Our Lenten Journey….
Believe it or not, it’s time for yet another Lenten journey to begin – a journey which lasts for forty days until Easter (excluding Sundays, which continue to be celebrations of Jesus resurrection!), and which invites each of us to make personal time and space to explore our relationship with God, and deepen our personal faith in his wonderful presence and promises.
The journey begins on Ash Wednesday, 2nd March, when everyone from Alrewas, Fradley and Wychnor is welcome to All Saints Church Alrewas for a special Holy Communion with Ashing service at 7:30pm, giving us an opportunity to reflect upon our lifespan on planet Earth and what it means to truly depend upon and trust God as the source of our life and love.
We hope you will also join in a special and important journey of reflecting, sharing and discovery in this year’s Lent Discussion Group, which will be using video resources from the Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith course.
Being hosted at St. Stephen’s Church Fradley for all three of our churches, from 7:00 to 8:30pm on Wednesdays beginning the 16th March and concluding on Wednesday 13th April, this part of our Lenten journey invites us to listen and share, learn about and reflect upon what it means to be human, exploring Christian teaching and Christians’ experiences about identity and relationship, sexuality, marriage, and the ways in which ‘living in love and faith’ find expression in people’s lives. Each session will include hearing people’s stories (including specially prepared video interviews), Bible exploration, discussion and prayer – along with free refreshments and fellowship time! This part of our Lenten journey will be greatly enriched with YOUR PARTICIPATION, which is sincerely valued – PLEASE DO JOIN IN, SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS AND VIEWS, QUESTIONS AND HOPES as we learn with and from one another!
Finally, but importantly…….how might you personally choose to ‘journey with Jesus’ more intentionally this Lenten season? There are a variety of ‘spiritual practices’ associated with Lent which you might choose to embrace....
……taking time to honestly speak to, and deeply listen to God in PRAYER – for the needs of those you know, for healing and hope, for peace in our nations, for those who don’t believe anyone thinks they’re worthwhile praying for…….
……re-discovering what God is trying to tell us through the amazing ‘gathered library’ of 66 books which we commonly call the Bible – discerning the powerful presence, and precious promises of God through ancient truths which help us live our lives more meaningfully in the challenging present……
…….perhaps choosing to ‘give up’ something during the 40 day ‘Lenten fast’ which you enjoy very much (excluding Sundays, as noted earlier), as a way of personally appreciating Jesus’ own human experience of temptation and suffering in order to stay true to God’s sacrificial, loving purposes for his world….
……or, perhaps instead of ‘giving up something’ you enjoy, you decide to take up an additional way of serving others….helping out the Lichfield Foodbank; visiting a lonely neighbour; providing transport for someone in need of getting somewhere……..
Our Lenten Journey will, of course, continue with special events for Holy Week and Easter from April 10th to 17th…..but more about that in the April Magazine!
With every blessing for the journey, Vicar John