The Adult Formation Committee has selected 3 Devotionals for our Lenten small groups, which will be offered online and in person. Our in-person groups will meet during the Formation Hour on Sunday mornings and the online groups will meet via Zoom on weekday evenings. Members of each group commit to an individual spiritual practice, an hour in community a week, and a practice of praying for and with each other. Resources provided by St. Michael's, donations accepted. Check out the options below!
A compassionate, intelligent, and wry series of Christian daily reflections on learning to live with imperfection in a culture of self-help that promotes endless progress, from the New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason and the executive producer of the Everything Happens podcast
In Kate Bowler’s bestselling memoir Everything Happens for a Reason, readers witnessed the ways she, as a divinity-school professor and young mother, reckoned with a Stage IV cancer diagnosis; in her follow-up memoir, No Cure for Being Human, she unflinchingly and winsomely unpacked the ways that life becomes both hard and beautiful when we abandon certainty and the illusion of control in our lives. Now, in their first-ever devotional book, Kate Bowler and co-author Jessica Richie offer 40ish short spiritual reflections on how we can make sense of life not as a pursuit of endless progress but as a chronic condition. This book is a companion for when you want to stop feeling guilty that you’re not living your best life now.
Written gently and with humor, Good Enough is permission for all those who need to hear that there are some things you can fix—and some things you can’t. And it’s okay that life isn’t always better. In these gorgeously written reflections, Bowler and Richie offer fresh imagination for how truth, beauty, and meaning can be discovered amid the chaos of life. Their words celebrate kindness, honesty, and interdependence in a culture that rewards ruthless individualism and blind optimism. Ultimately, in these pages we can rest in the encouragement to strive for what is possible today—while recognizing that though we are finite, the life in front of us can be beautiful.
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In Kate Bowler’s bestselling memoir Everything Happens for a Reason, readers witnessed the ways she, as a divinity-school professor and young mother, reckoned with a Stage IV cancer diagnosis; in her follow-up memoir, No Cure for Being Human, she unflinchingly and winsomely unpacked the ways that life becomes both hard and beautiful when we abandon certainty and the illusion of control in our lives. Now, in their first-ever devotional book, Kate Bowler and co-author Jessica Richie offer 40ish short spiritual reflections on how we can make sense of life not as a pursuit of endless progress but as a chronic condition. This book is a companion for when you want to stop feeling guilty that you’re not living your best life now.
Written gently and with humor, Good Enough is permission for all those who need to hear that there are some things you can fix—and some things you can’t. And it’s okay that life isn’t always better. In these gorgeously written reflections, Bowler and Richie offer fresh imagination for how truth, beauty, and meaning can be discovered amid the chaos of life. Their words celebrate kindness, honesty, and interdependence in a culture that rewards ruthless individualism and blind optimism. Ultimately, in these pages we can rest in the encouragement to strive for what is possible today—while recognizing that though we are finite, the life in front of us can be beautiful.
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This Lenten devotional invites readers to learn more about the brutal institution of slavery and its impact on Black people in America and recognize how its evolution and legacy continue to harm their descendants in the United States today. Each of the forty devotions includes the testimony of a person who escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad, a Scripture passage, and a reflection connecting biblical and historical themes to challenge modern readers to work for liberation. Reflecting on Lenten themes of exodus, redemption, discipline, and repentance, readers, both Black and white, will be empowered for the work of racial justice.
Reviews
“This devotional is exactly the kind of tool that’s needed today—it offers a clear pathway into the type of deep, individual reflection that is required in order to heal the wounds of systemic racism. If you’ve ever wondered what you can do to become more antiracist, Lent of Liberation is a great place to start.” —Kerry Connelly, author of Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice
“Cheri Mills beckons the faithful to join her on a journey toward wholeness this Lent. Those who read this book will see, pray, and relate in a new way by Easter.” —Kelly Kirby, Rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Louisville, Kentucky
“Lent of Liberation is a profound call for repentance, a change of heart related to the long and continuing history of racial oppression in the United States.” —The Englewood Review of Books
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Reviews
“This devotional is exactly the kind of tool that’s needed today—it offers a clear pathway into the type of deep, individual reflection that is required in order to heal the wounds of systemic racism. If you’ve ever wondered what you can do to become more antiracist, Lent of Liberation is a great place to start.” —Kerry Connelly, author of Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice
“Cheri Mills beckons the faithful to join her on a journey toward wholeness this Lent. Those who read this book will see, pray, and relate in a new way by Easter.” —Kelly Kirby, Rector at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Louisville, Kentucky
“Lent of Liberation is a profound call for repentance, a change of heart related to the long and continuing history of racial oppression in the United States.” —The Englewood Review of Books
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The Poetry of Lent: A Lenten Companion to Mary Oliver's "Devotions"
Every journey needs a guide - and what better guide to the 40 days of Lent than the beloved poet, Mary Oliver?
Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, Oliver is widely celebrated as an accessible, insightful observer of the natural world, the life of faith, and the interplay between the two. Imagine a six-week journey with Oliver at your side, illuminating ancient passages of scripture; provoking bite-sized meditations on key Lenten themes; and pointing toward everyday practices for individuals, families, and congregations. All you need is this devotional, a Bible, and a copy of Oliver’s wonderful collection, Devotions (the poems can also be found online).
THESE GROUPS ARE CURRENTLY FULL -- Please contact Mandy Taylor-Montoya for more information
ONLINE, Mondays at 7pm IN PERSON, Sundays at 9am
