38+ Creative Ministry Resources for Lent & Easter
This Lent marks our fourth year crafting art and resources inspired by the Revised Common lectionary, which means we have a large inventory of materials to support you through the seasons of Lent and Easter. To save you time (and the hassle of searching your way through older resources in our shop), we thought we’d organize all we have to offer. Get your scrolling & clicking finger ready, because there’s a lot in here!
If you’re familiar with our work, you may know that we bundle our resources because they often overlap in use, and because we want to equip you with comprehensive materials for a whole season. Our newest Lent resource bundle follows the RCL for Year A and the theme, “Wilderness.” Click the graphic to check out these resources first! You’ll also see the individual components of our Wilderness bundle organized by categories below.
Happy scrolling & browsing!
WORDS FOR WORSHIP
From poetic prayers, to full worship liturgies (with creative elements), to sermon-planning guides, these materials offer fresh, insightful, and sometimes lyrical words for worship.
Liturgy for weekly worship
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
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A collection of 20 liturgies, this resource provides fresh language for worship inspired by the RCL scriptures and our Lenten theme, Wilderness. Download includes a Call to Worship and Prayer of Confession for each Sunday in Lent, as well as full liturgy for Easter Sunday. We hope you will copy/paste or adapt these prayers for your corporate worship (with credit).
Liturgy written by Sarah Are.
[This liturgy is included in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
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A collection of 13 liturgies, this resource provides language for worship connecting to the Lenten themes of cultivating and letting go. We hope you will copy/paste or adapt these prayers for your corporate worship (with credit).
Liturgy written by Sarah Are.
[This resource is 1 of 7 in our 2018 EMBODIED Lent Bundle of resources]
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Prayers written by: Sarah Are
This is a collection of 12 prayers inspired by our Embodied theme. Collection includes: prayers for embodiment, calls to worship, prayers of confession, prayer of illumination and prayer of gratitude. Some prayers are more poetic in nature; others are formatted as call/response for worship liturgy.
Print and distribute these prayers for your congregation to encourage the spiritual practice of prayer throughout Lent, and/or adapt them for your worship (with credit). If you are a pastor, you may also use these words to inspire your own liturgy and sermons.
[This resource is one of many in our 2017 Lent Bundle]
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Prayers written by: Sarah Are
This is a collection of 21 prayers for the season of Lent. Collection includes prayers of adoration/thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession. Some prayers are written in prose, others are poems in stanza form. Print and distribute these prayers for your congregation to encourage the spiritual practice of prayer throughout Lent, and/or adapt them for your worship (with credit). If you are a pastor, you may also use these words to inspire your own liturgy and sermons.
[This resource is also included in our A New Creation Mini Bundle for Easter]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
A full order of worship, this liturgy provides language for an Easter Sunday service or any worship throughout the Easter season. We encourage you to use these prayers as they are or adapt them (with credit) for your Easter services.
Liturgy by: Sarah Are
Full orders of worship (w/ creative elements)
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
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When trudging through the wilderness, songs give us strength and courage to keep moving. This service interweaves song and poetry within the passion narrative to keep us singing on the journey to the cross. This is intended to be a Holy Week service to experience the fullness of the story of the last days before the resurrection. It would be appropriate for either Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, and is particularly intended for churches that only have one service during Holy Week and want to encompass the whole narrative in that one service.
Liturgy includes numerous suggestions (with licensing info) for the hymns and sung responses. Download includes sheet music for two original hymns by Slats Toole.
Liturgy, poetry, and original hymns by guest contributor, Slats Toole.
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This creative worship service for Palm/Passion Sunday follows Matthew’s telling of the events from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, highlighting a few narrative moments in between. This service is designed to be a hybrid of worship and dramatic reading. The hope is to engage people in a new way using the ancient Jewish tradition of midrash, helping teach and immerse them in the narrative flow of the Passion story.
Invite members to be midrash readers, embodying characters who each testify to who Jesus is. Get creative with blocking and offering the midrash with emotion and authenticity.
