Here’s My Problem With Lent

A candle sits on a table next to an open bible.

I didn’t grow up in a tradition that observed Lent. Perhaps they found it too Catholic for their belief system. Now I minister in a church that observes Lent, Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. To say that it was a steep learning curve for me is an understatement.                           It wasn’t that I couldn’t theoretically…

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Fasting Toward Reconciliation This Lenten Season

A wooden cross with a purple cloth hanging on it.

An oily black smudge on my forehead and my fingers looking like they’d cleaned a chimney were the indicators Ash Wednesday night that Lent had officially begun. The 40 days of Lent require fasting for the ones who claim to be followers—disciples—of Jesus. Fasting in westernized Christianity suggests that we give up something, that we…

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For Those Who Wait

A painting of a group of people with jesus on the cross.

A reflection for Holy Saturday, and for all those who wait. We wait together for the resurrection, having witnessed our Savior’s suffering with the women at the foot of the cross. We wait together for our own healing, having witnessed our Savior’s death at the hands of human failings. Jesus’ very presence on the cross…

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Artist Statement: LGBT Stations Of The Cross

Watercolor depiction of Christ bearing the cross

Mary Button is the creator of the Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality. Congregations and faith groups are encouraged to use these stations during the Lenten season for prayer and reflection. Download the entire series from Believe Out Loud’s flickr site. I was born and raised in the church. As the daughter of…

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