{"id":26482,"date":"2021-02-10T11:00:44","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T16:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=26482"},"modified":"2021-04-05T10:18:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T14:18:11","slug":"2021-lenten-devotional-booklet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=26482","title":{"rendered":"2021 Lenten Devotional Booklet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Members from three local churches have come together to produce a Daily Devotional for this year&#8217;s Lenten season. The booklets were published in hardcopy form and distributed within the participating churches, but electronic copies of the devotions are presented here.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you want a printed copy, visit or contact one of the participating churches:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.trinitymullicahill.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trinity United Methodist Church (Mullica Hill)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/zioncommunityumcclarksboro.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zion Community Church (Clarksboro)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=619\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pitman United Methodist Church<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>People from the following churches also contributed articles: <br \/>\n(<em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #ff6600;\">&#8220;UMC&#8221; stands for United Methodist Church<\/span><\/em>):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.belinumc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Belin Memorial UMC (Murrells Inlet, SC)<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blcdelmar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bethlehem Lutheran Church (Delmar, NY)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ccsouthjersey.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Calvary Chapel of South Jersey (West Deptford, NJ)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.umc.org\/find-a-church\/church\/11482\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evangelical UMC (Clarksboro)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/glassboromethodist.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">First United Methodist Church (Glassboro, NJ)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hammontonumc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">First United Methodist Church of Hammonton, NJ<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/lwchapel.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lakewood Chapel, Mays Landing,<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/lwchapel.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NJ<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/livinghopeworshipcenter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Living Hope Worship Center, Swedesboro, NJ<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nrumc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Raleigh UMC (North Raleigh, NC)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverstjohns.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">St. John\u2019s United Methodist Church, Turnersville, NJ<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pitman.umcommunities.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Methodist Communities (Pitman, NJ)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Daily Devotions for Lent 2021<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The devotional is presented in PDF format. Instead of presenting the entire booklet in one file (and forcing you to scroll through the whole thing to find the current date&#8217;s article), the booklet is broken up into separate week-by-week files.<\/p>\n<p>To read the article for any given date, scroll down to the desired month, and click on the button for the desired week.\u00a0 Except for week 1 (which begins with Ash Wednesday) and week 7 (which ends on Easter Sunday), all the files begin with Sunday and run through Saturday of the indicated week.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy; and may God bless your devotional time!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">February 2021<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #993366;\">The Lenten season (and first devotional) starts out with Ash Wednesday (February 17). Week 1 is this short &#8220;week&#8221; from Wednesday through Saturday&#8230;<\/span> <\/em><br \/>\n<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_00.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 1<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Ash Wed. through Saturday 2\/20<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_01.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 2<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 2\/21 through Saturday 2\/27<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">March 2021 (Weeks 3-6)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_02.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 3<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 2\/28 through Saturday 3\/6<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_03.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 4<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/7 through Saturday 3\/13<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_04.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 5<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/14 through Saturday 3\/20<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_05.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 6<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> Sunday 3\/21 through Saturday 3\/27<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">April 2021<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #993366;\">The season continues until we reach Easter Sunday, on April 4. Below are devotionals for week 7 (Palm Sunday through Saturday 4\/3) and for Easter Sunday&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_06.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\">Week 7<span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Holy Week (Sunday 3\/28 through Saturday 4\/3)<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21Devotional_07.pdf' class='icon-button paper-icon' target=\"_blank\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Easter Sunday<\/span> <\/strong><span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a> \u00a0 Sunday, April 4<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-26482 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21-Cover_400x300-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21-Cover_400x300-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21-Cover_400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21-BackCover_400x300-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21-BackCover_400x300-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Lent21-BackCover_400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-bio'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> Are you in the habit of reading your Bible? Daily opening yourself up to God&#8217;s word could make this Lenten season a life changer. For info on our &#8220;Chapter-a-Day&#8221; Bible Reading Plans, click this button:<\/span><\/p>\n<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=17037' class='icon-button rss-icon' target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 Bible Reading Plans<\/span><span class='et-icon'><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Where&#8217;d These Booklets Come From?