Lent "Making Space"

Last week, the younger students explored Lent as a season of “making space” for God’s love as we prepare for Easter. We began at the prayer table, noticing the purple cloth and veiled crosses, and discussing how these Lenten signs invite a quieter, more reflective spirit and help us anticipate the joy of Easter. We also introduced the three Lenten practices—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—framing fasting as doing “less of one good thing so we can do more of another good thing.” The children discussed the Lenten service project, Alleluia Care Kits for Trinity Walk-In Ministry, and then made small clay prayer pots to help remember daily prayer throughout Lent.

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The older group focused on Lenten history and the origin of pretzels. In earlier centuries, Lenten fasting practices were often stricter, and pretzels, made with very simple ingredients, fit the season’s call to simplicity and self-denial with purpose (Pruitt, 2015). Traditions often explain the twist as resembling arms crossed in prayer, making the pretzel a reminder that Lent is meant to shape our hearts toward prayerful living, not misery (Blitz, 2022). After connecting pretzels to the three Lenten practices (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), students headed to the kitchen to shape and bake pretzels to eat and share, a tangible (and delicious) way to remember that Lent forms us through simplicity, prayer, and love in action. More fun facts about pretzels here.

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Sources:
Blitz, M. (2022, September 22). The religious history of pretzels. Food & Wine.
Pruitt, S. (2015, April 24). The pretzel: A twisted history (Last updated May 27, 2025). HISTORY