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A  rural Circuit, Banbury has sixteen churches, five based in the town itself.  

• Feb 2012 Newsletter as PDF
• Plan Jan-Mar 2012 as PDF
•  

Rev Thinking About Lent

Rev Rob Anning, Superintendent Minister, writes:

This year, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 22nd February.  To many, the start of Lent is associated with pancakes, and the time of Lent is associated with "giving something up".  You can be sure that in the next few weeks, you will hear someone say something like: "I haven't decided what to give up for Lent this year".  Can I ask you what you will be doing during the period of Lent?

By the fourth century, the period of Lent was firmly established in the calendar of the Christian church.  Originally, the forty days, which equate to the time Jesus spent being tempted in the desert following his baptism, were used for the final preparations of those new Christians who were traditionally baptised on Easter Day.

Later, the period of Lent became used by all Christians as a time to prepare themselves spiritually for the season of Easter.  This preparation was in three areas:

First, there was self-denial, often in the form of fasting.  Today, we mirror the fasting by "giving something up".  Second, there was a commitment to additional prayer time.  Spending time in communication with God has to be one of the best ways to prepare for Easter.  That's why we still have regular Lent Bible Studies which include time for prayer.  This year, our studies follow the theme "Handing on the Torch", and we will consider sacred words for a secular world.  (See elsewhere in the Circuit Newsletter for dates and venues).  Third, there were special acts of Christian kindness.  Of the three areas of preparation, this one has mostly fallen into disuse.  We continue our service to others which carries on all throughout the year, but do we do any special serving during the time of Lent?

On the third area, I think there is room to make a big difference.  How much more positive "doing" something for Lent would be rather than "giving something up".  Why not commit yourself to writing a letter to someone each week of Lent, or make a special telephone call of encouragement each week in Lent, or do a specific act of kindness to a number of people during Lent?

Whilst the period of Lent is intended to put us in the right frame of mind to celebrate the Easter season to the full, there is also the possibility that our preparations could also make a difference to other people too.

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