How to pray
To pray, begin with the Lord’s Prayer, speak from the heart, give thanks, ask for others and yourself, and listen. The Psalms give you words too.
Prayer and the Christian year
How to pray, how to forgive, and how the church keeps time through Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
Discerning God's will
God guides people gently, through prayer, Scripture, and the counsel of others. God’s will for everyone is already known: justice, mercy, and humility.
Fasting
Christians fast to turn toward God in prayer and repentance and to share with the hungry. Many keep Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as fast days.
The Lord’s Day and the Sabbath
Christians worship on Sunday because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. The Sabbath is Saturday, and its gift of rest still matters.
The origins of Christmas
Christmas is the feast of Jesus’ birth, kept since the fourth century. Scholars debate whether December 25 came from Christian reckoning or a sun festival.
Advent
Advent is the four-week season before Christmas when churches prepare for the coming of Christ. In 2026 it begins on Sunday, November 29.
The church year
The church year retells the life of Christ in seasons: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and the season after Pentecost.
The origins of Easter
Easter, the resurrection feast, grew from Passover and is called Pascha in most languages. Only its English and German names may come from a goddess.
Forgiving someone who hurt you
Jesus calls his followers to forgive. Forgiveness does not mean excusing, forgetting, reconciling, or staying near someone dangerous. It takes time.
When prayers seem unanswered
Jesus prayed for the cup to pass, and it did not. The most faithful people in Scripture knew unanswered prayer, and God heard them and gave them grace.
Rest, burnout, and the gift of Sabbath
God rested on the seventh day and gave the Sabbath as a gift of rest and freedom. Jesus invites the weary to rest, and Christians still keep Sabbath today.
Lent
Lent is the forty-day season of prayer, fasting, and repentance before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday, and its six Sundays are not counted.
Contemplative prayer
Contemplative prayer rests in God’s presence with few words or none. Learn lectio divina, centering prayer, the Jesus Prayer, and how to begin.
