Lent at First Church

This Lent, First Church will explore the stories we don’t usually tell in worship. We will engage with the stories of Puah the Midwife, Rahab the sex worker, and Balaam the talking donkey and other characters in scripture who have been misunderstood or ignored.

As we center stories we don’t usually tell, we will also consider whose stories are usually allowed in Christian spaces and whose are not, and why? We will listen for voices from the margins in scripture and in our modern world, learning always how to hear the voice of God and see the face of Christ in every person we meet, especially those not usually allowed into the spotlight.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. The series described here begins on Sunday, March 9th, and ends on Easter Sunday, April 20th. Services are at 10 am and all are welcome, always.

Our deacons and leaders are experimenting with a few things this Lent. Here are some things you can explore this season:

  • In the sanctuary, on the podium where Emily usually preaches, there’s a prayer book for you to write prayers you’d like named aloud in our service.
  • On the altar in the sanctuary, there are candles for you to light if you feel so called. These are for the tender prayers of your heart that you’d like to be in the space but not named aloud. (Candles will also be on the table as you enter the sanctuary if you’d rather a hospitality member light one on your behalf.)
  • Following worship each week during Lent, we are gathering for talkbacks in the parlor. After worship, you’re invited to get a snack downstairs and then meet in the parlor around 11:30 for discussion of the day’s scripture passage and sermon. Emily will be there to loosely facilitate, but really, it’s a chance to connect together as a church family, explore the topics more deeply, and get to know each other more fully as we do.

We also offer a bible study each Wednesday at 10 am where we explore the upcoming Sunday’s text together.

We’d love to have you join us on the journey for this series, or any Sunday.

Lent Devotional

The Everything Happens Project’s Lent 2025 daily devotional, The Hardest Part: Hurt We Carry, Hope We Find, is available for independently guided study. A digital copy can be downloaded here. If you would like a physical copy, please contact our office manager!

From the devotional:

“Each day, we’ll look at the hardest parts of being human—heartbreak, emptiness, shame, and longing—and acknowledge the weight of it. You’ll find Scripture, a reflection, a response prompt, and a blessing to remind you that grace has a way of sneaking in, even when life feels impossible.”

All you need to get started are the devotional and 15 minutes each day of Lent (March 5 – April 19).