What will you do for Lent?

[ctozrn]

Hello everyone!

I was raised Baptist and never really celebrated Lent. My partner and I have been going to a wonderful United Methodist church. Lent is a pretty big deal in this church. I am really excited about learning more about this holy time. Our pastor gave us a list of things we could do during this time. Really cool, spiritual ideas. We are having a shrove? supper tomorrow. I have no idea what this is but we will be going because hey, there's food! On Wed. we are going to the Ash Wed. service.

So, I was wondering what others were doing for Lent? How do you usually celebrate Lent? I am really looking forward to hearing from others on this.....

Christine

[tpdncr4christ]

its a good church. well anyways... I am most likely giving up chocolate this year. Its a good thing to give up... Or maybe junk food. Both work.

[u-dog]

I usually add something new to my spiritual discipline. fasting is something I've done in the past (fasting can mean giving something up as well as not eating) Or Bible reading, or prayer, or a Bible Study at church. Anything that helps me to reflect on my life, my decisions, my priorities and their relationship to God

[Jennifer5]

Honestly, I'm sure that I even know what Lent really is... just some religious thing that lasts like a week (or something like that)... so, well, I'll be doing what I always do for Lent..Nothing. I hope you enjoy it though, have fun!!:love: :pray:

[u-dog]

Here is a mini-lesson on Lent.

1. It is NOT the stuff that collects in your navel.
2. It is the 40 days (excluding Sundays) prior to Easter
3. It is a time for prayer, reflection, and repentence in preperation for Holy Week and Easter.
4. It is NOT just a time for giving something up.
5. It is part of the Christian year and if a person is aware of the seasons of the christian year it can introduce a very helpful rythm to life. Like breathing slowly and deeply. The Christian year (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, and Ordinary time) can also be a useful tool fr someone who wants to live a subversive and countercultural life. For instance, Advent is the best antidote there is to the commercialization of the "Christmas Shopping Season"

[Jennifer5]

Here is a mini-lesson on Lent.

1. It is NOT the stuff that collects in your navel.
2. It is the 40 days (excluding Sundays) prior to Easter
3. It is a time for prayer, reflection, and repentence in preperation for Holy Week and Easter.
4. It is NOT just a time for giving something up.
5. It is part of the Christian year and if a person is aware of the seasons of the christian year it can introduce a very helpful rythm to life. Like breathing slowly and deeply. The Christian year (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, and Ordinary time) can also be a useful tool fr someone who wants to live a subversive and countercultural life. For instance, Advent is the best antidote there is to the commercialization of the "Christmas Shopping Season"
..alright, thanks. Good information, even though knowing me I'll forget it right away. I just stay far way from the church, at least for now...

I just hope that others enjoy the whole church thing!

[ctozrn]

Thanks u-dog! I really needed that lesson as well! I did not know all that Lent entailed! I am excited about being able to explore Lent as a time of spiritual reflection. I have really been needing to do something spiritual in my life. Something outside of my normal chaotic life!

I look forward to learning about the last 40 days of Jesus' life.....

[andrewlittle]

Each year I enter in self-reflection to try to identify another area in my life that reaks of falsity, hypocrisy or self-interest. I still have an abundance of each, so I can practice this for many, many more years. I then try to incorporate what I learn about myself into my life - permanently.

This came about because of a grumpy, cantankerous old man who loved to give me grief at a church many years ago. I learned that he really did love me, and this was his way of showing it. I think I had mentioned I was giving up burgers for Lent, or something equally consequential in my life at the time. He just chuckled, leaned back in the pew and shot from the hip.

So this Lent, like every Lent for the last eight years, I’m also issuing an invitation to people I love that some other cantankerous old geezer once offered to me at this same time of year.

That person said to me: “This Lent, give up something costly. Give up self-delusion and find your real identity. Give up your own power and help someone else find theirs. Give up your own ego and help build someone else’s. Give up your own comfort and try to comfort someone you don’t know, or don't understand, or don't like. This Lent, risk transformation.”

