Planning for Lent

Ash Wednesday  is February 17, 2010  and begins the 6 week Lenten season in the church.


*Traditionally during Lent people would make a sacrifice by giving up or “fasting” from something (usually some type of food or drink). Many people give up sugary things like chocolate, caffeine items like pop or coffee, or processed foods like potato chips or other snack items . Some folks are getting creative by giving up electronic connections over the 40 days of Lent such as Facebook (see "How to Give Up Facebbook for Lent and Keep Your Friends" article link )

Other ideas for what you could “give up” over Lent are:

~ a “carbon-fast” – trying to reduce greenhouse emissions: using environmentally friendly transportation (bus, car-pool, walking, cycling), cutting down on electricity use, etc.

~texting – or paying a 25 cent “fine” for every text message you send/receive during Lent. The money could be given to the church congregation or the Mission & Service Fund of the United Church.

~television viewing

~web-surfing

~Maggi Dawn’s book Giving it Up (you can order a copy from Amazon here) begins by looking at why we give things up for Lent, but then poses the idea that what we really need to give up, in order to draw closer to God, is our preconceived ideas about God and religion. She proposes that all the great characters in the Bible had to give up their too-small notions of God and have their vision enlarged.

Giving something up during Lent allows us to enter into reflection with God about what we truly need without the clutter of “stuff” to distract us.

~Some people also practice the concept of adding something to your life over Lent such as time to be with God, space to reflect, patience (with both yourself and others), doing acts of kindness, study/meditation/prayer or ??? Discuss with your youth if there is some Lenten practice you each feel called to try this season. Is there something you’d like to try giving up/adding/changing? How might you support one another in what you decide to do? Would you like to formally covenant together?

* Just for You ~ See also the United Church Resource Exploring Stewardship as a Lenten Discipline article link

As youth across the Conference gather in Portage la Prairie for the ZEEBU Youth Retreat we ask your prayers for their safe journeys and those of their leaders and that we may truly live out the theme of "Fair Play".