Lent 2026: Dwelling in Dissonance
Richard Gehring
The theme for our Lenten worship series this year is “Dwelling in Dissonance.” In explaining this theme, the authors of this year’s materials from Mennonite Church USA write:
“Most years, the season of Lent is meant to prepare us for Holy Week. This year, the entire season of Lent is framed by the experience of Holy Week, inviting us to linger in the intensity of the final week of Jesus’ life, to dwell in the dissonance.
“In music, dissonance occurs when two or more notes strike the listener as discordant. Our ear instinctively knows the note that will bring resolution and wants the dissonance to resolve to something more harmonious.
“Similarly, we might be tempted to rush through the discord within these Lenten texts, anticipating the already-and-not-yet resolution of Easter. Can we receive the gift of the dissonance: the sense of both/and in all this season’s stories and in our world, the knowing and not knowing, the tension between how things are and how one wants things to be?
“Ultimately, can we stay in the hard places with Jesus and linger throughout Lent at the edge of our understanding, so we might more fully remain open and present to the hard places and the mysteries we face today?”
In This Issue
Curbing the Cravings with Christ
Nathan Perrin
This year, I began a health course with my ADHD coach that focuses on changing one habit per week. It just so happened that, right before Lent, the week for quitting sugar arrived—so when I shared that I couldn’t eat sugar, people assumed I was much holier than I actually was.
Whenever I’m trying to quit a bad habit, I return to many of the recovery principles I learned in twelve-step culture—chiefly, making space for God to work. Both the Serenity Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer invite us to surrender our expectations and our will to God. Each time I felt close to eating sugar, I would text a recovery friend and ask for accountability. I have already noticed spiritual growth.
In a sense, God chose something for me to surrender this Lent. Whenever we feel tempted by the things we’ve given up, it helps to remember that the urge is not as powerful as it sounds. Rather, it can become a new opportunity to turn back to God.
One of the aspects of Christian spirituality that I love most is that repentance begins with the honest recognition that we don’t have it all together. In that humble space, we encounter radical mercy and grace. God is with you on your Lenten journey, wherever you find yourself.
Multiply Your Mission Support
Kristin Crawford
The Mission Commission is happy to announce the return of the matching grant program for 2026!
This is a great way to invite fellow LMCers to give financially to organizations that are near and dear to your heart, and that also align with our congregation’s mission of following Jesus, seeking peace and justice, and serving others. Organizations span the world: from Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Tiskilwa, Bolivia, and more.
Groups of three or more are welcome to apply by April 5 for this year’s round of grants, ranging from $500-$2,000. Once Mission Commission reviews the applications, we select recipients and send approvals by May 15.
Then the fun begins!
After approval, you get to start spreading the news and asking others for donations to maximize the matching funds your approved organization can receive. For years this has been an impactful way of supporting important work both near and far. I speak as someone who has personally seen the importance of this grant for smaller organizations, and it’s such a special way that our church opens up ways of wider support.
Have any questions? Contact Katrina Baugh or any of the members of the Mission Commission and we’ll be happy to help!
Venture Club Builds Their Spiritual Houses at Retreat
Melissa Miller
Seven Venture Clubbers went on the winter retreat to Menno Haven at the end of January and here is the crowd-sourced report about the experience! Their favorite activities were ice skating (and other shenanigans) on the frozen lake, a game with pool noodles called “sock snatchers” (ask them about it), watching short videos with Mona (to determine if they were AI or not), playing Harry Potter Clue, hiking at night under a nearly full moon, playing volleyball (go Team Lunk!), eating food, trying the updated climbing wall, and playing chess and tag.
This group loves talking about food, so here are more details about the menu. Favorites included the chicken noodle soup, pancakes, breakfast burritos, breaded cod, and cinnamon roll cookies. Many of them also enjoyed sampling the individual creamer cups, but in general their food recommendations are trustworthy.
There were also four different worship sessions with singing, Bible readings, and group discussion time. The theme for the weekend was Build This House, from Ephesians 2:22. The leader for worship, Ashley Litwiller, shared many stories from the book of Daniel (which the youth all remembered and recounted the following Sunday). We talked about building our own spiritual houses, from the foundation to the walls, furnishings, and upkeep. This translated into Bible reading, prayer, worshipping God in community, and sharing about God with others.
If you want more details about the retreat, be sure to ask one of the Venture Clubbers!
