Gravity Defied is a powerful new Lent course by Rachel Mann, based on scenes and ideas in the Oscar-nominated movie Wicked starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

The course explores a number of themes relevant to each of us in the contemporary world. These include recognising what is good and right, and standing up for it even when mocked, the temptations of success, popularity and respectability, and the importance of friendship and solidarity. All is discussed within the context of Jesus’s ministry recorded in the Gospels, the temptations and threats that he faced, and persecution of those who followed him.

The course is arranged in five weekly sessions suitable both for individuals and for group study:

• How do we judge goodness?

• Fear and loathing in the land of Oz.

• What is a life well lived?

• The attractions of popularity.

• The joy and cost of living life authentically.

Each session includes suggested clips from the film, as well as discussion questions, exercises and reflections, opening and closing prayers, and activities to consider across the week. There is also helpful guidance for people leading a group study of Gravity Defied.

Rachel Mann is a writer, poet, speaker and national broadcaster with a particular interest in the relationship between popular culture and faith. Ordained into the Church of England in 2005, she has served as a parish priest, Poet-in-Residence and Minor Canon of Manchester Cathedral, and is now Archdeacon of Salford and Bolton. Her many books include Dazzling Darkness and Fierce Imaginings, the novel The Gospel of Eve, and poetry Eleanor Among the Saints. She has previously written the Lent courses From Now On and Still Standing.