LENT 2025

Dear Journey Family,

At The Journey, we’ve come to embrace Lent as a season to experience God’s love and reflect more fully on His holiness. It is a tradition that carries a wide variety of experiences and associations. Even within our pastoral team, we see these contrasts—ranging from avoiding Lent altogether to cherishing it as a highlight of their spiritual upbringing. These diverse perspectives shape the way we now celebrate Lent as a church, inviting everyone to step into this sacred season with fresh purpose and intentionality.

Pastor Tom grew up in a Baptist tradition where Lent wasn’t practiced, so it was something that felt distant and unfamiliar. Over time, he discovered that Lent can be a deeply joyful and renewing season, one that centers our hearts on the story of Jesus in a powerful way.

For Pastor Paul, Lent was a tradition he experienced growing up Catholic, but it felt like a time of reluctant religious duty, disconnected from joy or hope. He later came to see Lent not as a season of suffering, but as an opportunity to step closer to Jesus and to make space for God’s grace to work in his life.

Pastor Maureen grew up in a Catholic tradition where she experienced Lent as a beautiful and life-affirming season. It was a time marked by meaningful practices that always seemed to make her life better, drawing her closer to God in ways that felt tangible and transformative. Over the years, her love for Lent has only deepened as she’s seen how even small, intentional measures can grow into profound experiences of God’s grace and love.

Coming from these very different backgrounds, we now see Lent as an invitation—a sacred season to draw nearer to God, not out of obligation, but out of a desire to experience His love more fully. It is not about religious duty or deprivation, but about creating space to connect with Jesus in fresh and meaningful ways.

This Lent, whether you’ve practiced this tradition before or are exploring it for the first time, we invite you to join us as a church family in embracing this season together.

To help guide us through this season, we are excited to share Road to Joy, a Lent devotional designed to lead us deeper into the heart of this sacred time. Beginning March 2, you can get your copy at church on Sunday or download it digitally, and use it to participate in Lent with us as we reflect on the joy and grace that Jesus offers.

We are so excited to see how God moves in your life and in the life of our church as we walk through this sacred season together.

With love and anticipation,

Pastor Tom, Pastor Paul, and Pastor Maureen