Join us Sundays at 10:30a (Indoor, Outdoor Overflow & Virtual)

What is Lent? 

Lent 2023 Good Friday and Easter are two of the most important days of the Christian calendar on which God made the riches of his grace known through the death and resurrection of Christ (pdf Lenten prayer guide). 

How do we get ready to celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Over the years, the church developed a tradition called Lent. Lent can be traced back to the 2nd century. During this season, new Christians would fast and study in preparation to be baptized on Easter Sunday. Eventually, entire congregations practiced Lent as a sign of Christian discipleship. It was a season of special emphasis on disciplines like living simply, prayer, fasting, giving to the poor and doing acts of service.

Christians counted forty days back from Easter (excluding Sundays), like Christ’s forty-day fast in the desert (Luke 4), to determine the time frame of the Lenten journey. Lent is a forty-day journey on which we can stop, look, and listen to what God is doing. It’s a journey for which we should ask ourselves, “What things do I need to leave behind so I can travel closer to Jesus? What things should I take with me?” On that journey, we stop to see what God wants us to do. We stop to see what it means to suffer for Jesus’ sake and to see what the Bible says about Jesus’ suffering. Finally, we walk, step by painful step, with Jesus on the road to the cross during passion week. It’s a hard road, but it shines with glory on Easter morning when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection!

Lent 2023: Grace Made Known

As part of our Lenten journey, it is tradition at Grace Sacramento to hold a special season of giving in concert with the practices of Lent to empower gospel ministry near home and around the world. We are calling this effort to give above and beyond our regular Sunday offering LENT 2023: Grace Made Known. Through it, we hope to provide generously to earthquake relief efforts in Turkey led by pastor Ihsan Cetin and to provide generous monthly support to Grace Presbyterian Church Reno, the daughter church we are helping to plant in Reno, Nevada. We intend to give one dollar to the mission in Turkey for every dollar we spend on Reno. Our goal is to raise $9,600 ($4,800 to Turkey, $4,800 to Reno). To give to our Lenten campaign, click here

Each Saturday in March of 2023, Grace Sacramento will host a Lenten workshop from 9-10:30a to explore some historic ways Christians have practiced Lent including learning the practices of prayer, living simply, giving and serving. Please RSVP so that we can plan for childcare and supplies.

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SATURDAY WORKSHOPS IN LENT

Through the month of March, Grace Sacramento will host a Lenten Workshop designed to explore some historic ways that Christians have practiced preparing to celebrate Christ's resurrection. Workshops will be casual and interactive (Please RSVP so that we can plan for supplies and childcare). 

March 19th (Sunday @ 9-10:15a)  Loving God with Your Money
March 25th (Saturday @ 9-12p) Serving the Homeless in our City 
March 26th (Sunday @ 12:15-1:30p) Living with Less so that Everyone has Enough
April 2&9th (Sunday @ 9:45a) Covered in Prayer 

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PASSION WEEK SCHEDULE 

Church work day (Saturday, April 1st from 8-12p)

Join us as we take time to beautify the church before Easter. We'll do some routine clean-up and campus-improvement projects around the church on Saturday, April 1st from 8-12pm. Lunch will be provided.

Palm Sunday (Sunday, April 2nd @ 10:30a)

Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday, in the Christian tradition, is the first day of Passion Week and the Sunday before Easter, commemorating Jesus Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Join us at our regular time at 10:30a in our worship space.

Good Friday Service (Friday, April 7th @ 7p)

Come participate in our Good Friday Table & Tenebrae service on Friday, April 7th at 7pm. The word “tenebrae” comes from the Latin meaning darkness or shadows. The Tenebrae is an ancient Christian Good Friday service that makes use of gradually diminishing light to symbolize the events of Jesus last night before his death: from His prayers in Gethsemane to His arrest, crucifixion and burial.

Easter Sunday Service (Sunday, April 9th @ 10:30a)

Join us for our Easter service on April 9th at 10:30am. Bring your friends and family as we look forward to celebrating our risen Christ together! Stay after for a picnic on the corner and some festivities.

Easter Picnic on the corner (Sunday, April 9th, following the service)

Join us after the service for food on the lawn. Bring your own lawn chair, blankets and canopy. There will be an Easter Egg Hunt for littles (up to age 7) and bounce houses for bigger kids. 

Additional Resources

Art and Poetry (click on any of the links below)
"Longing, Lenten" by Brett Foster (1973-2015)
‘Confession’ (‘O What a Cunning Guest’) by George Herbert
The Lent Project: Daily Devotionals with Art from the Biola University Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts

Worship
Lent Resource Guide from Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Holy Week Resource Guide from Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Easter Resource Guide from Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Music/Video/Audio
Audio Lent Retreat 2020 by Pray As You Go
"Born Again" by Josh Garrels
Johnny Cash reads John 3

Lent for Children
We Wonder Podcast for Lent
The Jesus Storybook Bible Lent Guide

Reading
Forty for 40: A Literary Reader for Lent by Nick Ripatrazone
Lent for Everyone: Matthew, Year A: A Daily Devotional by N.T. Wright
God for Us: Rediscovering Lent and Easter ed. by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe
Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life by David Taylor
Great Lent: Journey to Pascha by Alexander Schmemann