The Season of Lent
The Season of Lent
The word Lent comes from an old German word Lenten, or springtime. Lent is a journey toward springtime for the soul, on a path that always runs through the wilderness. During these forty days we join Christ in the wilderness, where we’ll undergo a testing; not to prove our strength, but to discover our need. Lenten fasts teach us to let go of the little crutches we use to prop ourselves up, to do without the artificial fillers we use to fill the space reserved for God alone, to relinquish the spiritual pacifiers that soothe us but never nourish us. We do without these things in order to remember where our real life comes from: from the God who is already here, sustaining and keeping us even when we don’t notice. You don’t have to take part in Lent, but if you do you’ll find yourself tested. You’ll be asked to release the comforting illusion that you’re in control of your life, and to embrace a deeper trust in God. Who knows? You just might encounter God by giving up coffee, soda, gossip, cussing, late night television, or midnight snacks.
Teachings
Events
Lenten Ministry Updates
Thank you for your faithful stewardship and service to Redemption Church. Each act of generosity and sacrifice—financial support, service, prayers, & relationships—brings Redemption Church to life in tangible, touchable ways. This is faith-ing it: bringing our best to God, creating spaces where God can happen to us, where we can embody peace in our common life and extend that peace to our neighbors.
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On the wilderness path of Lent, our commitment to caring for neighbors continues with Harvester's food distribution on March 2 & April 4. New volunteers are always welcome!
The power of grassroots organizing and research comes to the forefront on Sunday March 8th at the Good Faith Networks Solutions Briefing, where they will present their findings on this year's push for affordable housing in Johnson County.
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As we enter the reflective and hope‑filled season of Lent, our church family is invited into a rhythm of community, service, and worship. We begin this sacred journey together on February 18th, Ash Wednesday, gathering for a contemplative service that invites us to remember our humanity, and open our hearts to God’s renewing work throughout the season. This meditative service culminates in the imposition of ashes.
Begin your Fridays with a spirit of calm this Lent. We’ll gather online each Friday morning during Lent at 7:20 a.m. for a short time of contemplative prayer. All are welcome. Please visit our website to register and receive the meeting link.
As Lent leads us toward Holy Week, we prepare our hearts for the Maundy Thursday service on March 2 and the Tenebrae service on March 3—these services provide solemn, meaningful moments that draw us deeper into the story of Christ’s love, and remind us that there is hope in this season.
On March 28 at 2:30, we’ll host a screening of the documentary film: Join or Die, creating space for listening and thoughtful conversation.
On Sunday March 15 from 4:00-6:00 we will pause together for a Lenten Roundtable. The roundtable format creates space for guided discussion, scripture reflection, and personal stories and questions. If you are looking for a place to have a contemplative conversation with other folks who have questions and thoughts about the life of faith, come to the Roundtable. Lent invites us to slow down, listen deeply, and prepare our hearts for Easter. Gathering around the table helps us do that in community rather than alone.
The Lenten journey carries us through February with rhythms of reflection and community. “Dinners for 8” offer moments to pause, share a meal, and walk this season alongside others from Redemption Church.
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In the Godly Play classroom we move toward the Mystery of Easter by hearing the stories of Christ's journey toward the cross and resurrection. Each week during the Season of Lent we explore a scene from Jesus’s life, from his birth through the sharing of a meal with his disciples at the last supper.
Through these lessons we begin to introduce them to the mystery of a man who was truly human and has experiences that were not entirely removed from their own. All while preserving the wonder of Jesus being unlike any person who has ever lived.
As students transition to the Elementary room, the narrative of Jesus’s earthy life continues to expand as they look at stories of his healing of the woman at the well, the healing of the blind man, and the raising of Lazarus. Their focus shifts toward remembering that God is with us in the wilderness; a theme that carries into their experience of Lent in youth ministry.
During this season, our youth ministry enters a period of intentional reflection and vulnerability that has become one of our most significant U18 milestones: the Wilderness Stories. Our senior interns work closely with Pastor Cole to identify and craft narratives from their own lives that represent seasons of pain, doubt, and wandering. These stories are then shared with the entire youth group in an incredible act of vulnerability and ecclesial fidelity.
These are "stories of confession," which we define simply as telling the truth about our lives. A Wilderness Story focuses on moments of deep disconnection—from God, from others, from ourselves, and from life itself. These disconnections are often caused by things we have done or things that have been done to us. They represent the parts of our history that we typically keep hidden, the "lost" chapters that we often feel shouldn't be spoken aloud in a sacred space.
However, during Lent, we choose to name these stories as holy. By joining them in the darkness, we don't look for answers or certainty; we look for the presence of God with us. We embody God's presence by being with each other in small groups and in the room as these stories are shared. It is a season of making meaning of our lives, even of those painful stories we don't like to talk about. It is in sharing and trusting that we realize that the wilderness is exactly the place God meets us. Where Easter happens all over again.