Lent 2025 at LNPC : Be Still and Know I am God
We are human beings. We are born, we live, we die, and we are beloved of God through it all.
Regardless of what we think or feel, do or don't do, believe or don't believe, and regardless of the strength and volume of the noise around us, God is God.
We are not God, and neither is anything else that vies for our attention or rages big and powerful.
Welcome to Lent.
Lent holds us in a rhythm of practice and a tradition bigger than ourselves. For 40 days we are invited to join with Christians all over the world, to be in time differently, with honesty and openness, to be present to God who is present to us. Jesus took on our humanity; he was born, he lived and he died. As we anticipate his resurrection that sets us free from sin and death, we first come back to the truth of our mortality and humanness, and our inability to save ourselves or this beloved world. We turn our hearts and lives toward God.
This Lent we are accepting the invitation to Be Still and Know I am God.
Specifically, we'll practice simply stopping, breathing, stilling our bodies, quieting our minds, engaging our hearts, and addressing God directly (eg, "Hi God"), and then waiting. (Another way into this is using the rosary prayer below).
Being still and knowing God is God makes us available for the Holy Spirit to return us to right relationship with God, other people and the world, and readies us for participation in redemption. It can shift us from the Way of Fear back to the Way of God.
Practices:
Rosary Prayer:
As you touch each bead, you might say slowly:
be still and know that I Am God
be still and know that I Am
be still and know
be still
be still
be still
be still and know
be still and know that I Am
be still and know that I Am God
be still
Regardless of what we think or feel, do or don't do, believe or don't believe, and regardless of the strength and volume of the noise around us, God is God.
We are not God, and neither is anything else that vies for our attention or rages big and powerful.
Welcome to Lent.
Lent holds us in a rhythm of practice and a tradition bigger than ourselves. For 40 days we are invited to join with Christians all over the world, to be in time differently, with honesty and openness, to be present to God who is present to us. Jesus took on our humanity; he was born, he lived and he died. As we anticipate his resurrection that sets us free from sin and death, we first come back to the truth of our mortality and humanness, and our inability to save ourselves or this beloved world. We turn our hearts and lives toward God.
This Lent we are accepting the invitation to Be Still and Know I am God.
Specifically, we'll practice simply stopping, breathing, stilling our bodies, quieting our minds, engaging our hearts, and addressing God directly (eg, "Hi God"), and then waiting. (Another way into this is using the rosary prayer below).
Being still and knowing God is God makes us available for the Holy Spirit to return us to right relationship with God, other people and the world, and readies us for participation in redemption. It can shift us from the Way of Fear back to the Way of God.
Practices:
- We'll be invited to carry a colorful rosary in our pockets, as an invitation into this state of prayer and awareness, and a bright reminder that God made life for joy and connection: Be Still and Know that I Am God. (see optional rosary prayer below).
- We will be more intentional about Sabbath. Lent is 40 days minus Sundays - which are always mini-Easters, celebrations of the resurrection. As we seek to be grounded and present, we'll especially let our Sabbath Sundays (and our Sunday afternoons after worship!) be sacred ground in time and space to be present to God, available for joy, and attuned to the world around us. SEE MORE ABOUT SABBATH-KEEPING.
- Giving something up for Lent is a common practice. Is there something that keeps you numb, racing in busyness, trapped in the Way of Fear, or in 'empire imagination,' or unavailable for real connection with God and others that you might step away from for Lent? (eg, social media, shopping, binging TV all evening, partisan commentary shows, alcohol or drugs, video games or other methods of escape, satiation or distraction?)
- If you would like to take a devotional and learning practice deeper, check out the Lenten Book read (below), which will guide us through tending spaces of encounter with God: heart, scripture and community.
Rosary Prayer:
As you touch each bead, you might say slowly:
be still and know that I Am God
be still and know that I Am
be still and know
be still
be still
be still
be still and know
be still and know that I Am
be still and know that I Am God
be still
Being With God Together:
WORSHIP SERVICES IN LENT
ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE,
March 5, 6:15 pm This evening combines all three spaces of encounter with God: heart, scripture and community, through: Dinner Party at 5:30 pm Ash Wednesday Prayer Around the Cross at 6:15 pm Holy Listening Groups from 6:45 - 8 pm. Come to part or all of the evening's activities. LENT 1 - SAT, MAR. 8, 5:00 PM (w/ Sabbath Sunday)
LENT 2 - SUN, MAR. 16, 10:00 AM LENT 3 - SAT, MAR. 22, 5:00 PM (w/ Sabbath Sunday) LENT 4 - 5th SUN, MAR. 30, 10 AM (Waffle Worship) LENT 5 - SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 10:00 AM OTHER WAYS WE'RE
BEING WITH GOD TOGETHER: 
CHURCH CHAT
Wednesday, March 19, 7:00 - 8:30 PM discussing Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith 
BRUNCH WITH BRITTANY
Friday , APRIL 1, 11:00 AM -12:30 PM 
CONNECTIONS
Saturdays, March 8 & April 12, 10 am 
COFFEE & DONUTS
Tuesday, March 25, 10:30 am 
FAMILY VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
Doing Good Together offers an updated list of volunteering options for families in the Twin Cities. |
Lenten Book Read: Attuned to Heart, Listening to Scripture, and Present in Community
All who would like to read along during Lent, Henri Nowen's Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith looks to God in Heart, in Book (Scripture) and in Community. There are ten very short chapters - each one shaped around a question. Every chapter ends with a practical discipline - a journaling or prayer exercise. A suggestion would be to read and practice through two chapters a week in the 5 weeks of Lent. Books can be picked up at Church for a suggested $13 donation - or whatever you want to pay. They are also available on Kindle. 
WAIT, WHAT IS LENT AGAIN?
Lent is the period of 40 days, (minus Sundays), beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending the Saturday before Easter.
Forty days mirrors Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. (It does not include Sundays because they are considered 'mini-Easters,’ celebrations of the resurrection every week). In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Lent Today: Today, all around the world, Christians practice Lent as a time of self-reflection, repentance and fasting, to focus on God and be honest about our own and the world’s need for God. Lent prepares us to receive the good news of Easter. Read a wonderful explanation of Lent by Ruth Haley Barton here: "Lent: A Season of Returning." WANT MORE?
OTHER RESOURCES FOR ENTERING INTO LENT 
LENT 2025 PLAYLIST COMING SOON!
SACRED ORDINARY DAYS - Big COLLECTION OF RESOURCES
A wonderful, extensive collection of resources, including music playlists, podcasts and devotionals. You can sign up to receive a Daily Message, a daily email with prayer, scripture, images, and a guided reflection for visio divina that accompanies each holy day throughout Lent and Eastertide. Printable Lent Family Journal
Wonderful weekly family experiences to engage Lent in creative and practical ways. From flamecreativekids.blogspot.co.uk Daily Online Lent Reading & Meditation
Click to be guided through an online devotion each day. Subscribe to receive a daily email with a short meditation, guiding you through a reading and reflection for each day of Lent. |
Being With God Together on HOLY WEEK
Holy Week Helpers needed! Sign up to pitch in.
PALM SUNDAY
Sunday, April 13, 10:00 am
Sunday, April 13, 10:00 am
GOOD FRIDAY TENEBRAE SERVICE
Friday, March 18, 6:30 pm
Friday, March 18, 6:30 pm
EASTER CELEBRATION OF THE RESURRECTION
with breakfast & egg hunt
Sunday, April 20, 10:00 am
with breakfast & egg hunt
Sunday, April 20, 10:00 am
