What's New for Lent and Easter 2023

Happy New Year!

What are your plans for Lent and Easter this year? In Lent, I always plan to say no to something (fast) so that I can say yes to something else (feast). What do you hope to feast on? What are you thinking of fasting from?

Here is a roundup of resources and tidbits from GatheringWorship.ca and beyond that I hope will help in your Lent and Easter preparations.

• Take Note: The Then Let Us Sing! Sampler is in development. Sign-up to our newsletter to stay informed. And watch out for how you, as a GatheringWorship.ca subscriber, will get pre-release access.
• This issue of Gathering explores Extemporaneous Prayer with helpful tips, formulas, and reflections on praying without a script. To find the Exploring section, enter “Exploring Lent Easter 2023” and choose Worship Column from the filters. You'll find the PDF download at the end of the Worship Column "Exploring Extemporaneous Prayer."
• Congratulations to Wendy MacLean, long-time GatheringWorship.ca Gathering columnist, whose book On Small Wings has won the a Don Gutteridge Poetry Award!
• The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity might be over, but the worship resources for this year, and previous years, are still available.
• March 14 is National Affirming/PIE Day! Check out new resources on the United Church website.
• If your Annual Meeting is around PIE Day, you may want to check out “A Rainbow of Gifts: An Idea for a Children’s Story for Annual Meeting Sunday” by Bob Root. You may also want to check out “Affirming Hymns for LGBTQIA+ and Two-Spirit Community.”
• Thinking of adding a prayer of confession to your worship service during the season of lent? Try this search. In the right-hand Search filter, enter Category – Prayer; Christian Calandar – Season of Lent; and in the additional filters enter Music-Prayer Type – Confession. Also check out our “Exploring Confession.”
• Don’t forget about this Lenten refrain “For You Alone”  by Pat Mayberry and David Kai, available in English, French and Spanish.

Whatever your plans, communally and personally, for Lent and Easter, I pray that it is a time of growth and transformation.

Worshipping with you,

Alydia