Beauty For Ashes

A Lenten Devotional by the ELCA Homeless and Justice Network.

Welcome to the Season of Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday and going through Easter morning. February 18 – April 5, 2026.

Lent is a time for reflection and renewal as we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem.

Many people give something up as a Lenten Discipline, other people take something on.

As a community we do so by joining for worship on Wednesdays (February 18 – March 25. 11 AM Service of the Word and 7 PM – Evening Worship) followed by Holy Week with Maundy Thursday (April 2, 7 PM), Good Friday (April 3, 11 AM and 7 PM), and Easter Morning (April 5, 8:30 and 10 AM).

For a daily discipline you’re invited to use Beauty for Ashes, an ELCA daily devotional. You can download it HERE or copy and paste:
https://elcamediaresources.blob.core.windows.net/cdn/wp-content/uploads/Beauty_for_Ashes_Lenten_Resource.pdf

I would love to hear what your Lenten Discipline will be, please share it as a Comment below. Hope to hear several of you choose Beauty for Ashes, along with attending St. Luke’s Lent and Holy Week worships. Enjoy the journey as you walk with Jesus.

Beauty for Ashes Introduction:

Homeless and Justice Network of the ELCA is a coalition of ministries called to serve with those on the margins who are struggling with poverty, homelessness and justice issues. This unique network is a ministry with, rather than for, those experiencing poverty, homelessness and injustice. We in the network believe that all

God’s children deserve an opportunity to gather and be the church together, inside or outside the church walls. The HJN gathers pastors and leaders of these ministries to connect, refuel, bring new ideas to the table, share stories that ignite passion, and equip each other as leaders from within so that, as we stand on the margins with Jesus, all are included.

Thank you to the remarkable leaders who contributed these beautiful and thoughtful devotions for us to enjoy during this Lenten season. We also thank artist Jibril Bey for sharing these beautiful, evocative pieces. This daily devotional book can be read by individuals or groups and follows the eight principles of the

Homeless and Justice Network:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. - Community is vital to all that we do.

Jesus stood on the margins so that all could be included, and so do we. God loves all people, no matter what. We respect the dignity and value of all people, without condition. We minister with — not to or for — one another.

6. 7. A church is the people, not the building.
​
Everyone has something to offer, and we need every person if we are to be
whole.

8. We see lives transformed and are transformed ourselves.

Each devotion has everything you need: a verse from the Bible (some are Lenten Scripture whereas others have different themes), a personal reflection from the contributor, a thoughtful quotation, a meditative question and a closing prayer. It’s set up so that anyone can experience or lead others through a meaningful time of reflection and conversation.

So … Let’s go! Take a 40-day deep breath together and focus on what’s going on in our hearts and in our communities. From these stories, let us see hope in brokenness and in our hearts receive beauty for ashes. (Isaiah 61:3).

—Rebeca Malmgren ELCA Coordinator for Economic Diversity, blessed to care for the ELCA Homeless and Justice Network

download it HERE or copy and paste:
https://elcamediaresources.blob.core.windows.net/cdn/wp-content/uploads/Beauty_for_Ashes_Lenten_Resource.pdf