In Lent, the church sets aside 40 days to remember and repent of our sin, to proclaim the delivering acts of Jesus Christ, and to anticipate the joy and new life possible through his death and resurrection.
Lent is a season to silence the distractions in our spiritual lives in order to be in the healing presence of Jesus
Lenten Practices
At the center of the unforced rhythms of grace of Lent are fasting, prayer and alms-giving.
FASTING is a willing abstention from eating food, drinking or other forms of consumption, to make space in our souls to feast on Jesus.
PRAYER is participating in the life of God by talking with and listening to him, whether in solitude or with others.
ALMSGIVING is a direct participation in God’s generosity as we give away our resources in love to our neighbor.
Resources:
As you prayerfully prepare for Lent, read through our Lenten Guide and feel free to share it with your friends.
We also provide free copies of “The Good of Giving Up” on our Welcome Table in the sanctuary throughout the season.
Here is also a wonderful 2025 Family Guide from Little Way Chapel for young children, along with the Jesus Storybook Bible Lent reading guide.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner
A Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner is a traditional meal held on the day before Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent in the Christian calendar. It is a time of feasting before fasting, as Lent is a season of repentance, reflection, and often giving up rich foods.
Why Pancakes?
Historically, Shrove Tuesday was a day to use up rich ingredients like eggs, milk, butter, and sugar, which were often given up during Lent. Pancakes became a simple and delicious way to consume these foods before the season of fasting began.
What Happens at a Pancake Dinner?
Community Meal: Churches and families gather to enjoy pancakes together.
Toppings & Sides: Often includes syrup, fruit, whipped cream, bacon, or sausage.
When:
Tuesday, March 4th at 5:30PM
Ash Wednesday
In Scripture, ashes serve both as a symbol of mortality and as a sign of mourning and repentance. In the Ash Wednesday service we are reminded of our mortality, we confess our sins, and we experience forgiveness through Christ’s death and resurrection. A central practice in the Ash Wednesday service is when those gathered physically embody what is in their hearts when they receive the “imposition of ashes” on our foreheads and hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Praise be to God that sin and death do not have the final word! We leave the service in confidence and gratitude: Christ has conquered death, and nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
When: Wednesday, March 5th at 6:30-7:30PM
Where: Woehler Family Center (Located behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1416 N Loop 1604 E, San Antonio, TX 78232)
Fasting Class
Fasting is one of the three cardinal practices of Lent. More than that, it is a highly biblical but often not practices by 21st century Christians. Join us a for a four session class in Practicing the Way as we study the topic of fasting.
Where: Online
When: 8pm every Wednesday (March 12, 19, 26, and April 2)
Private Confession
Schedule a time for Private Confession with Pastor any Wednesday between 9-11am.
Whether you’ve been to confession often or just thought about it, it can be a anxious inducing thought. But don’t let nerves or fear hold you back. Confession is a gift from God to His children. Private Confession and Absolution is not a place of condemnation but a place of grace and forgiveness.
What going to Confession looks like:
Schedule 10-15 minutes to meet in a church sanctuary or a quiet outdoor setting.
The pastor gives a greeting.
Make the Sign of the Cross and say, “Pastor, please hear my confession and pronounce forgiveness in order to fulfill God’s will.”
Pray the General Prayer of Confession, expressing your sorrow for your sins.
“What troubles me particularly is that . . .” Confess those specific sins on your conscious. (If you are unsure or uneasy, tell him and ask for help.)
Say, “I am sorry for all of this and ask for grace. I want to do better.”
The pastor may gently ask some questions or offer advice to help you in the areas of struggle.
The pastor, by the command of Christ, then absolves you from your sins.
Depart rejoicing in the forgiveness of Christ!
The stations of the cross originate from pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem and re-walking the path Christ walked on his way to calvary. They took this experience back with them to their home congregations so those who were unable to travel to Israel could re-live and experience that same spiritual journey.
It is common in many historically rooted churches to invite their congregants to do self-guided Stations of the Cross every Friday (the day Christ was crucified) during Lent.
The stations vary in length from 5 to 36 stations, with the most common being 14. We will do 10 stations which should take around 30 minutes. Here is the guide will be using.
The purpose of the the Stations of the Cross is to help us reflect upon the final experiences of Jesus before his death and burial, increase a heart of gratitude for his deep love, and in a very real sense, allow the reality of his suffering and death to break into our modern world by setting aside the time to participate, the reading of Scriptures, and meditation upon their implications.
