Forty days well spent: Season of Lent

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”

— Psalm 51:10

By Rev. Canon Val Kenyon

WHILE the season of Lent offers us many opportunities, an important aspect of the season, is an invitation into a time of honest reflection—some moments to slow down, listen deeply, and pay attention to the patterns that shape our lives.

From an Education for Ministry (EfM) perspective, this journey is not simply about giving something up or adding an extra spiritual task. It is about engaging intentionally with who we are and who we are becoming in our study, our stories, and our sense of service to the world.

EfM encourages us to look at life through scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Lent naturally draws these threads together. In scripture, we walk with Jesus into the wilderness, where he confronts temptation, identity, and purpose. Tradition offers practices—fasting, prayer, repentance, and generosity—that help clear away noise so we can hear God’s voice more clearly. Reason invites us to examine the assumptions that guide our choices, noticing where we resist change and where God may be calling us to growth. Experience grounds us, reminding us that formation takes place through the real joys, wounds, questions, and relationships that shape our days.

In EfM, theological reflection teaches us to ask where God is present in everything, what God is calling into being, and how we might participate in it all. Lent asks the same questions. It invites us to notice the wilderness places within and around us, that we might enter them with courage and curiosity.

Ultimately, Lent is not about becoming someone different for forty days; it is about becoming more fully ourselves in God’s presence. As we study, pray, reflect, and walk alongside one another, we discover again that formation is a lifelong journey—and Lent offers a sacred space into which we strive to take the next faithful step.

If you want to learn more about Education for Ministry please contact Libi Clifford, the Diocese of Huron EfM Coordinator or myself Val Kenyon at EFM@huron.anglican.ca

Rev. Canon Dr. Val Kenyon is EFM Animator in Huron.
EfM@huron.anglican.ca