Liturgy & midrash by Sarah Are
[This resource is one of many in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
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This service is designed to provide worshipers with space to pray and reflect on the needs in their lives, whether they are seeking healing or wholeness for themselves, a loved one, or the earth. Incorporating written reflection, prayer stations, and a visual meditation, the service flows through 3 major Movements:
1. MOVEMENT ONE | Letting Go of Anxiety and Busyness to Cultivate Calm
2. MOVEMENT TWO | Letting Go of Fear to Cultivate Confidence in God
3. MOVEMENT THREE | Letting Go of Doubt to Cultivate Hope
[This resource is one of many in our Holy Week Bundle]
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Written by: Sarah Are
This resource offers poetry reflections (to be offered as spoken word in lieu of a traditional sermon) on three elements present in the narrative of Jesus' final hours: water (foot washing), bread (the Last Supper), and silver (Judas' betrayal). Poetry reflections are integrated within a full Maundy Thursday order of worship.
It starts with water—just as creation started—rooting us in baptism and the knowledge that we are claimed and known by God. The service progresses to Communion, where we are eschatologically reminded that there is always room at the table for us, and that Jesus—fully human, fully God—indeed walked this earth with dusty feet and ate with his friends. Finally, in the turn to silver, we come face to face with our forgetful and flawed nature. We are reminded how easily we can turn from the promise of baptism and the beauty of Communion to betrayal.
[Click the photos on the left to preview excerpts of the poetry and liturgy].
Poetry for worship & prayer
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
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This collection of 8 poetic prayers explores the Wilderness theme. Each poem reflects on a different type of wilderness space through which we may journey. Honest and intimate, these poems offer Lenten meditations that might become prayers of your own. We hope you might adapt them for worship liturgy, use them to open and close programming events, or print them as they are for members in your community to read and return to throughout the season of Lent.
Prayers written by Sarah Are.
[This resource is also included in our A New Creation Mini Bundle for Easter]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This collection of 6 poetic prayers explores Easter themes and what it means to become a new creation. Honest and intimate, these poems offer Easter meditations that might become prayers of your own. We hope you might adapt them for worship liturgy, use them to open and close programming events, or print them as they are for members in your community to read and return to throughout the season of Easter.
Prayers written by Sarah Are.
[This resource is also included in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This collection of 9 poetic prayers explores themes of cultivating and letting go for each week of Lent. Honest and intimate, these poems offer Lenten meditations throughout the season. We hope you might adapt them for worship liturgy, or print them as they are for members in your community to read and return to throughout Lent.
Prayers written by Sarah Are.
[This resource is also included in our EMBODIED Unbound Mini Bundle of resources for Easter]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
These 5 short poetic prayers reflect on themes of new life & resurrection in a way that feels personal and intimate. Honest and pure, they imagine what new life truly feels like—for us and for God. We hope you might adapt them for worship or print them as they are for members in your community to read and return to throughout Eastertide.
Prayers written by Sarah Are.
Sermon planning guides
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
For the Revised Common Lectionary scriptures for Lent, Year A, this guide offers you biblical commentary, theme connections, and some reccomended readings. For each text, we’ve included suggestions for how to connect the scripture to the theme, Wilderness. These suggestions offer a few ways of approaching and thinking about the texts in light of our theme.
We encourage you to use this guide as a starting point for your text study each week. You may wish to include our Artist Statements (included with the visuals in our Lent 2020bundle) in your scripture research and reflections. Consider mapping out your ideas in our accompanying Sermon Planning Grid.
Guide developed by Lisle Gwynn Garrity | Commentary by guest contributor, Slats Toole
[This resource is one of many in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
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Ever wish you had a better way to organize your thoughts around a worship series? Want help connecting the lectionary texts for Year C to our Cultivating & Letting Go theme? We created this resource to help you bridge the gap.
Like biblical commentary, this guide seeks to offer you seeds of ideas, theme connections, questions for deeper study, and real-world intersections. For each text, we’ve included suggestions for how to connect the scripture to the theme, Cultivating & Letting Go, guiding questions for deeper study, a quote for inspiration, and links to articles and books that bring new perspectives.
We encourage you to use this guide as a starting point for your text study each week. Consider mapping out your ideas in our accompanying sermon-planning grid. This is also a great resource for teaching Sunday School or small groups, as the guiding questions are great for group discussion!
Guide developed by Lisle Gwynn Garrity
Short films for worship & reflection
These short films blend visual imagery with either spoken word poetry or scripture to offer meditative moments for reflection. Use these in worship or in a class or programming event.
