Lent

A woman in a black cassock holds a golden processional cross and reads from a small red book titled 'The Way of the Cross' inside a church.
A bearded priest in white and purple vestments holds a red prayer book titled 'The Way of the Cross' and looks up during a church service.
A side profile of an elderly woman with gray hair and glasses, wearing a black robe. She is looking down, holding a folder in a church setting.
A bearded priest in white and purple vestments holds a red prayer book titled 'The Way of the Cross' and looks up during a church service.

Lent at St. Dunstan's

If you have been baptized, you are a wilderness person. You have been set free from sin, death, and the devil. You have passed through the waters of baptism and received the Holy Spirit. Everything that happens between that moment and the day you pass through the Jordan at your death takes place in the wilderness. That is where we are. That is where we have been. To be a Christian is to be a wilderness person.

Lent is not the beginning of that journey; it is a reset. Most aspects of life require a reset to function well—and we are no different. During these forty days, we have the opportunity to reflect on where our hearts are truly fixed: back in the land from which we have been set free, here in this wilderness as if it were our home, or forward toward the Promised Land that God is guiding us to. Self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and reading and meditating on God's holy Word—these are the ways we hit that reset button. If we are headed in the wrong direction, they help us realign our path toward the Promised Land.

Our Lenten ServicesLenten DisciplinesLenten Reading

Why Lent Matters

Lent isn't about proving our commitment to God or earning his favor. The gospel declares that Jesus has already done everything needed for our salvation. Lent is about transformation—allowing the Spirit to shape us more into Christ's likeness as we prepare to celebrate Easter. As we depend on God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we learn both our weakness and God's sufficiency.

We are sinners, but we are moving forward, not backward—and so we repent of the sins that weigh us down on this journey. We are saints, but we have not yet arrived—and so we repent of our pride and self-righteousness. We are wilderness people, but the wilderness is not our home—and so we repent of every occasion we have chosen the values and priorities of the kingdoms of this world over the kingdom of God. Our true home lies just beyond the horizon in a future that God has promised, but we cannot yet see, and so we live in hope.


Lenten Disciplines

The church has historically observed Lent through three practices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These aren't arbitrary religious duties, but wisdom passed down through centuries of Christian tradition. They create space for God to work in us beyond what we can achieve with willpower alone. Lent also opens a door that many Christians never walk through: confession.

Consider adding the Daily Office to your daily routine. Morning Prayer helps you focus on Scripture and intercession before the day's demands begin. Evening Prayer offers a time for reflection and gratitude as the day comes to a close. The Book of Common Prayer provides these patterns, or you can find the Daily Office online at dailyoffice2019.com. As you read, avoid seeing Scripture as just a collection of isolated verses. Instead, view it as a story—the complete story of God’s creation and rescue of creation, all the way from Genesis to Revelation

Biblical fasting isn't just about skipping meals but about realigning our desires toward God. Whether you fast from food on specific days, abstain from social media, or give up another comfort you've made into a necessity, let fasting show where you've looked for satisfaction outside of God. Fill what you release with prayer and Scripture.

The biblical view of justice involves caring practically for those in need. Think about where you might give financially during Lent—whether to local groups helping the poor, international mission projects, or specific individuals facing crises. Make your giving generous enough that you feel it.

If you’ve never made a formal confession to a priest, Lent offers a chance. Contact Fr. Michael to schedule a time for the Reconciliation of a Penitent, a rite that allows for honest acknowledgment of sin, pastoral guidance, and the reassurance of God’s forgiveness spoken personally over you.

Making Lent Your Own

Lent is most effective when you choose one or two practices and fully commit to them instead of trying to do everything and ending up with nothing. Here are some ways to structure your Lenten observance:

Consider what you need to “take off' and what you need to “put on.” If you stop scrolling social media, replace that time with reading Scripture. If you stop complaining, choose gratitude instead. The space created by discipline must be filled with something positive, or old habits will return.

Find an accountability partner—someone who checks in with you weekly, prays for you, and helps you stay committed when Lent feels long.

Remember that Sundays are not part of Lent. The forty days of Lent do not include the six Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Every Sunday is a "little Easter," a weekly celebration of resurrection that interrupts our fasting. This rhythm teaches us that Christian discipline is never ultimately about deprivation but about preparing to receive the feast.

