Jesus’ interactions with women surprised those around him. He talked to, befriended, ate and celebrated with, and healed women. Jesus was revolutionarily different than others in his society in the way he saw women. These connections, as told through Gospel stories of unnamed women, are not only still relevant to our current climate, but they are essential to understanding the good news.

The purpose of this six-session Lenten study pack for adults is to examine the Gospel stories about Jesus’ interactions with women in order to shed light on how we are called to be disciples of Jesus in our own time. In each of the six sessions, participants will pay close attention to a Gospel story in which Jesus paid attention to and saw women. Through this act of paying attention to the stories of women in the Bible, participants will also engage in a form of devotion ideal for the season of Lent. Just as Jesus paid attention to these women and showed compassion for them, so too can we pay better attention to both women and Jesus.

Written by educators and ministers Cynthia Holder Rich and Mark Rich, each week includes a Participant Handout and a Leader's Guide that helps a leader facilitate a forty-five-minute session. Activity ideas available in the Leader's Guides include: small-group discussion and reflection questions, suggested prayers, personal reflection time, teaching alternatives, and more.