Some helpful resources for celebrating Lent with your church and your family in 2020.

At St. John’s Vancouver they’ve developed some resources for practicing Daily Prayer and for celebrating Lent together. Below you can download copies below of a devotional booklet with an easy to use version of Morning Prayer and Compline, a Lenten insert with an introduction to the season of Lent and the seasonal collects (prayers) and a Lenten Calendar for children to colour and mark each day of the season.

What is Lent?

Lent is a liturgical season for preparing to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter.

The word “Lent” comes from the Old English word for “spring.” It reminds us of the season when the days lengthen and new life is born. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days prior to Easter Sunday—the same number of days that Jesus spent in the wilderness after his baptism. It’s

a time for self-examination and joyful repentance, sometimes for fasting and self-denial, and for seeing the glory of Christ as we meditate on God’s word.

Lent is not the “Spiritual Olympics.” It’s not a competition to see how extraordinary our spiritual disciplines can become! Rather, it’s a chance
to renew our daily dependence on God. Here’s how Eugene Peterson translates Romans 12:1: “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

Common Prayer Booklet

This little booklet in your hand is a devotional resource.
It is intended to help you create time and space in your life for prayer, so that you might be strengthened in your walk with Jesus.

We have taken the basic rubric for two Anglican prayer services and modified both the content and the length. The goal is to provide an accessible pattern which will hopefully enrich your prayer life, and introduce you to the riches of the Book of Common Prayer as well.

We encourage you to use this booklet daily, as best you can, so that through regular, Scripture-inspired prayer, you continue to abide in our Lord.

What's Included?

There are two times of prayer included: Morning and Night. The Morning service makes space for intercession, while the Night service (Compline) encourages a time
of reflection. The services can be prayed alone, or as a group. If you are curious about various elements of the service, we’ve included a brief explanation at the back.