Lenten and Holy Week Services at St. Dunstan's

Shrove Tuesday

February 17, 5:00 PM

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent begins—a day for celebration, feasting, and joy before we enter the season of fasting and prayer. The word "shrove" comes from the Old English verb shrive, meaning to confess and receive absolution, and so the day has traditionally carried both a festive and a sacramental character: enjoy the feast, and prepare your heart for what comes next.

Ash Wednesday

February 18, Noon and 7:00 PM

We begin Lent by receiving ashes and hearing again those ancient, sobering words: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." This is not fatalism but realism that drives us toward the only One who defeats death.




Stations of the Cross 

Every Friday in Lent, Noon

Every Friday in Lent we gather to pray through the Stations of the Cross—fourteen meditations following Jesus from Pilate’s judgment to the tomb. Walking with Jesus through his suffering is one of the oldest and most powerful ways to enter into the mystery of his passion and to prepare our hearts for Easter.

Holy Communion

Every Sunday in Lent, 8:00 and 10:30 AM

Every Sunday in Lent we gather to receive Holy Communion—the body and blood of Christ. Sundays are not part of Lent itself; they are little Easters, weekly celebrations of the resurrection that interrupt the fast. To come to the table during Lent is to remember that we are not sustained by our own efforts but by the grace of God.

Palm Sunday

March 29, 10:00 AM

We welcome Jesus into Jerusalem with hosannas—the King entering his city at last. But this week will reveal what that welcome truly costs. Holy Week begins.






Maundy Thursday 

April 2, 7:00 PM

On this night Jesus takes bread and wine and gives them to his disciples as his body and blood. He washes their feet and gives them a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you. The word “maundy” comes from the Latin mandatum—commandment. We gather to remember the night that changed everything.

Good Friday

April 3, Noon & 7:00 PM

Jesus is crucified. The Son is rejected. We gather in solemn prayer and Scripture to enter into the suffering and death of the One who took the weight of sin upon himself so that we might be set free.





Holy Saturday

April 4, Noon

The quietest day in the liturgical year. Jesus is in the tomb. The disciples are scattered and afraid. We gather in the silence of that waiting—not yet knowing, as they did not yet know, what the dawn will bring.




Easter Vigil

April 4, 8:30 PM

The ancient vigil that spans the night between Good Friday’s death and Easter’s resurrection. We gather in darkness, light the Paschal candle, and hear the great story of salvation—from creation through the Exodus to the prophets—waiting for the dawn.



Easter Sunday 

April 5, 8:00 and 10:30 AM 

Christ is risen. We gather to celebrate the resurrection—the victory over sin and death that fulfills every promise God has made. Everything in Lent, every discipline, every prayer, every fast, has been preparation for this morning.  



Resources for Deeper Engagement

These books are all excellent resources for Lent. If you're interested in purchasing any of them, clicking an image will take you to Amazon. Buying them through this link helps support St. Dunstan's. For a "Rookie Anglican Guide" to Lent, click the button below. 

Lent: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The book cover for 'Lent' by Esau McCaulley. It has a purple and gold geometric background with a central illustration of a palm frond.

Lent by Esau McCauley

An excellent introduction to the season of Lent.

The book cover for 'From Wilderness to Glory' by N.T. Wright, with the title over a watercolor landscape of purple and blue mountains.

From Wilderness to Glory by N. T. Wright

A fantastic daily devotion that runs from Ash Wednesday to the first week of Easter. 

The purple cover of the book 'The Case for the Psalms: Why They Are Essential' by author N.T. Wright, with 'Psalms' in a flowing white script.

The Case for the Psalms by N. T. Wright

This book is specifically Lenten, but reading, praying, and singing the Psalms daily is a fantastic spiritual discipline to pick up during Lent. 

The book cover for "Answering God" by Eugene H. Peterson, featuring a serene landscape of a river flowing past trees with a canyon in the background.

Answering God by Eugene H. Peterson

Peterson invites us to use the Psalms as a tool for prayer not only in Lent, but for the rest of our lives. 

The Good of Giving Up by Aaron Damiani

Another exceptional introduction to Lent

The book cover for "The Liturgical Home: Lent" by Ashley Tumlin Wallace, featuring a crown of thorns on a textured purple background.

The Liturgical Home by Ashley Tumlin Wallace

A great resource for families

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