About the Lenten Challenge

In 2023, the Grand Canyon Synod and the Southeastern Iowa Synod challenged one another to participate in spiritual and physical practices during the 40 days of Lent. This 40-40-40 Challenge was a good-natured way to engage each other and raise awareness of anti-hunger ministry and wellness for both synods. In 2024, all of the ELCA synods in Region 2 challenged one another to raise money for ELCA World Hunger in honor of ELCA World Hunger’s 50th year in mission and ministry. In 2025, Isaiah 58:11 grounded the year’s Lenten journey, in which the five Region 2 synods challenged one another to explore the intersection of hunger and water while learning of one of our Region 2 Indigenous Ministries, the 70-year-old Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission (NELM) in Rock Point, AZ.

The 2026 Lenten Challenge theme — “Lord, When Did We See You?”

The theme of this year’s challenge derives from Matthew 25:37-40. The passage emphasizes that caring for the poor, sick, and marginalized is an act of service to Christ, and that a person’s treatment of others is a reflection of their relationship with God. The spiritual practices for the six weeks of Lent will focus on stretching our learning, care and advocacy muscles on behalf of underserved communities. The six weeks will be broken up according to the gospel text, as below, with participants focusing on what we know and think about these siblings in Christ, as well as how we act in support and on behalf of these communities. Refer to the Matthew 25 Lenten Practices Toolkit for ideas.

• Week 1, February 22: Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food?
• Week 2, March 1: Lord, when was it that we saw you thirsty and gave you something to drink?
• Week 3, March 8: Lord, when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you?
• Week 4, March 16: Lord, when was it that we saw you naked and gave you clothing?
• Week 5, March 22: Lord, when was it that we saw you sick and visited you?
• Week 6, March 29: Lord, when was it that we saw you in prison and visited you?

Why Lent? Lent is a season of 40 days to reflect, remember our dependence on God and one another, and look forward to the ways God calls us to be. Adding one or more of these spiritual practices to your observation of Lent might help you feel more connected. A light-hearted challenge like this could help our synods be the Church together, and to see God’s vision and invitation for us to be a church for the world as we share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Participating synods:

• Sierra Pacific (2A) – Rev. Jeff Johnson, bishop
• Southwest California (2B) – Rev. Brenda Bos, bishop
• Pacifica (2C) – Rev. David Nagler, bishop
• Grand Canyon (2D) – Rev. Deborah Hutterer, bishop
• Rocky Mountain (2E) – Rev. Meghan Johnston-Aelabouni, bishop

How does the 40-40-40 Lenten Challenge work?

There are 4 Lenten practices to consider, and you commit to 3 of the 4.

1. Daily Devotion ~ Subscribe to receive devotions every day of Lent via email. These short reflections represent diverse voices and circumstances across our church. Learn more.
2. Daily Learning ~ Suggested learnings for children, youth, families and congregations such as reading ELCA social teachings, studying Matthew Chapter 25, joining ELCA networks, group studies, etc. are in the Matthew 25 Lenten Practices Toolkit. Learn more.
3. Daily Action ~ Suggested actions, such as volunteering at a food bank, donating clothes and sundries, visiting someone in the hospital, and praying for elected leaders can be found in our Matthew 25 Toolkit. Learn more.
4. Daily Donation ~ Pledge to give $1 a day (or more) to ELCA World Hunger for the 40 days of Lent. From health clinics to microloans, water wells to farm animals, community meals to advocacy, your gifts to ELCA World Hunger make it possible for the ELCA to respond, supporting sustainable solutions that get at the root causes of hunger and poverty. Ways to give.

How is this a Challenge?

This a little friendly competition for a good cause. Individuals from across the Region 2 synods will sign up to do three of four (or all 4!) of the practices and the synod with the most individuals signed up wins the challenge! Our goal is for individuals representing 50 congregations per synod to participate.

Join the Cross-Synod Challenge for Lent

The more individual sign-ups, the better.

Bragging rights goes to the synod with the most individual registrations. So if you’re a family of 4, enter all 4 email addresses, and have all 4 people commit to 3 things. And no, not all 4 need to donate to ELCA World Hunger (though it’s worth considering).

Share with your congregation

Use the Matthew 25 Lenten Practices Toolkit provided! All the resources you need to spread the word in your congregation are available on the Lenten Challenge website, created especially for this challenge. Announcements in PDF and artwork in jpg format for use in newsletters, bulletin inserts, and social media can help you promote this synod-wide event. Website is https://www.lentenchallenge.org/

What do we get if we win?

The ‘winning’ bishop will play a short video with congratulatory clips recorded by the other participating bishops. This acknowledgement of the ‘superiority’ by the other synods for this one challenge is all in fun. All bishops may choose to air the video at their synod assemblies in 2026. Hunger leaders in each synod will receive progress updates each week.