DAILY LENTEN, HOLY WEEK AND EASTER REFLECTIONS – YEAR A

INTRODUCTION TO THE REFLECTIONS ON WOMEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: ZAMBIAN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES

Reverend Professor Teddy Kalongo 17/02/2026

Hello everyone, and welcome to our Daily Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter Reflections in this Year A of the liturgical cycle. My name is Teddy Kalongo, Superintendent Minister in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Circuit of the Methodist Church in Britain.

This year, our Lenten journey will focus on Women in the New Testament, exploring their stories through a Zambian African perspective while drawing on the moral imagination and social insights of Victorian values. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, I will share a daily reflection focusing on one woman whose story, faith or encounter with Jesus continues to speak powerfully into our lives today. Over the forty days of Lent, we will explore around forty women mentioned in the New Testament, considering how their lives and experiences can guide, challenge, and inspire our own spiritual journey.

Each reflection will be shaped by Zambian African cultural wisdom, lived experience, and the deep sense of community that is central to African Christian life. If you would like a printable version of the reflections and the accompanying Bible readings, these will be posted alongside the video for you to download and use at home or within your small groups. Unless otherwise stated, all Bible citations will be from the World English Bible (WEB). Background music is provided by Ruth Price.

We are so glad that you are choosing to walk this journey with us. I hope and pray that this Lent may be a time of drawing closer to God through prayer, fasting, and generous charitable giving. I wish you all a holy and joyful season of Lent. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To see all videos please visit our YouTube channel : bristolsouthglosmethodistc