Tag Archives: lent episcopal

Resources for Your Lenten Journey

, , , ,

Lent has begun, but it’s not too late to make good use of this holy journey toward Easter. The Book of Common Prayer, in the invitation to a holy Lent, suggests some ways to observe Lent, “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.”

You can do all these things with a prayer book and a Bible, and if you don’t have copies of both, we encourage you to get them! But if you’re looking for some resources to take with you on the journey, Forward Movement offers some digital resources–no need to head out to the bookstore or wait for something to ship.

We offer several different little books of daily meditations for your Lenten time. New this year, Ashes and the Phoenix brings together daily meditations, powerful poetry by Len Freeman, and Jason Sierra’s inspiring woodcut art on your Kindle, Nook, or iBook device. If you are looking for a resource focused on mission outreach and social justice, check out Meeting Jesus on the Margins (Kindle, Nook, or iBook), featuring meditations from Becca Stevens, Richelle Thompson, and Hugo Olaiz, among other excellent writers.

At this time in our national life, when there has been much conversation about refugees, even as the number of displaced persons continues to rise around the globe, we invite you to engage this season in A Season of Prayer: 40 Days in the Desert. Each day will offer a prayer or scripture reading focused on themes of hospitality, migration, and refugee welcome.

You can download free Season of Prayer resources in English or Spanish, or follow along on social media on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

If you want to focus on self-examination and prayer, you might find the Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book especially helpful. If you want to think about repentance and reconciliation, Living Reconciliation is just right.

For fun and inspiration, there’s always Lent Madness, in which you can learn how God works through ordinary women and men in extraordinary ways. Throughout Lent, you’ll vote for your favorite saints until one saint wins the coveted Golden Halo.

We offer a number of resources to help you read and meditate on God’s holy word. Of course, there’s Forward Day by Day, which you can get via email subscription, ebook, podcast, Facebook, Twitter, or app, in addition to print options. If you’ve never sat down and read the Bible before, you’ll receive a stunning gift as you read The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, which takes you on a magnificent journey from Genesis to Revelation, with helpful signposts along the way. Read to take on the challenge of reading every page of the Bible? Then you want the The Bible Challenge.

Last, but not least, you can read and study every word in the Bible that is spoken by a woman with Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter. In addition to women’s voices, you’ll learn their back stories and discover reflection questions.

Whatever you do, please find a way to savor this great gift of forty days to return to God, and recommit to following Jesus.

Grow Christians: An Online Discipleship Community for Families

, ,

How do you practice your faith at home? Is worship of God a Sunday-only event, or can you make it more? Forward Movement announces a new online resource for families that invites daily, faithful practice as a community of disciples. The project, Grow Christians, led by editor Nurya Love Parish, will launch the week of Ash Wednesday. 

GrowChristians

“There are wonderful organized programs for Lent, but this isn’t one of them,” said editor Nurya Love Parish. “Grow Christians is more like a virtual kitchen table where we can tell stories about how faith works in our own lives, day to day. The site is meant to be a community of ordinary people who are committed to living the gospel and willing to share some of how they do it in their real lives. That’s formative for everyone—writers and readers.

“Parents, grandparents, godparents—we all need information and inspiration. I hope we can encourage one another in deeper discipleship,” said Parish, an Episcopal priest who serves in the Diocese of Western Michigan.

Issuing an invitation to come and learn from one another, the site will help readers explore how to deepen their life of faith at home, and how help little ones to grow as Christians too. Writers from around The Episcopal Church will offer their stories on engaging faith in the home, covering topics such as family prayer, reading the Bible, how to talk about the cross, using music, art, cooking, and more.

To learn more or to sign up, visit www.growchristians.org.

New Join the Journey App for Lent

, ,

Fourteen-year old Jack Whittaker has been programming since he was nine years old. His latest project? A new app from Forward Movement, released this week—just in time to become part of your Lenten devotion.

JointheJourneyApp

The app, Journey Through Lent 2016, brings Forward Movement’s popular Join the Journey Through Lent daily coloring calendar to the digital world. The app provides daily images and reflections illustrated by award-winning cartoonist Jay Sidebotham, offered alongside daily Eucharistic gospel readings, a space for journaling, and the option to add color and share your images.

“Jack approached us about building a Lent app based on work he had done previously. He is a talented programmer and he was a delight to work with,” says the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, executive director of Forward Movement.

How does such youthful ambition begin? “My mom was a software engineer and introduced me to programming,” says Whittaker. The teenager approached Forward Movement last year to see if he could help create the program. He enjoyed the process of creating the app—and the opportunity to learn more about Apple’s new technologies.

“I had no concerns about working with a fourteen-year-old,” said Gunn. “Jack’s communication has been professional, and his work is first-rate. He’s been terrific.”

The Journey Through Lent 2016 app is available now in the app store for $1.99 for iPhone or iPad. To learn more or download, click here.

Forward Movement is a ministry of The Episcopal Church located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since 1935, we have produced resources to inspire disciples and empower evangelists around the globe.