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Open the following &#8220;drop down&#8221; box for some history on the origin of these devotional booklets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>God&#039;s Project<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><p><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">God\u2019s Project<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">If God wants it to happen, it will happen.\u00a0 That applies to everything; even to the creation of a booklet of Lenten Devotions.\u00a0 The collection of devotions on this website post stems from a ministry which began back in 1988.\u00a0 Separately, members from two United Methodist churches (Evangelical UMC and Zion UMC) had the vision for compiling a booklet of daily devotions which would inspire its readers to prepare for Easter during the season of Lent.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Separately, these two churches developed their own devotional ministry, and distribution of the devotions was directed to the members of the respective churches.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">In 2005, the two churches combined their efforts and envisioned a booklet which could be shared with multiple congregations.\u00a0 The following conversations launched the devotional ministry which is now blessing you&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>Wednesday, December 22, 2004&#8230;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u201cI know we talked about doing a Lenten booklet together this year, but I just checked the date for Lent to begin&#8230;did you realize Lent STARTS on February 9? Easter is early this year. There\u2019s no way we can get 46 people to write devotionals in the next 3 weeks. I mean, it\u2019s Christmas week\u2026\u201d I told Beth over dinner at the Hollywood Diner.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think we can do it. I will give out my notices on Christmas Eve. Let\u2019s go for it,\u201d insisted Beth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou really think so?\u201d I asked. \u201cWe have to have the books PRINTED and in the churches by January 30. I don\u2019t know\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, let\u2019s try,\u201d pushed Beth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOK, I guess if we don\u2019t get enough we could always save them for next year and start much earlier trying to collect them,\u201d I added.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0We both agreed that if God wanted this project, He would let it happen. We would do our parts and then see what He would do. He already knew <em>who <\/em>would write, <em>what<\/em> they would write, and whether <em>enough<\/em> people would write.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>Sunday, January 9\u2014Deadline Day<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI got 3 today,\u201d I told Beth. \u201cThat\u2019s 7 total from me. And that includes my mother and daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI got 6,\u201d said Beth. \u201cThat\u2019s 14 total for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So we had 21 as of Deadline Day. But we needed 26 more. And the \u201creal\u201d deadline was in just five days or we would not make it by January 30.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I got the jitters for a few minutes on that deadline Sunday, I reminded myself, \u201cIf God wants this project, He will let it happen. No more worrying!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">And it\u2019s a good thing we didn\u2019t spend time worrying. After that day, we were too busy getting e-mails and envelopes! By Friday we had 47, the exact number we needed.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\">That was how it began back in 2005, and that is still pretty much how it works today.\u00a0 This has always been God\u2019s project, and if He wants it to happen, it will. God always gives us what we need. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\">We are so blessed by the writers, the editors, and the readers who help distribute the books every year. So thank you, again, for all of your support in this ministry!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">=\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 =<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">It has now been over 16 years since that initial leap of faith, and God continues to bless this ministry.\u00a0 The first collaboration of two churches has blossomed into a project involving writers from over 14 churches.\u00a0 In what was once created on a typewriter and used by a single congregation, the Devotions for Lent has grown into a professional quality booklet distributed to churches in several different states.\u00a0\u00a0 Last year, about 1700 copies of the booklet were printed.\u00a0 Copies were given to churches, Senior Communities, friends, and some were even left in shopping carts.\u00a0 In 2015, we began publishing the booklet on our website, and now the devotions have a digital presence.\u00a0 People from around the world are now reading these inspiring articles&#8230; all from a project which began on typewriter back in 1988.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Share Your Stories&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve found these devotionals to be useful, tweet the link or share this article with your Facebook Friends. Use the below buttons to share on any social media.<\/p>\n<p>As you read these devotionals, you are opening yourself up to hearing from the Holy Spirit. If something in an article hits you, please share it and let us know how God has spoken to you. Post a comment in the form at the end of this article (your email address won&#8217;t be published).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; color: #993366;\">+ + + + + +<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For other daily devotionals , visit our Devotionals Page: <br \/>\n<a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=2573' class='big-button bigteal'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daily Devotionals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This annual Devotional Booklet is written by local laity and clergy.  Use it to help you pre-prayer during this Lenten Season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[94],"class_list":["post-26482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-godprints","tag-easterweek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26482"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26721,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26482\/revisions\/26721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}