A Season of Lent Online
Dear Church Family,
As we journey through a new year, everything is a little different. Caring for our neighbors and ourselves during a pandemic has meant a different way of being together, filling our days, and moving through the world. Life is different — and church is different. Yet, the mission and the heart of it all is the same: love God and love our neighbor as we love ourself. That call is about all of us, as a church, being love in all the places we are.
The season of Lent, a 40-day season of reflection and intention beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending in the celebration of new life on Easter, is part of the ancient, living rhythm of our faith and has been practiced in times and places even more different than today! Lent’s continual practice through the centuries reminds us that God is at work in rhythms of renewal and growth, reflection and celebration, grounding and good, in every time and place and way of life — including ours right now.
So this Lenten season, what does it mean to love our neighbor when we are spending more time in our neighborhoods? What does it mean to love God when we are seeking to learn and grow from home? What does it mean to experience God’s love for us when we might be spending more time with ourselves than ever!? How do we be a loving church in all the places we are?
The good news is that we can! God invites us to be part of the practice of love and kindness in our world. Lent is a reminder that no matter the circumstances, we can be love through the One that loves us first. And in our shared practice, we can be the church in wider and deeper ways — covering more neighborhoods and friend and family circles — than we ever imagined.
We have created a weekly Lenten guide that offers a series of daily reflections, activities, and meditations to help you practice love for God, neighbor, and yourself in every place you find yourself. And together, as we journey through Lent, we will find ourselves ever more being love, and being the loving church Jesus calls us to be, everywhere we are.
In Christ,
Jonathan Perry
Ash Wednesday: Online Only
Wednesday, February 17 at 7 pm
Ashes-to-Go has been canceled due to inclement weather.
Our online service for Ash Wednesday will be at 7 pm at fumcdenton.com/live and on Facebook. You are welcome to use any other household item as ashes—some popular choices include glitter, chalk, spices, and dirt. If you are unable to join us at 7, the service will still be available on our website, on Facebook, and on Youtube for viewing anytime after that. We hope you will join us worship as we begin the season of Lent together.
Kids' Lent in a Box
Sign up for delivery by Friday at 5 pm or pick-up on Sunday, February 21 from 12-2 pm
Join FUMC Denton Kids on a Lenten journey and sign up for a special box created for this Lenten season. Inside you will find special activities for each week that coincide with weekly videos that we’ll share on Facebook. Enjoy making a meditation jar, learning various types of prayer, Psalm 23 through pictures, and more! Sign up by Friday, February 19 at 5 pm to get your box delivered to you! Lent boxes will take the place of our usual Sunday School bags during this time. If you’ve signed up before, you won’t need to sign up again—we’ll make sure you get one! If you don’t make the sign up deadline, you can still swing by the church to pick up a Lent Box on Sunday, February 21 from 12-2pm under the East Wing Awning.
Lenten Sanctuary Services
Sundays, beginning February 21, at 8:30 am in the Sanctuary
Join us for a brief, indoor services in the Sanctuary during the season of Lent. Masks and social distancing will be required. Reservation is required so that we can ensure the safety of our community—please register the number for every person coming with you. If you join us for the first of the month, we will be celebrating Communion together with individual pre-filled communion cups for safety. Learn more and register here. If you'd like to volunteer, sign up to volunteer here.
Lent in Plain Sight: A Lenten Study
Sundays, beginning February 21, at 5:30 pm on Zoom
How are you encountering God this Lenten season? As we enter a second Lenten season during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps it is a little harder to be intentional about taking on a Lenten discipline or setting aside time for spiritual practices in our homes and apart from one another. But, God is all around us at work in ordinary people, through ordinary situations, visible in ordinary things. Join us for a Lenten study, led by Josh Taylor, Director of Worship & Music, where we consider Lent in plain sight. Click here to sign up.