Lent and Holy Week Resources for 2025

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Last Updated

1-11-25

40 Days of Welcome and Gratitude

Each Lent, United Thank Offering (UTO) offers a variety of resources for congregations, families, children, and individuals. This year, UTO is proud to partner with Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) to present: 40 Days of Welcome and Gratitude: a call to giving thanks for the ways we are welcomed in the world and the ways that people offer welcome to us and to our communities. Download free resources for congregations and families, sign up for the daily text message prompt, or order a free kit of printed materials for your congregation here by January 13 (ships February 10). UTO also offers kits for families, those can be ordered through February 18.

The Episcopal Church Resources for Lent

Visit https://www.episcopalchurch.org/lent-resources/ for Lent and Holy Week Explainer Videos that you can share here

Communities for Spiritual Vitality Devotional

The Communities for Spiritual Vitality, a ministry for inter-parish formation born from a collaboration between the dioceses of Vermont and Massachusetts is offering an inter-diocesan Lent-Easter Devotional again this year. The 2025 Devotional focuses on the prophet Isaiah and features individual reflections from members of all seven Episcopal dioceses in New England, as well as artwork from Christian artists. This pamphlet spans Ash Wednesday through the second Sunday of Easter but can be used in future years or in other seasons.

The Ungrateful Refugee: A Lenten Book Group with UTO and EMM

Looking for a way to connect with others as a part of your Lenten Discipline this year? Look no further! UTO, in partnership with Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) is offering a 5-session book club on The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri. This is a perfect book to explore during Lent because it can encourage us to think more deeply about the experience of refugees. We’ll explore this book together and see what we can learn about gratitude as a way to receive the stories and experiences of others. While reading the text prior to the meeting will enhance your experience, it is not required. You’re also welcome to attend all 5 sessions or just the ones when you’re available or where a topic interests you. Register here

  • Tuesday, March 11 at Noon Eastern: Part One: Escape
  • Tuesday, March 18 at Noon Eastern : Part Two: Camp
  • Tuesday, March 25 at Noon Eastern: Part 3: Asylum
  • Tuesday, April 1 at Noon Eastern: Part 4: Assimilation
  • Tuesday, April 8 at Noon Eastern: Part 5: Cultural Repatriation

Creation Justice Ministries – Seeking Creation Lent 2025 Devotional

For many, Lent is a season of denial and sacrifice—a time to give things up and do without. Too often, we associate it with feeling miserable, as if that’s what God wants from us. But that’s not what Lent is about! Lent is about making space in our lives for God—clearing away the clutter so we can focus on what truly matters. And we should take note of the season in which Lent happens. Just as spring reminds us that some things must fall away to make room for new life, Lent invites us to do the same. This year, Creation Justice Ministries created a daily devotional that runs from Ash Wednesday to Easter using the simple format of Scripture, short reflection, and prayer. Our hope is this resource will help you sweep away the decaying things in your heart and make room for the blooming of love and justice in this world. Download “Seeking Creation Lent 2025 Devotional” here.

ChurchNext Lenten Courses

ChurchNext is offering a course called, “What Is Ash Wednesday?” Led by Rob Courtney, an Episcopal priest serving as Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Eastern Tennessee, the class provides historical context, liturgical understanding, and practical guidance to the observance. This course is a helpful tool for individuals who are gearing up for Lent and for groups who want to prepare together. This course is a helpful tool for individuals who are gearing up for Lent and for groups who want to prepare together. Click here to watch the first session.

Here are their other offerings for your Lenten journey:

  • Introducing Lent with Maggi Dawn: Lent is a holy season of devotion that offers wonderful opportunities for life transformation. Theologian and author Maggi Dawn unpacks the wonder of this season.
  • Lent for Families with Kim Baker: This course is filled with practical tips from long-time educator and former canon to the Washington National Cathedral Kim Baker who tells us how Lent offers an unparalleled opportunity for families to grow in Christ.
  • A Spring in the Desert by Frank and Victoria Logue: Over the course of five classes, Bishop Frank and Victoria Logue examine the 7 Christian virtues of purity, moderation, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. The curriculum includes 20 video lectures and 60 opportunities for in-depth discussion. Perfect for groups!
  • With Gladness: 5 Weeks of Holy Practices for Disciples with Christopher Martin: Learn about building your life around God’s call with priest, author, and public speaker Christopher Martin. The curriculum includes 20 video lectures and 60 opportunities for in-depth discussion with other students who care about this topic. Perfect for groups.

ECF: Episcopal Church Foundation Lenten Resources

  • Church Lenten Discipline by Annette Buchanan – Canon Annette Buchanan invites us to observe Holy Lent through practices of self-examination and self-denial, not only for individuals but also for congregations.
  • Lent with Intention by Richelle Thompson – In this brief blog post, Richelle Thompson illustrates the purpose of Lent with actions “out of the mouths of babes.”
  • Ash Wednesday & Lent in Two Minutes by Nancy Davidge – How would you briefly explain Ash Wednesday and Lent? This short video by Busted Halo gives a comprehensive overview in record time.

Good Friday Liturgies

The Diocese of Massachusetts’s clergy gathered with Professor Dan Joslyn-Siemiatoski of Boston College (and formerly on the faculties of Seminary of the Southwest and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific) to learn ways to avoid anti-Judaism in preaching and worship during Holy Week. With permission from the Bishop of Massachusetts, below are two documents that our churches may use for Good Friday. You’ll notice two particularly important changes: a) the Solemn Collects and b) the use of the word “Judeans” instead of “the Jews” in the passion narratives.

Living Well through Lent with The Living Compass

This Living Compass resource is a daily devotional that provides a foundation for seeking a deeper experience of Lent. It will be available in both print and electronic editions here.