LENT to EASTER 2026

Lent is a season that invites honesty about what we carry and what we seek. This year, we explore the many forms of longing that shape our lives—longing for wholeness, mystery, relationship, community, courage, and new life. Rather than rushing to easy answers, this series invites us to listen for how Jesus meets our deepest longings with presence, compassion, and grace. Our Lenten journey unfolds through Ash Wednesday, Sunday worship, alongside our Dinner Church gatherings, and Holy Week.

Lent & Holy Week Schedule — 2026​

Palm Sunday — March 29
8:30AM & 10:30AM
​W/ Special Kids Program
Special Holy Week Service — Friday, April 3
From Table to Tomb: Walking with Jesus in the Final Hours
6:30 PM in the Sanctuary
 A service combining elements of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday
Easter Sunday Worship — April 5
8:00 AM • 9:30 AM • 11:00 AM

Contemplative Practices for Lent

Contemplative prayer is an ancient and simple discipline. At its heart, it is an
opportunity to slow down, to create space, and to notice the presence of God. When we slow down, we can hear the inner stirrings a little clearer and we start to notice the ways God is already at work in our lives and in the world. Contemplative prayer practices help us be in the world with solid footing, clarifying our understanding of how God is calling us to serve our neighbor.

Throughout these weeks in Lent, we will use Thomas Merton’s famous prayer from Thoughts on Solitude as a guide. (You can easily find this prayer online if you’d like to reflect on its entirety.) Merton (1915-1968) was an American Trappist monk who lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY. Merton wrote prolifically about faith and spirituality and is credited as one of the people who reintroduced contemplative prayer into Christian practice. Merton’s prayer offers an honest look at the ways we might wrestle with our faith towards God and the ways we delicately step into a future that can appear so uncertain, making it an ideal companion in this season.

Each week you will be offered three practices:
 - Thomas Merton's Prayer
 - Question to Consider
 - Contemplative Practices

If you don’t do every part of these offerings, or if you end up skipping a week, don’t
worry! You’re not messing anything up and you’re not going to have an incomplete
experience because you didn’t do every part. Instead, understand all of this as an
invitation to find space for your spirit to settle, space to hold this Lenten season in a new way.

EVENT AND SERVICE INFORMATION