Welcome to A LENTEN JOURNEY through the lense of the upside Down kingdom

At HopeGateWay, we are very intentional about the songs we sing because the words that flow from our mouths are a reflection of our hearts. We have picked one song for each week and have provided our own recordings of the songs so you can listen.


Along with using this Lenten Devotional, you are invited to sign up to receive HopeGateWay’s daily reflection email, Gateways. Each day we share a curated prayer, reflection, or poem, alongside a question to reflect on.


We hope that this devotional might assist you in delving deeper into your faith in the Upside Down KinGdom, the way of Jesus where the powerless are the powerful, the silenced are given voice, and the burned out have their embers kindled.


Jesus — a brown-skinned, radical, healer, community organizer, revolutionary — gathered people, invited their fears and longings, invited people into radical solidarity, justice-love-in-action, healing of and in the world, to which, for which, he gave his life over and over and over. He did all of this while the powers and principalities of Empire, and supremacy, and dominance raged. Today as we live under similar powers and principalities, we seek the way that Jesus invites us to.


Join us on the journey.

Lenten worship

Join us at 515 Woodford St. or online as we travel on this Lenten journey together.

  • Good Friday Tenebrae Service

    Friday, April 18 • 6:00pm

    As we conclude our Upside Down KinGdom season at HopeGateWay, we come to the ending of Jesus' life and encounter his suffering that parallels the suffering of so many before and after him. On Good Friday evening, we’ll gather for quiet, prayerful, candlelight worship, called the Tenebrae Service (Tenebrae, in Latin, means “shadows”) recalling Jesus’ crucifixion. As we recall Jesus' journey to the cross and the tomb, we will also recall the suffering of contemporary siblings. We hope you will plan to join us for this sacred ritual of remembrance — an important time of preparation for our celebration of Easter.

  • easter celebration

    sunday, APRIL 20 • 10:00am

    Easter means transformation — moving through struggle, death, and loss to a revolutionary reality. Make sure you’re with us for this inspiring celebration of resurrection hope! Join us for Easter worship and our annual Easter Egg Challenge! Chocolate and challenges will be handed out. Invite a friend to be part of the celebration!

40 practices for 40 days

This Lent season, instead of giving something up, how about adding some activities to bring beauty, kindness, and grounding for yourself and those around you. Try one of these each day of Lent, or pick one to do throughout Lent. You could do these as a family, with a friend, or on your own. Share with others what you did each week and how it went. 

  1. Go on a walk on a new trail or a different part of your neighborhood.
  2. Start a gratitude jar in your house. Use it to collect notes of gratitude. 
  3. Hug a tree.
  4. Write a card to a friend you are missing or thinking of.
  5. Sing with others (at a concert, in your car, at church) .
  6. Bake cookies and share some with a neighbor. 
  7. Make art (a collage, doodling, painting, playing with clay).
  8. Write or call a government official either to thank them for standing for justice or to urge them to take a stand for something you support. 
  9. Write a thank you note to a nonprofit organization that is doing good in the world. 
  10. Go through your clothes/toys/stuff and see if you have anything to donate to Maine Needs. 
  11. Write a quote about hope and place it somewhere where others might see it. 
  12. Call a friend. Ask how they are doing and really listen. 
  13. Practice a social media pause for a day.
  14. Host a potluck with friends or neighbors.
  15. Get a bit extra of something at the grocery to share with an unhoused neighbor on your drive home. 
  16. Spend five minutes today just allowing yourself to sit and be. 
  17. Be intentional to smile at people today.
  18. Memorize a favorite verse or quote. 
  19. Light a candle for a specific prayer you are holding.
  20. Put on music and dance your grief or thanksgiving or longing.
  21. Read a poem and share it with a friend.
  22. Stand barefoot outside to feel the ground beneath your feet. 
  23. Visit the ocean and be still and listen and watch. 
  24. Write a haiku (or two). 
  25. Reread part or all of a book you have loved.
  26. Walk slowly in the woods and breathe in the fresh air. 
  27. Plan a get-together with one or more friends.
  28. Tend a plant or plant a seed. Give thanks for the persistence of life. 
  29. Connect with a neighbor. If they don’t have your phone number or email consider sharing your contact information. 
  30. Offer to pick up groceries or run an errand for a neighbor or friend. 
  31. Pick up some school supplies or snacks and drop them off at a local school. 
  32. Prepare and enjoy a meatless meal. 
  33. Go for a walk and pick up trash. 
  34. Leave a note on someone’s car with a kind word. 
  35. Set an alarm on your phone to go off at three different times during the day. In those moments take a few minutes to be still. 
  36. Leave a kind server or delivery person the biggest tip you can afford. 
  37. Leave a small gift or note in your friend’s mailbox or at their front door.
  38. Contact your City Councilor, School Board Member, or other municipal leader regarding an issue you care about. If they have done something you support, thank them. 
  39. Drop off books in a Little Free Library. 
  40. Pay for the person behind you in line or drive thru.


join us for lenten small Groups

During Lent there will be weekly small groups to reflect on and discuss the devotional materials through listening to a song, reflecting on a Gateways reading from the week, and sharing personal stories of how we have engaged the list of activities. There will be two options for joining a group: 

  • Tuesdays at 11 am on Zoom with Christie • starting March 11
  • Wednesdays at 6 pm in person at 515 Woodford Street, with Sara • starting March 12

Sign up here for one or the other. 

During this era, with the rise of Christian Nationalism in our country, we are spending a few months looking at the actual teachings of Jesus and the overarching theme of all of his teachings: The Kingdom of God. This Upside-down KinGdom is already among us, Jesus says — but also something we aspire to — and it stands in contrast to the destructive aims of Christian Nationalism. The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus' stump speeches. It's packed full of hard teachings about how we should care for the vulnerable and how we find hope in the most challenging of times. If you want to get the heartbeat of Jesus — to see how he understood reality and envisioned faithful living for his followers — there's no better place to turn. As we continue to explore the Upside Down KinGdom over the coming weeks, we hope these teachings will help us live with integrity as we seek a different way of caring for one another that demonstrates the belovedness and worthiness of each and every person, with a preferential option for those with less power and privilege. Come join us on the journey. 


Worship with us Sundays at 10am at 515 Woodford Street, Portland