What is Lent?

Lent is a Christian season of self-examination lasting the 6 weeks leading up to Easter.  The season moves on the calendar from year to year based on the spring equinox, celebrating the increasingly longer days of the year.  As a reminder for Christians to look to God rather than physical things for their wholeness, some take on the practice of giving something up for Lent. Whenever they desire this thing that they have given up, they are reminded to pray for God to sustain them. Items commonly given up are certain foods or forms of entertainment.  It has also become popular to not only give something up but to add a practice during Lent, like going to church regularly or adding a daily prayer time.  

Who are we? 

​We're located at the corner of Juliette and Poyntz...right where we've been since a group of abolitionists founded our church in the 1850s. (Okay, so we're mostly online these days because we're doing our part to keep people safe, but that's where our building is!) We are a group of open-minded, big-hearted Christ-followers who are committed to working for justice and loving all, just as Jesus has taught us to do. 

If you have questions about our congregation or the events happening this season, please contact us. ​​

Ash Wednesday
March 2

Ash Wednesday is a Christian tradition that prepares us for the Lenten season before Easter.  The reasons Christians receive ashes on the forehead are twofold: 1. As a call to grieve and repent from the ways they have become separated from God and Neighbor and 2. As a humble reminder of the dust from which we came and the dust to which we’ll return.

Join us for Ash Wednesday worship (in-person or via Zoom) at 7:00 p.m. on Feb.22. If you are joining us online, we encourage you to pick up your packet of ashes ahead of time in the plastic box hanging just outside the entry by the office at the church building. 

Pastor Caela will also be imposing ashes on the K-State campus from noon-1pm on Wednesday. Look for her near the roundabout located between Memorial Stadium and the Union. You are welcome to drive through or walk up.

Lenten Study

Adult Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. 
Lenten study begins Feb. 26
Join us in-person or via Zoom

Join us for a study of Amy-Jill Levine's book Witness at the Cross. Please contact the church office if you'd like us to order you a copy of the book.

Children's Sunday School happens at the same time. Contact Brandy for details.

Other weekly gatherings:
Prayers & Fellowship Thursday evenings at 7:00pm via Zoom
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Tuesday Book Group at 11:30am via Zoom

Lenten Devotionals

From A Sanctified Art. Free and available for you this Lent! You can pick up in the church lobby or in the plastic box outside the office doors beginning Feb. 19. If you prefer a web-based version or would like a hard copy placed in the U.S. mail, please contact the church office.

About the devotional: ​"Beginning with Ash Wednesday, this weekly devotional follows the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A) through Easter Sunday. Each week offers commentary, poetry, visual art, hymns, and reflection prompts. We encourage you to walk through these weekly readings at your own pace throughout the season, following the rhythm that works best for you. The devotional features biblical commentary by our guest writers, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow and Rev. Danielle Shroyer, and art and reflections by our guest artists, Rev. T. Denise Anderson and Carmelle Beaugelin." (from sanctifiedart.com)

Other Special Events This Lent

We are working on plans for several special events during the Lenten Season. More info coming soon. 

About this year's theme, "Seeking":

From the Sanctified Art website: 

"The lectionary for Year A offers us many stories of Jesus encountering people who are seeking: Nicodemus comes to him in the veil of night, he approaches a Samaritan woman at a well, he heals a man born without sight. In these stories, each person is seeking a new beginning, a different life, a deeper faith. What unfolds is an exchange filled with questions and exploration. Often, an unveiling occurs—assumptions are disrupted, a new perspective is revealed, mystery grows.

​And so, we’ve crafted a Lenten series founded on questions. Many of our weekly questions feel restorative (“Can these bones live?”). Some feel like a charge or challenge (“Who will you listen to?”). Some questions are hopeful and curious (“How do we begin again?”). Our questions won't necessarily lead to answers, but they can help us find clarity and a new perspective. Ultimately, we pray they lead to a new beginning, a restoration, a wider grace.
Like the characters in our Lenten scriptures, we are also seeking many things: clarity, connection, wonder, justice, balance. We are seeking our calling, the sacred, and how to live as a disciple.

Throughout the turbulence of the past few years, many of us are asking big questions about our lives and our faith. We hope this series will help us unpack some of those big questions in ways that are honest and faithful. Throughout this season, we hope you will continually ask yourself: what am I seeking? What is God seeking?
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This Lent, we invite you to engage in the spiritual practice of seeking. We encourage you to stay curious, open, and nimble. We hope you will soften your assumptions and expand your perspectives. We pray that these questions will create a safe space to explore—to be drawn more deeply into the fullness of life, into the heart of God."