[This resource is one of many included in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This short film offers a visual and spoken mediation on the parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:1-9. We invite you to show this film during worship or educational events for a thoughtful and meditative reflection on the meaning of this parable.
You may wish to share this film as part of Movement Three in our Cultivating & Letting Go Healing & Wholeness Service.
Art, film, and words by Lisle Gwynn Garrity
[This resource is one of many in our 2017 Lent Bundle]
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Film By: Lisle Gwynn Garrity
Spoken Word by: Sarah Are
This film blends visual and spoken poetry to offer a meditation on our communal and individual brokenness and how we can allow it to divide us, or we can harness it to deepen our empathy, connection, and compassion. We hope this film speaks to the deep divides wracking our nation and world while also inviting us all to look more carefully at ourselves and others during this Lenten season.
[This resources is one of many included in our 2017 Lent Bundle]
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"Fast for Justice"
Painting & Film by Lisle Gwynn Garrity
This film blends visual and spoken poetry from Joel 2 and Isaiah 58 to offer a meditation on how to cultivate our spiritual practices into faithful action during the Lenten season. Beginning with the darkness and gloom imagery from Joel 2, the painting shifts to show how, when we fast for justice, our light breaks open into the darkness like the dawn of a new day.
We hope this film offers a fresh way of hearing these ancient prophecies, while inviting meditation on our spiritual practices and how we are to work for the justice and well-being of all God’s people.
[This resource is 1 of 7 included in our 2018 EMBODIED Lent Bundle of resources]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This short film explores what it means to relent in the midst of suffering and lament. Pairing time lapse imagery with the words of Psalm 31, this film could be offered as a visual lament in worship or used in bible study/discussion groups around similar themes.
Art & film by Lisle Gwynn Garrity
Relenting is not a passive act; it is the surrender we come to when we bear all our pain—openly, honestly, angrily—before the One who can take it all.
—Lisle Gwynn Garrity
Devotionals + Lenten coloring calendars
In years past, we developed the tradition of offering a Lenten coloring calendar. Ever heard of that? We hadn’t, so we decided to create one. Throughout Lent, color in a shape each day (or week) with imagery inspired by scripture. By Easter, you will have filled your work of art with color. The accompanying devotional guide offers written reflections, poetry, and prompts. Print these materials for yourself or your entire church!
Please note: Years B & C were produced in 2018 & 2019 and include those older dates.
Coloring Calendars
Cultivating & Letting Go Lenten Coloring Calendar + Devotional Guide (Year C)
$18-$85
EMBODIED Coloring Calendar + Devotional Guide (Year B)
$18-$85
Devotionals
Wilderness Lent Devotional Booklet, Year A ($18-$85)
Words for the Wilderness Devotional Cards ($7-$55)
Sanctuary Art
We hope to empower you to create art with others in community to bring the themes of Lent to life in tangible form. These resources provide you with the tools to create paper lace banners, or an intergenerational art installation shaped by everyone in your church!
[This resource is one of many in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
Throughout Lent, create beautiful sanctuary art to install on Easter Sunday. These designs by Hannah Garrity feature blooming lilies with hints of imagery from the days after Jesus’ resurrection—crucified hands, breaking bread, fish, the road to Emmaus. These banners invite you to look closer to find the imagery embedded within the larger composition of blooming, new life. As you will see, these designs can become either a pair of 2 banners or a triptych of 3 banners. We hope you will choose the option best for your space and creative team.
We hope these designs (and our instructional materials) can simply be a starting point for you to create art and beauty that is uniquely your own. Gather a group and create together, for the creative process is just as meaningful as the final result. And we promise, these are not as hard to create as they may look!
[This resource is one of many in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
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This Lent, we are exploring what must be cultivated within ourselves to further God’s work through us. We are also contemplating letting go of things that may be hindering our positive influence in the world. This project provides a tangible and meaningful way for any member to practice Cultivating & Letting Go throughout Lent.
The project involves congregation members in worship, youth during youth group, and children during the children’s message in worship. It allows everyone in your community the opportunity to participate in the evolving transformation of a Lenten tree. Materials needed are very attainable and can either be ordered or scavenged!
