“Floriogroahy” A Lenten Flower-Power Calendar – “Floriography” is the secret language of flowers. This Lent we’d like to invite you on a Lenten journey that’s full of flowers. Just at the time of year when things seem most barren and flowerless, we hope you’ll join us in considering the lilies, as Jesus asked us to do. And not just the lilies, but the tulips, the forget-me-nots, the snowdrops, the weeds, and the corpse flower too, to see what they might have to teach us about life and death and resurrection on Easter morning.  Formats: printed cards, daily Facebook posts.

Vincent Van Gogh and the Beauty of Lent – Vincent van Gogh devoted his life to light. The light of creation, the light of painting, the light of God’s grace – and the light in humanity, mind, body, and soul. The son of a Christian pastor, Vincent fervently set out to be a preacher and missionary himself, but his ministry eventually took the form of brush strokes and canvases: in just ten years of his short life, from age 27 to 37, he created more than 2000 luminous works of art – including nearly 900 paintings – shimmering with vitality, with passion, and above all, with light. 

In this Lenten devotional, the words of Scripture and the paintings and letters of Vincent van Gogh will be our guides. Each week, biblical texts and Van Gogh’s work throw light on each other, pointing toward simple, powerful practices you can try yourself, with your family or friends, or with your congregation.  Formats: printed, e-reader version (with links to the artwork)

Full to the Brim – An Expansive Lent – The origins of Lent were that one was to leave their old life behind to fast and prepare to be baptized into a new way of living. In essence, this was a practice of stepping away from corrupt power, scarcity mentality, and empty rituals in order to live a more expansive and full life of faith. And so, our Lenten theme, Full to the Brim, is an invitation—into a radically different Lent, into a full life. It’s an invitation to be authentically who you are, to counter scarcity and injustice at every turn, to pour out even more grace wherever it is needed. When we allow ourselves to be filled to the brim with God’s lavish love, that love spills over. It reaches beyond ourselves; like water, it rushes and flows, touching everything in its path.

Full to the Brim reminds us to live fully—as we pursue justice and hope, or express grief and gratitude. And so, this Lent, let us trust—fully—that we belong to God. Let us increase our capacity to receive and give grace. Let us discover the expansive life God dreams for us.   

Formats: printed, e-reader version