation, and find new ways to pray. Our hope isn’t only that we just give something up, though. We believe the Lord wants us to say no to ourselves in order to say yes to Christ, embracing his presence in new ways as his holy people, living out our faith together as the bride of Christ.

This season, let us look closely at the conditions of our hearts. Let us grow closer to God by giving up certain worldly pleasures, and let us turn toward him in repentance as we prepare to celebrate the central event of human history—the empty tomb!

May we prepare our hearts with diligence and gratitude this Lenten season to joyfully celebrate the empty tomb that changed the course of human history!