[This resource is 1 of 7 in our 2018 EMBODIED Lent Bundle of resources]
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This Lent, create beautiful sanctuary art to illuminate the embodied theme. These designs by Hannah Garrity feature abstract imagery of mind, body, heart, and soul. We hope these designs (and our instructional materials) can simply be a starting point for you to create art and beauty that is uniquely your own. Gather a group and create together, for the creative process is just as meaningful as the final result.
[This resource is one of many in our 2017 Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ONLY
Banner designs by: Hannah Garrity
This pair of banner designs offer a powerful image of the the empty tomb and symbolize how Jesus’ resurrection transforms the brokenness of the world. Use these designs to create unique worship art to share the beauty and mystery of the resurrection. There are several ways you can bring these hand-drawn designs to life in your congregation (from simply coloring them to cutting them into intricate paper lace banners). Choose the option below to best fit your needs and context.
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This Lent, adorn your sanctuary with elements of the wilderness. Instead of running away from the wilderness, bring the wilderness in—to face it, confront it, and find your way through it. These elements remind us of the many layers of the wilderness—in these layers we find meaning and the courage to carry on.
This worship art project invites members of all ages to create wilderness art together. The project includes contemplative liturgy with poetry so that your creative process is worshipful and deeply meaningful.
Original Visual art
Each year, we offer new original visual art inspired by the lectionary scriptures. Below are our Lenten visual collections, which also include artist statements and a visio divina bible study curriculum so that you can use our visuals in Sunday School or other group study contexts.
Our Stations of the Cross series is a moving way to offer the Stations as an art installation. It includes a Companion Guide with scripture and written reflections for each Station.
[This resource is one of many in our Holy Week Bundle]
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By: Lauren Wright Pittman
The Stations of the Cross is an ancient meditative pilgrimage inviting the spiritually hungry to walk the “Way of Sorrows” with Jesus to his death on Calvary hill. Traditionally depicted in fourteen visuals, the Stations highlight pivotal moments in Jesus’ final hours. This graphic art rendition of the Stations by Lauren Wright Pittman nods to tradition while imagining Jesus’ journey toward crucifixion through a modern lens. In twelve black and white images, this series condenses the version Pope John Paul II introduced on Good Friday in 1991. Stripped down and textured, these visuals highlight the metaphorical and emotional layers of Jesus’ journey toward his last breaths.
We encourage you to print this series on large poster paper (see printing info below) to install it as an art exhibit in your church or community. Distribute copies of the Companion Guide for participants to read and reflect as they journey through the Stations. Companion Guide includes the scripture, visual prompts, an artist reflection, and prayer for each Station. Final page includes prompts for group discussion or individual reflection on the Stations as a whole. To purchase the Companion Guide separately, please click here.
[This resource is one of many in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This is a collection of 6 visuals inspired by RCL scripture texts for Lent (Year C). Download includes files formatted for print and web/projection, as well as artist statements for each visual, plus a visio divina bible study guide.
[This resource is also included in our EMBODIED Unbound Mini Bundle of resources for Easter]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This is a pair of visuals inspired by the RCL gospel scripture texts for Easter day (Year B). Download includes files formatted for print and web/projection.
[This resource is also 1 of 7 in our 2018 EMBODIED Lent Bundle of resources]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This is a collection of visual art inspired by RCL scripture texts for the six Sundays in Lent (Year B). Download includes files formatted for print and web/projection.
[These visuals are included in our Holy Week Bundle of resources]
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This is a pair of prophetic visuals for Holy Week, one specifically for Good Friday, and the other for Easter morning. Download includes files for print and web so you can use them for projecting images and slides in worship, printing on bulletins, study materials, and church publications, and advertising your worship on your website and online.
Click the photos on the left to preview images and artist statements.
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This is a collection of 15 visuals inspired by RCL scripture texts for Lent (Year A). Download includes files formatted for print and web/projection, as well as artist statements for each visual, plus a visio divina bible study guide.
[This resource is one of many in our 2017 Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ONLY
Visuals & graphics by: Lisle Gwynn Garrity, Lauren Wright Pittman, & Hannah Garrity
A collection of 7 visuals and graphics to help you visually explore the season of Lent. All images are formatted for print and web so you can use them for projecting images and slides in worship, printing on bulletins and church publications, and advertising your worship on your website and online.