This person loved me enough to be honest with me. Admittedly, it took a little time for me to realize that. But, as a result, I found the bigger and much brighter picture of what the Good News means in my life.

So, out of love, I’m issuing the invitation to you. If you haven’t done so, consider giving up something costly this Lent - something that would cause you some discomfort. Take the risk of experiencing your own transformation.

[TigerXero]

But on the topic of who's giving up what, my boyfriend (via request of me) is giving up caffine (he drinks A LOT of coffee!). He's doing it for his health and for me. Even though he's not religious, he still appreciates the sentiment shown through partaking in Lent. As for what I'll give up... I don't know.

[Pablo Rafael]

During lent I try to devote myself to personal Bible study. Sometimes I get a little lax on that, and Lent is a good time to focus away from worldly things and toward spiritual things.

It is also good to give something up. (We Catholics are expected to do that.) I find it helps me focus on the love that God has shown to me. This year I think I will give up snacking in the evening. It's a bad habit I have. I tried to give up coffee a couple of years ago. That didn't go so well. I have heard that 70 million Americans are addicted to coffee. I know of at least one.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[BenL]

I tried to give up coffee a couple of years ago. That didn't go so well. I have heard that 70 million Americans are addicted to coffee. I know of at least one.

Make that two! :o

BenL

[dsdrane]

Not through any planning on my part, I actually gave up a couple of things pre-Lent this year, so I had to do some quick thinking about what I would give up for this Lenten season. I've decided to give up swearing. Turns out, I'm my father's son, and I can swear like a sailor when the (evil) spirit moves me.

To put a little bite into the bargain, I'm putting aside $1 for each time I slip and $2 for each time I take the Lord's name in vain. This ill-begotten sum will be added as an extra check into the offering on Easter Sunday.

Let's see how long it takes me to get the hang of this...and how much it costs me. (I'm already $1 in the hole.) :rolleyes:

I'm also going to add something: more prayer and meditation -- daily quiet time for reflection or simply silence. :pray:

[keltic63]

Great discussion here! I see myself reflected in so many of the posts! Andrew, I am reaching out to a cousin who is gay and in a bit of a crisis. The biggest thing I'd like to do for him is help him see that he is indeed worthy of love. I thought of him as I read your post, Andrew.

Give up coffee for Lent???? no way! I'm too addicted, plus, I've recently learned that it's an aphrodisiac. My partner is asking me to drink less coffee; I'm encouraging him to drink more!

Prayer, Bible Study, Devotion: it came to me this morning as I prepared for work that I should commit some scripture to memory, perhaps a verse each week of Lent. So, I'm going to ask you folks, my friends, to suggest some verses for me to memorize. What speaks to you? what gives you encouragement? what affirms you? I'd love to memorize the scriptures that have given you inspiration.

[Daniel]

These words that have jumped out at me here: Giving up. Letting go. Paying a price. Rhythm. Spiritual discipline. Reflection. Meditation. Coffee!

(Being a tea man myself- I can see the need to forego the afternoon cup!)

In my case, I am getting up much earlier to meditate and then tackling a project I have been working on for a long time before I go to work. My inner sense has been telling me that it's now or never time: making the future happen means yielding to what needs to happen now.

[BenL]

Prayer, Bible Study, Devotion: it came to me this morning as I prepared for work that I should commit some scripture to memory, perhaps a verse each week of Lent. So, I'm going to ask you folks, my friends, to suggest some verses for me to memorize. What speaks to you? what gives you encouragement? what affirms you? I'd love to memorize the scriptures that have given you inspiration.

Keltic,

There are so, so many inspiring passages. Today, I'm thinking of this portion of Psalm 139:

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.

(This is from the NRSV translation. You may prefer another.)

