Pre-Lenten Day

A day for Clergy and Lay Leaders to quietly prepare for the Season of Lent with Dr Kristen Deede Johnson, Principal and Helliwell Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Culture, Wycliffe College.

February 10, 2026
10:00am-3:00pm

This is a hybrid event – participants are welcome to attend in-person, or to watch online. No registration is required.

Lent has traditionally been an invitation into a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As we prepare to enter into this season, let us consider the relationship between these three as well as how they connect to the larger callings of the Christian life. What does fasting have to do with almsgiving? How might prayer and the pursuit of justice be intertwined? How are these connected to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? And what does all of this mean for our calling as Christians today? We will explore these questions over the course of our three sessions together.

Session One: Justice, Scripture, and Rest

Session Two: Prayer and Pursuit of the Kingdom

Session Three: Almsgiving and the Call to Open-Handedness

Biography

Dr Kristen Deede Johnson is the eleventh Principal of Wycliffe College. She comes to Wycliffe College from Western Theological Seminary, an evangelical and ecumenical seminary in Holland, Michigan, where she was Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs as well as G.W. and Edna Haworth Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership.

She is widely published by both popular and academic publishers and a sought-after thought leader on radio and podcasts. Her first book, Theology, Political Theory, and Pluralism: Beyond Tolerance and Difference, was published by Cambridge University Press in the Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine series. In 2017 a book she co-authored, The Justice Calling: Where Passion Meets Perseverance (Brazos Press), was awarded Book of the Year from Christianity Today in the Politics and Public Life Category.

Schedule

10 AM – Celebration of the Eucharist

11 AM – First Address

11:30 AM – Silence

12 PM – Second Address

12:30 PM – Mid-Day Prayer and Lunch Break

2:00 PM – Third Address

2:30 PM – Silence and/or Q&A

3 PM – Closing Prayer

Those who would like to come in-person for the Eucharist, addresses and a time of quiet should note that only coffee and tea will be served in the Community Room (lower hall); no lunch is being provided. Attendees may bring a bag lunch to eat in the Community Room or may leave to buy a lunch nearby during the 75-minute lunch break.

 For more information about this event, contact Amanda Lowry: alowry@toronto.anglican.ca