[This resource is also included in our A New Creation Mini Bundle for Easter]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
This watercolor mirrors our A New Creation Banner Designs and offers the beautiful juxtaposition of lilies blooming in front of a dark empty tomb. Download includes files formatted for print and web/projection.
Coloring Posters
Coloring is a simple way to provide space for either intergenerational communal art-making or individual reflection. Incorporate them into your bible study, youth group, prayer stations, children’s church, fellowship events, etc. Like our visual art, we create new coloring pages each year based on the lectionary and include written reflections on the imagery. For all of our coloring posters, we provide digital files for printing them in three sizes (8.5x11, 11x17, 24x36).
[This resource is one of many included in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
A collection of 9 hand-drawn coloring posters inspired by RCL texts for Lent Year C. Print the art as coloring posters (we provide 3 size options) to invite members of all ages to dig deep into these scriptures through color, line, and form. These coloring posters are great for creating easy and meaningful community art.
Download includes artist statements for each poster plus a visio divina bible study guide.
[This resource is 1 of 7 included in our 2018 EMBODIED Lent Bundle of resources]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
A collection of 7 hand-drawn coloring posters inspired by the RCL gospel texts (plus Psalm 31) for the six Sundays in Lent (2018/Year B). Print the art as coloring posters (we provide 3 size options) to invite members of all ages to dig deep into these scriptures through color, line, and form. These coloring posters are great for creating easy and meaningful community art.
This collection also includes a specially-formatted file for printing all 7 posters (with artist statements and scripture) as an 8.5x11 coloring book. Print and distribute the coloring book to individuals in your community to use for personal reflection throughout the season.
[This resource is one of many in our 2017 Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD ONLY
Coloring poster designs by: Lauren Wright Pittman, Hannah Garrity, & Lisle Gwynn Garrity
A collection of 8 coloring posters inspired by Lenten scriptures and stories, these illustrations are perfect for children, youth, and adults to cultivate the spiritual practices of reflection, meditation, and coloring throughout Lent.
Graphics & Thematic Branding
One of the ways we aim to serve you is by offering you tools for quality graphic design. These materials not only help you effectively communicate announcements about your worship and seasonal themes; they also offer visual icons with deep theological meaning. Below are some of the themes you might use to shape your Lenten season.
[This resource is also included in our A New Creation Mini Bundle for Easter]
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Whether you are a church with full-time communications staff or one whose pastor handles all communications (on top of everything else), this branding suite provides everything you need to effectively share the theme, A New Creation, with your community. Download includes files for print and web so you can use them for projecting images and slides in worship, printing on bulletins, study materials, church publications, and advertising your worship on your website and online.
[This resource is one of many in our Cultivating & Letting Go Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
Whether you are a church with full-time communications staff or one whose pastor handles all communications (on top of everything else), this branding suite provides everything you need to effectively share the theme, Cultivating & Letting Go, with your community. Download includes files for print and web so you can use them for projecting images and slides in worship, printing on bulletins, study materials, church publications, and advertising your worship on your website and online.
[This resource is also included in our EMBODIED Unbound Mini Bundle of resources for Easter]
As a continuation of our EMBODIED lent graphic logo, this design offers visual symbolism for the season of Eastertide. Download includes files for print and web so you can use them for projecting images and slides in worship, printing on bulletins, study materials, church publications, and advertising your worship on your website and online.
[These graphics are 1 of 7 in our 2018 EMBODIED Lent Bundle of resources]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
These graphics offer a visually engaging way for you to share our EMBODIED Lenten theme with your community. Download includes files for print and web so you can use them for projecting images and slides in worship, printing on bulletins, study materials, church publications, and advertising your worship on your website and online.
[This resource is also included in our Wilderness Lent Bundle]
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FOR ONE-TIME LICENSE
Whether you are a church with a full-time communications staff or one whose pastor handles all communications (on top of everything else), this branding suite provides everything you need to effectively share the Wilderness theme with your community. Download includes beautifully-designed logos and theme graphics for print and web so you can use them for worship projection, bulletins, study materials, church publications, or for advertising events on your website and social media platforms.
We encourage you to use these branding materials to share the Wilderness theme throughout Lent and Easter.