[nmwolfboy]

Just observing Lent this year is a major change for me!

i don't want to just give something up, i want to contribute more. One way i'm doing that is to swear off my thrice weekly Starbucks trips and put that money aside to send to one of the Episcopal Relief & Development missions. i also intend to spend less time in front of the television and focus more on my partner & my friends.

Andrew, that was an especially awesome post. Christine, thanks for starting this discussion!

Give up coffee? Are you mad? :eek: i can give up the Venti Mochas for Lent, but i still gotta have a cup or two or regular java daily. :good:

[kara speltz]

Keltic,

There are so, so many inspiring passages. Today, I'm thinking of this portion of Psalm 139:

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.

(This is from the NRSV translation. You may prefer another.)

The 139th is my very favorite psalm and I often recommend it for folks who are just coming to grips with being gay and christian. If you read it with the explicit understanding that God has always known who you were, even when you didn't, it has a special power for LGBTs, I believe.

kara

[kimmyd]

Honestly, I'm sure that I even know what Lent really is... just some religious thing that lasts like a week (or something like that)... so, well, I'll be doing what I always do for Lent..Nothing. I hope you enjoy it though, have fun!!:love: :pray:



I'm with you Jennifer.

The concept of Lent is totally lost on me.

I know it means giving something up for all God's done or whatever...but my problem is, I wonder what's he's ever sacrificed for me.

Plus, I have a real problem with sticking to a disciplined diet.

[kimmyd]

The 139th is my very favorite psalm and I often recommend it for folks who are just coming to grips with being gay and christian. If you read it with the explicit understanding that God has always known who you were, even when you didn't, it has a special power for LGBTs, I believe.

kara


What does that have to do with Lent?

[kimmyd]

Just observing Lent this year is a major change for me!

i don't want to just give something up, i want to contribute more. One way i'm doing that is to swear off my thrice weekly Starbucks trips and put that money aside to send to one of the Episcopal Relief & Development missions. i also intend to spend less time in front of the television and focus more on my partner & my friends.

Andrew, that was an especially awesome post. Christine, thanks for starting this discussion!

Give up coffee? Are you mad? :eek: i can give up the Venti Mochas for Lent, but i still gotta have a cup or two or regular java daily. :good:


AMEN.

IF I gave something up, it would never be coffee. You gotta be kidding.

[keltic63]

I'm with you Jennifer.

The concept of Lent is totally lost on me.

I know it means giving something up for all God's done or whatever...but my problem is, I wonder what's he's ever sacrificed for me.

Plus, I have a real problem with sticking to a disciplined diet.

Perhaps if you had read all of the posts in this thread, you might have learned something about Lent, including the fact that most Christians no longer view it as a period of sacrifice.


In your post, I sense a dismissal of not only the christian season of Lent, but those who celebrate it. Is that what you intend with your post?

[keltic63]

The 139th is my very favorite psalm and I often recommend it for folks who are just coming to grips with being gay and christian. If you read it with the explicit understanding that God has always known who you were, even when you didn't, it has a special power for LGBTs, I believe.

kara

What does that have to do with Lent?

I believe that kara was responding to my request for scriptures that are meaningful to the members here. I've made a commitment to memorizing scripture during this season of Lent. So while this particular scripture may not address Lent in particular, it does address my post requesting scriptures that I might memorize and ponder in my meditations.

[kimmyd]

Perhaps if you had read all of the posts in this thread, you might have learned something about Lent, including the fact that most Christians no longer view it as a period of sacrifice.


In your post, I sense a dismissal of not only the christian season of Lent, but those who celebrate it. Is that what you intend with your post?

What I inteded with my post was to give my opinion without putting anyone else's down.

Do what you want, be what you want, and I will too.

Please don't twist my posts or start something that doesn't exist. It's childish, unessecary, and exactly why people are often afraid to speak about what's inside them.

[kimmyd]

I believe that kara was responding to my request for scriptures that are meaningful to the members here. I've made a commitment to memorizing scripture during this season of Lent. So while this particular scripture may not address Lent in particular, it does address my post requesting scriptures that I might memorize and ponder in my meditations.

