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. ​​
​Lent is the perfect season to carve out time for uninterrupted prayer or contemplation. You’re welcome to come use the sanctuary for quiet meditation whenever the building is open. If you're coming from a distance, you might want to call ahead to make sure no one else is using the space or to ask for the temperature to be adjusted.

​We've put together a basket of Prayer Resources that you can use while you're in the sanctuary. There are books featuring the writings of Howard Thurman, Marian Wright Edleman, Henri Nouwen, Rumi, Sarah Bessey, Ross Gay and more. You can also share your written prayers in our spiral bound prayer notebook for others to read, as well. Just grab the basket from the bookshelves in the corner of the main lobby and return it when you're finished. ​

Ash Wednesday
March 5

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 March 5. 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 12:00-1:00 p.m. 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 Studies

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

Join us as we study John Pavlovitz's devotional Rise. 

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

Sunday mornings not a good time? 
Consider joining the Tuesday Book Group at 11:30am via Zoom. Contact Pastor Sue to learn more about the group or simply log in on a Tuesday.

Lenten Devotionals

This year we have TWO options for free devotionals to help guide your Lenten journey. Both are from A Sanctified Art. Learn more about the devotional booklets and the daily devotional cards here. You're welcome to use one or both!

Music for the Season
​Spotify Playlist

About this year's theme, "Wandering Heart":

From the Sanctified Art website: 

This year, we’re letting the Gospel of Luke guide us through Lent. Beginning with Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51), this worship series flows through several familiar stories—the Good Samaritan, Mary and Martha, the fruitless fig tree, the Lost Sheep, Zacchaeus, and more. Many of these stories are well-known in both sacred and secular imagination and hold significance in pop culture, church history, politics, and everything in between.

As we studied these scriptures, we were struck by how Jesus’ ministry disrupted the established social, political, and religious divides of his time. Jesus intentionally pointed out cultural and political extremes to emphasize the radical, inclusive, and surprising love of God. When we study these stories in their historical and cultural context, we see how they mirror the divisions many of us experience in our families, churches, and communities today.

Our theme, “Everything In Between,” invites us to navigate the polarities in our lives with more faith, intention, and openness to be transformed. You will see that each weekly sub-theme explores two supposed binaries, like “faith & works” or “rest & growth,” or “grief & hope.” We often consider these ideas to be opposing. However, as we explore these concepts within the scriptures, we find nuance and complexity. We find that these dichotomies are false. We might begin to see a full spectrum instead of black and white. We might find that God is present in between.  

And so, this season, we invite you to look beyond black and white binaries and easy answers. We encourage you to notice the dichotomies that define our lives, but also imagine where God might be meeting us beyond the categories we create. This Lent, we're trusting that God shows up in shades of gray, rainbow hues, and everywhere in between.