“I invite you, in the name of the Church,
to the observance of a holy Lent.”

Journey with us these forty days, to the Cross and the Empty Tomb, and we seek to grow into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Download the 2025 Lenten Handbook

Here are some ideas and activities to help you observe Lent this season.

GIVE
SOMETHING
UP

  • Abstain from eating meat, every day or only on Fridays

  • Give up sweets, deserts, candy, chocolate, or sugar

  • Refrain from drinking alcohol, coffee, or soda

  • Abstain from some kind of screen time: television, movies, games, social media

  • Give up shopping

  • Forgo eating out or fast food

  • Make a concerted effort to give up a negative activity or attitude:

  • gossip, fear, worry, judgment, complaining

  • Fast once a week

  • Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday

GIVE
SOMETHING
AWAY

  • Clean out your closet and donate clothing to the White Rock Center of Hope

  • Make a meal and deliver it to a neighbor

  • Make a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development, the Kellermann Foundation,

  • the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, or another charitable organization

  • Have your children sort through old toys and donate what they downsize

  • Purchase $10 gift cards and hand them out to people on the street

  • Clear out your pantry or purchase canned goods,

  • giving them to the White Rock Center of Hope

  • Pick up a Blessing Bag at church and give it to a homeless person

  • Give a special gift of appreciation to a co-worker, employee, or employer

TAKE
SOMETHING
ON

  • Attend the Quiet Day on Saturday, March 8

  • Attend one, or all, of the Lenten Friday Dinner and Devotion programs (Starting March 15)

  • Attend Morning Prayer each weekday at 9:00 am on St. John’s Facebook page

  • Read the Bible daily

  • Read a book of a theological or devotional nature (suggestions below)

  • Have a daily or weekly time of family devotions with your household

  • Engage in a daily time of self-examination, and

  • make a sacramental Confession before Easter

  • Keep a daily time of prayer

  • Engage in daily physical exercise

  • Attend a Sunday School class or Bible study

Dinners & Devotions

At St. John’s, our Lenten Fridays begin with a meal in Parish Hall prepared by one of our ministries: $5 per person or $15 for a family, plus we always have food options for kids. Following dinner, children ages 6 through 5th grade have their own devotional program in the Undercroft while adults and youth walk the Stations of the Cross in the church and hear from a guest speaker, each speaker focusing on the meaning of one of the stations.

We have a great lineup of speakers for this year:

MARCH 14

Mother Samira Izadi Page
Rector of Holy Nativity, Dallas

MARCH 21

Father Oliver Lee
Assistant Rector of Incarnation, Dallas

MARCH 28 | FAMILY FRIDAY

Deacon Katie Gerber
Canon for Youth, Diocese of Dallas

APRIL 4

Father Andrew Grosso
Senior Associate for Discipleship at St. Michael’s and All Angels

APRIL 11 

Bishop Greg Brewer
Interim Rector of Incarnation, Dallas

DOWNLOAD THE 2025 LENTEN HANDBOOK
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