Lent – Yes Already! – The Reflectionary

Well January was a long year, but we got through it, right?

And now it’s almost Lent? Seriously? I’ve only just put the crib away!

But panic not, dear ‘Flectioneers. I have some yummy resources for you. A few Lent devotional books, printable Puzzle Pages (great for take-home bags), and a beautiful Lent loose-part story, perfect for Godly Play, Out of the Box, Deep Talk etc. (Or just tell the story with whatever you have to hand. You don’t need the official ‘stuff’.)

Plus resources and liturgy for Transfiguration Sunday and Ash Wednesday. Goodness, what a packed show! (Does that sound like the start of The Two Ronnies?) Let’s dig in.

Lent Books

40 Days with Labyrinths

This came out just over a year ago and has been selling like hot cross buns! I’m away at a conference this weekend and I’m taking loads with me because it’s always my best seller.

Perfect for Lent or for anytime, you can take a few minutes out of the busy hassle to sit in silence with a short reading, a reflection and a prayer, and then ponder while you ‘walk’ the labyrinth with your finger or with colouring pencils. Grab a cuppa and join me on the path.

Looking at themes including ‘Table’ ‘Walking’ and ‘Who is Jesus?’, this is a great gift for a friend or for yourself, a gentle way into thinking about God for the first time or a fresh look at familiar passages. Here’s a recent message:

Dear Fay, I wasn’t sure how to contact you, but just wanted to thank you for your book 40 Days with Labyrinths. I received it from someone as a gift this Christmas and am finding it extremely helpful personally and workwise as a Methodist minister. Every blessing to you for 2024. Thank you. Philip B.

Or how about reading through The Big Story of the Bible? These easy-to-follow Lent devotions that take you through the Bible from before the beginning of everything to the glory of Easter Day.

Starting with Ash Wednesday and following the Sundays of Lent we see how God has been faithful all through history, leading up to the anguish, mystery and wonder of Easter. Great for individual devotions, group Bible study or a weekly sermon series, and it ‘s got a super-pretty cover!

For inter-gen Bible studies on nine of the Bible’s biggest failures, you can get Broken Bits & Weirdness, which shot to Amazon’s #1 slot in Bible Meditations when it launched!

Each chapter has with LOADS of ways to think about the passage – something for every age / ability / preference. You can have a look at a sample chapter by clicking this link: Broken Bits and Weirdness sample chapter

Available from Amazon, Eden, Waterstones etc, Launde Abbey bookshop or your favourite bricks-and-mortar Christian bookstore (if you can find one of them). If they don’t have it in stock, ask.

The Reflectionary is free because I believe this stuff is important, but I still kinda need to make a living. (hint, hint)

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Loose-Parts Lent Story

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Click here [Lent] for a PDF script of this Lent story which (attempts to) explain why Christians put ashes on their forehead and how we get ready for Easter. With optional ashing.

Ash Wednesday / Lent / Transfiguration Resources

Ash Wednesday

Puzzle Pages Printable, double-sided A4 sheets of puzzles linked to the events of Holy Week. Each week of Lent focuses on one event from Holy Week, and links with the Lenten Tree above.

Liturgy Resources for Transfiguration Sunday

2 Corinthians 4:3-6, Mark 9:2-9

Confession and Absolution

O God, you said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”
but we have not lived in light.
Our words have been dark,
Lord, have mercy.
Our thoughts have been dark,
Lord, have mercy.
Our actions have been dark,
Lord, have mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.
Chase away the darkness
and bathe us in your glorious presence
that we may live in the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Blessing and Dismissal

May you be transfixed by the majesty of our Lord.
May you glimpse his all-surpassing glory.
May you leave the mountain top forever changed
and the blessing …

Go into the world as ambassadors of the light of Christ,
that those whose eyes are veiled
may come to know the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
Amen.