Lent with Leonard: A journey through Lent with Leonard Cohen
Led by the Rev. John Kennedy
Mondays from 7-8PM in the Youth Room, February 23-March 30
Lent is a journey through wilderness and shadow, temptation and trial, and the dark places of the heart and soul. It is also a journey sustained by the Spirit and Word of God, the mercy of God, and our longing for God, which lead us to new life in Christ. Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), the celebrated songwriter and poet, was intimately familiar with this interior terrain, and so is an ideal guide for this pilgrimage.
Cohen was a master of the inner life, of longing as a pathway to the divine, and of the blessedness of brokenness. A deeply religious man—an observant Jew who studied Zen for decades and had a lifelong love for Jesus—Cohen’s poetry and music are saturated with spiritual and scriptural language and themes.
We will gather around Cohen’s prayers, poetry, and songs as a way of deepening our love and knowledge of God, and of the divine love and mercy that are always given. Throughout the season, Cohen’s Book of Mercy—a collection of psalm-like prayers published in 1984—will serve as our prayer book, alongside close listening to some of his most devotional songs, including “Hallelujah.”
A playlist and syllabus will be shared about a week before the class begins.
