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 and produced by the Higher Education Ministries Arena, a committee of the Education and Leadership Commission of the National Council of Churches.

As you make your way through this guide over the days of Lent (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 life.

If you wish to receive a free daily e-mail meditation during Lent, please send an e-mail to gwilliams@episcopalchurch.org with your e-mail address as the subject line and the words "join meditations" in the body of the e-mail.

You may download a PDF of the Lent guide at no charge.

Published by:
Higher Education Ministries Arena, a program function of the American Baptist Churches (USA), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.