We will share breakfast together and the making of crosses. All are invited!
When: Saturday, April 5th at 9AM.
Where: We will meet outdoors BEHIND the playground at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
Stations of the Cross
HOLY WEEK
WHAT IS HOLY WEEK?
If you have never gone through Holy Week, you may be wondering: “Why is this week different from all other weeks?” During Holy Week, the church journeys with Jesus through the final moments of his life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the grave. We witness the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). By his blood God has delivered us from the slavery of sin and death and has brought us into the fullness of his promise that we, too, might share in his resurrection (Phil. 3:10-11).
Holy Week invites each one of us to go on pilgrimage: to journey with Jesus through the gates of Jerusalem, to eat with him and hear his commandment to love one another, to stay and watch with him in the garden, to accompany him on the way to Calvary, to be present at his death, and to dance for joy at his resurrection.
Let this Holy Week be your invitation to set your countenance on Jerusalem and, like Jesus, to journey to the Passover feast. Let us experience the remembrance of God’s saving deeds and encounter firsthand the power of the crucified and risen Christ to save and heal us.
Palm Sunday is the day we commemorate the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem, when he was greeted by a crowd, waving palm branches and shouting “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” With our own palms, we remember and join the crowds who sang “hosanna” to Jesus as an earthly king, perceiving his glory in limited and worldly terms, based on our own human experiences and expectations.
Join us on Sunday, April 13th at 10:30AM at the Woehler Family Center, located behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1416 N Loop 1604 E, San Antonio, TX 78232
Palm Sunday
Maundy Thursday
On Maundy Thursday we remember the final night of Jesus’ life when he washed his disciples’ feet, instituted the Last Supper, and told them, “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another.” On this night, we will gather to reflect on the significance of this night and end it by celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
When: Thursday, April 17th at 6:30pm
Where: Woehler Family Center, located behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1416 N Loop 1604 E, San Antonio, TX 78232
Good Friday we reflect upon the seven last words of Jesus from the cross and remember the love of God that was demonstrated for us by Christ’s sacrifice.
When: Friday, April 18th at 6:30pm
Where: Woehler Family Center, located behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1416 N Loop 1604 E, San Antonio, TX 78232
Good Friday (Tenebrae)
Resurrection Sunday
Join us as we celebrate Easter the highest Feast Day of the year as we rejoice in Christ’ victory over death, hell, and the devil and the life He now brings to all those in Christ!
When: Sunday, April 20th at 10:30AM
Where: Woehler Family Center, located behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1416 N Loop 1604 E, San Antonio, TX 78232
How can I expect to become like Christ during Lent?
There are some themes that often arise when people describe their experience of practicing Lent. However, this list is not exhaustive, nor prescriptive; God’s activity in your life cannot be predicted or controlled!
HUMILITY: Humility is the capacity to recognize who we are in relationship to the living God. The path of Lent reveals our mortality, sin and limitations. Often, the Holy Spirit reveals personal and corporate blind spots during Lent. Our hunger pains, headaches and failures during Lent become living reminders of our great need for the salvation offered through Jesus Christ.
RE-ORDERED LOVES: The gentle harness of Lent is designed to loosen our unhealthy attachments to creation (including food, drink, and money) so that we may enjoy a deeper bond to the Creator. We learn to internalize and enjoy the love of Christ during Lent.
PURITY: During Lent, we see the incompatibility between our commitment to Jesus and our dabbling in idolatry (loving the world and pleasures more than God). We confess our sins and thereby take hold of the forgiveness that is ours in the Gospel.
JOY: As we give ourselves to him in our suffering, Jesus Christ supplies us with a lasting spiritual overflow and the consolation of the Holy Spirit. This is to be distinguished from a “spiritual high,” which cannot be sustained over time or during suffering. Easter Sunday and corporate worship during Lent grants us a taste of heaven.
RENEWED IMAGINATIONS: As we progress through events of Ash Wednesday, the 40 days of Lent and the drama of Holy Week, we begin to see ourselves and the world as they are in God. The events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection become for us a window into the new creation (otherwise known as the Kingdom of God) which gives us a secure identity and invites us to participate in the Kingdom of God!
DEPENDENCE: During Lent, we unlearn the lie that we are self-made, self-contained individuals. We learn to draw our strength from the life of God and the bonds of affection with our fellow Christians.
Check our our blog post on Lent to learn more about this season.