AHHHHH. Sorry. I was wondering! :P

That's the problem with conversations that stray, I guess: I just post on the original question--no time to first stop and examine all the answers. There just isn't!

But that's my personal opinion on 'Lent': for me, a total waste of time and energy. I'm more with the guy who said he'd rather GIVE than GIVE UP. Seem like a more constructive thing to do.

[Daniel]

pinion on 'Lent': for me, a total waste of time and energy. I'm more with the guy who said he'd rather GIVE than GIVE UP. Seem like a more constructive thing to do.

I think there is another way to look at this.

Whether one is giving up or giving is all well and good, but the whole point is to practice whatever one is doing or not doing with awareness.

Go a day with the intent to say only kind and loving things and one starts to see the stuff that goes from the mind to the mouth.

That's the kind of thing Lent is all about. A time to get closer with what is Real.

[revtj]

I dispensed ashes for clergy & church staff today. You can read my homily on my blog http://mcgiffertpulpit.blogspot.com/

I used to be very uncomfortable with the tradition of Ash Wednesday because it reminds me of the scary hypercalvinism I once was blinded by...but now, after seeing death, dying, tragedy and how fragile life is, I understand it in a cosmic sense. I think we all need to be reminded that we are mortal and if we are expecting to do any good in this life, now is the time to start!

[kimmyd]

I dispensed ashes for clergy & church staff today. You can read my homily on my blog http://mcgiffertpulpit.blogspot.com/

I used to be very uncomfortable with the tradition of Ash Wednesday because it reminds me of the scary hypercalvinism I once was blinded by...but now, after seeing death, dying, tragedy and how fragile life is, I understand it in a cosmic sense. I think we all need to be reminded that we are mortal and if we are expecting to do any good in this life, now is the time to start!

Very, very good post and point.

[u-dog]

I used to be very uncomfortable with the tradition of Ash Wednesday because it reminds me of the scary hypercalvinism I once was blinded by...but now, after seeing death, dying, tragedy and how fragile life is, I understand it in a cosmic sense. I think we all need to be reminded that we are mortal and if we are expecting to do any good in this life, now is the time to start!

Ever imposed ashes on the forehead of a child? Talk about spiritual reverberation. And then the next person in line is 96 years old and you know that your words are not some abstraction to them. Their mortality is staring them in the face every moment. Not everyone comes to Ash Wednesday service... just the people with guts.

[revtj]

No, I don't recall ashing a child...

Not everyone comes to Ash Wednesday service... just the people with guts.

SO VERY TRUE!

[NathanATX]

Lately, I feel like I'm entering the next phase of my life. I'm having more clarity. I'm being more responsible. My voice and my impact in the world is growing by leaps and bounds.

Like many of you, I didn't grow up with Lent, but I'm loving how this season's teachings, concepts, etc., are impacting my faith.

What I want to give up is my willingness to be silent when someone is being hurt. I want to give up my tendency to worry about the future and about money. I want to truly cherish the people in my life. I want to give my preoccupation with deadlines, stress and worry. I want to be more present in my life and to enjoy it more fully.

For everything under heaven, there is a season.

[dewdrop_world]

On a lighter note:

A lesbian friend of mine once pledged to give up Catholic boys for Lent.

:D

James

[dsdrane]

...is up to $4.

But I have noticed a tapering-off trend ('course, I was sleeping for most of that time, but it's good to be optimistic, eh?)

:rolleyes:

[kimmyd]

On a lighter note:

A lesbian friend of mine once pledged to give up Catholic boys for Lent.

:D

James

HAHAHA!

IF I had to give something up, it would be looking at shoes: to buy or otherwise.

The problem I have with Lent is, I could NOT keep my promise. I can't. My nose would grow a foot longer just promising. God Himself would snicker if he heard me making a promise for Lent; He knows me too well.:lol: