Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2025 LENTEN Meditation Journey . . . A COMMONPLACE Lent

Do your work in peace. —John the Small

As Christians, we believe we are called to right the wrongs and sins of the past, even as we strive to repent of those sins and any we continue to commit. Sometimes, this call to right wrongs means advocacy and activism, such as bold and public protest. And sometimes we right wrongs one small, quiet seed at a time.

In March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a little project called the Good News Gardens movement was born. This project, hosted by The Episcopal Church’s evangelism and creation care departments, was born from a desire to help the church mobilize to share the Good News of God in Christ right where they were—at home.

A call went out, inviting individuals and churches to three commitments: 1) Plant more than you would under average circumstances to share the bounty. 2) Pray daily for a restored right relationship between the church and Creation, repenting of the harm humans have imposed upon the earth. 3) Proclaim the love of God through word and example by sharing your Good News Garden bounty and publicly sharing the stories of your commitments and gardens.

In the four and half years since this movement began, hundreds of Good News Gardens, chicken coops and beehives have sprouted, and people who had never before seen themselves as creation care activists began to find their place in righting the sins of the past. They discovered their unique work in our common struggle to become beloved community with all of creation.

For REFLECTION:

Working to right systemic and generational wrongs such as climate change or racism can seem daunting. Like planting a Good News Garden herb box, what is one beginning step you could take? 

Click here to read the introduction to the 2025 Lenten Meditation “A Commonplace Lent.”

The Lenten Meditations prepared by Episcopal Relief & Development invite readers to deepen their spiritual practice during the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading to Easter. Our 2025 meditations explore the idea of “A Commonplace Lent.” This concept reflects Episcopal Relief & Development’s tagline: “Working Together for Lasting Change.” We share in common the work of advancing lasting change in communities impacted by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change.

We also share in common spiritual practices that strengthen our faith—prayer, worship, love, grace, service and so much more. The author explores another meaning of common in the  meditations: finding God in the common and ordinary as well as in the extraordinary mountain-top moments. Each day begins with wisdom from desert mothers and fathers, monastics and other spiritual leaders who offer insight into our common path of faithful discipleship and service. Each meditation concludes with a question for deeper reflection.

Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.

This Lenten Meditation Journey is provided courtesy of Episcopal Relief & Development and was authored by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, co-executive director and agrarian minister for the Procter Center, an Episcopal farm, camp and retreat center in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. As former manager of evangelism and discipleship for The Episcopal Church under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, she co-founded the Good News Garden movement and oversaw Way of Love and Evangelism initiatives for the wider church.