ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Education Agency) — “Created in the Image of God, Shaped By Jesus” is the theme of the Lent at Home 2023 worship guide, now available at the Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) website, https://www.mennoniteeducation.org/Resources/Pages/Lent-at-Home.aspx. Using the theme developed for Leader magazine, the guide weaves weekly and daily Scriptures with worship rituals, prayers, activities, and background information to help individuals and households of all ages prepare for the season of Lent.
Talashia Keim Yoder from Goshen, Indiana, wrote the Lent at Home curriculum. Keim Yoder is a graduate of Hesston (KS) College and Tabor College, Hillsboro, KS, and is currently attending Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana. She is the pastor of Christian formation at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, and the theater director at Bethany Christian Schools, Goshen. She is the content writer for Building Faith, a website ministry of the Mennonite Early Childhood Network, and developed past editions of Advent at Home and Lent at Home.
“This year’s Lenten journey calls us to discover our best human selves,” she said. “Our at-home resource includes daily prompts to aid in that discovery, as well as a weekly ritual. But I think the part I’m most excited about is what we’re calling “Human Time.” It’s a weekly call to get in touch with your humanity, whether that’s in caring for your human needs, noticing the things that make you human, or discovering your in-the-image-of-God humanity through your senses. I hope people of every age find ways to explore being human this year – in all its joy and pain and quirkiness!”
Artist Erin Ramer from Parnell, Iowa, designed and illustrated the guide. She is a graduate of Bethany Christian Schools and Goshen (IN) College. A freelance graphic designer, she also manages her local MCC Thrift Store, Crowded Closet, in Iowa City, Iowa.
MEA Executive Director Michael Danner served as co-editor along with MEA Communications Coordinator Jolene VonGunten. MEA Hispanic Director Marco Güete translated.
Mennonite Church Canada created and produced the Lent at Home and Advent at Home series from 2002 – 2016, at which time Mennonite Church USA took on the project as part of its Faith Formation emphasis. MEA assumed coordination of the project in 2022. The at Home series is intended for all ages and life stages to deepen the experience of the season. The resource is free for all congregations, individuals, and families of Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada.
Mennonite Education Agency is headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, and partners with Anabaptist-Mennonite schools and educational programs associated with Mennonite Church USA to provide resources, networking, and support to school administrators, faculty, and staff. As the education agency of MC USA, MEA connects church and school together in a complementary and cooperative way to strengthen the church through education.
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