Steve Bell's story serves as an invitation this season of repentance to reflect on how we turn toward God and our fellow creatures. Photo courtesy of Steve Bell
When a church turned away from musician Steve Bell and his family, inmates at the federal prison where his father was a chaplain turned toward them, welcoming their brokenness and helping Bell discover a gift from God and a vision for what church can be.
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African-American spirituals have given voice to people for whom “Lent was life,” says the dean of Duke Chapel, who has written a new book called “Were You There? Lenten Reflections on the Spirituals.”
In this excerpt from his new book, the Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery, the dean of Duke University Chapel, offers two Lenten meditations. Each of the book’s daily entries features the lyrics of an African-American spiritual and a brief reflection, along with Scripture readings and a short prayer.
Kerry Robinson and her late friend and colleague, the Rev. Bob Beloin, Catholic chaplain at Yale University.
Photo courtesy of Kerry Robinson
In the season of Lent, a Catholic leader grieves for her late friend and for her church, confident in the paschal mystery that out of suffering and death comes new life.
PInky the cat and the author's mother, Carolyn, comfort a fretful baby. Photograph courtesy of Jane Webb Childress
The passings four years apart of Pinky the cat and a much-loved mother has the author thinking about death and the meaning of a life.
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‘Blessed’ has become part of a slick and pervasive trend of forced, optimistic gratitude, says a young Christian writer. The season of Lent helps us return the word to its most authentic expression and meaning.
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The director of Duke Youth Academy wonders: Does Lent matter to my work? Is there a place for the practices of lament, grief and repentance in my daily tasks?
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If it's February, it's probably Lent. And that doesn't always mean giving up something, writes an Episcopal priest. Sometimes, dealing with the season's built-in emotional challenges is enough.
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A collection of Christmas ornaments reminds a writer and teacher that the abundant life is about more than an abundance of joy. Some ornaments carry weightier significance, leaning more toward Lent than Christmas or Epiphany.
Participants in The Painting Table process explore prayer and self-expression at the 2015 Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina.
Photos courtesy of Roger Hutchison
By gathering people to pray and to paint, a lay professional in the Episcopal Church has created a process in which children and adults can explore the Passion story -- and their own.