An American Lent
A daily Lenten journey through America’s history of slavery, segregation, and racism.
Thank you for using An American Lent.
Since it was first developed by Repentance Project in 2017, An American Lent (and its counterpart An American Lament) has been a transformational tool for American Christian communities seeking to pray, learn, lament, and confess in light of America’s history of slavery, segregation, and racism.
We long for An American Lent to continue to be a meaningful, relevant, and transformative tool for reconciling communities in the United States. Our cultural landscape has changed dramatically since 2017, as we have collectively experienced the racial uprisings of 2020, a multi-year global pandemic, and significant shifts in our political dialogue.
In order to revise and re-envision a more robust, comprehensive, and accessible journey through our history, this will be the last year that An American Lent will be offered in its current format. Arrabon, a spiritual formation ministry that focuses on racial healing, is working to release a Lent 2025 edition of An American Lent that will integrate Scripture, history, art, music, prayer and other spiritual practices in a way that will equip the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities.
If you would like to learn more of Arrabon’s ministry and resources, and be notified of the future release of An American Lent, please subscribe to Arrabon’s newsletter.
Even in the darkness, God is with us.
This Lenten devotional is a journey through America’s history of slavery, segregation, and racism. At times, it may feel like a voyage into the shadow of death. But even in that deep darkness, God is with us and his light is the hope that guides us.
True repentance produces fruit.
Our desire is that the Holy Spirit would transform us, individually and collectively, to be more like Christ. We approach this journey with hope that our grief would turn into repenting (2 Corinthians 7:8-10) and hope that this would lead to bearing fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8). Because repentance looks like something. Tangible evidence of our transformation is shown in our words and actions, in our giving and service, in our lives and communities. True repentance must produce fruit.
Lenten Journey to Reconciliation
From Ash Wednesday through Holy Week, we’ll consider perspectives and reflections from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade through the Civil Rights Movement and modern-day injustices. During Holy Week, we will dig deeper into suffering, forgiveness, communion, and—ultimately—resurrection. On Sundays, feast days during the liturgical season of Lent, we invite you to feast on the hope of the resurrection and the ways that God continues in the work of reconciling us to one another and to God.