This devotion is a guide to help “create space for grace” through the season of Lent. Grace is a shorthand way of speaking of the incredible love of God. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, understood grace as God’s mercy that comes to us, even though we do not deserve it. It is a free gift.
Like receiving an unexpected present from our grandparents on Christmas morning, we are often surprised by grace. When we are given such a gift, our natural response is to feel guilty since we do not have a gift to give in return. But like the Christmas gift, grace is given out of love and we are invited to receive it with no strings attached.
Lent offers us an opportunity to create space for grace. It is a season of the Church that spans forty days beginning on Ash Wednesday and goes through Easter Sunday. For early Christians, Lent was a time to prepare for baptism which only happened on Easter Sunday morning. It was marked by a time of prayer, self-reflection, and preparation for Easter.
The devotions in Creating Space for Grace are written by students at LaGrange College to help you in your turning toward God’s grace.
As you make your way through this guide over the next forty seven days (we have included Ash Wednesday and Sundays) we trust that you will be led to reflect on ways that you can create space for grace in your lives.
The guides are $2.00 each which includes shipping and handling and may be ordered from Gary Williams at the Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017 or gwilliams@episcopalchurch.org or call (212) 716-6257. Checks should be made payable to NCC with a memo line notation: ELMC/Higher Educ. Lenten. Guides will be shipped upon receipt of your check. Orders will be accepted until January 23 while supplies last.
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