Quantcast
Channel: Sacraparental » Lent 2014
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 4

Lent 2015: Everything You Need, All in One Place

0
0

What do you need if you’re interested in Lent this year?

Do you want to do some kind of traditional or modern fasting? Do you want to try a new spiritual practice for six weeks, or do a new kind of change-the-world activity? Is there some aspect of Jesus’ life or character you want to learn more about, or a particular way you want to become more like him?

Lent can be one of the richest times of the year for people exploring or immersed in Christian spirituality.

It’s an annual, extended opportunity to focus on the life and work of Jesus and consider our own responses to his call to follow him.

Lent 2015: Everything you need, all in one place, for both kids and adults | Sacraparental.com

This is my third Lent as a blogger, so I realised there’s plenty of stuff here to check out if you are looking for some ideas for your own Lenten journey this year. I thought I’d put it all in one place for you, with plenty of time to think about what will be most helpful for you (and perhaps your household).

Last year I laid out a plan for practising Lent at home, based around a daily mealtime ritual, particularly for adults and kids to do together. There were candles, artworks, questions, movies, conversation starters and real-life challenges.

I also wrote a series of posts on the origins of Lent and how it has evolved around the world over time. The year before, I followed Stewardship UK’s challenge to life ‘A Generous Lent’.

All of those posts, plus some more on the special days of Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Easter week, are listed below. Click away to find something that catches your eye for this year.

Start with a Party; Start with Ashes

7 simple tips for throwing a pancake party! | Sacraparental.com

The last day before Lent – Tuesday 17 February this year – is party time. For everything you need to know about Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Carnival, among other names), check out these posts:

7 Simple Tips for throwing a Pancake Party (an article at Kiwi Families)

The story of the first pancake party we threw, when our son was a baby, and I was still pretty unwell. It was low-key and great! We made lasting friendships from this day.

Some amazing photographs of Carnival celebrations around the world.

After the party comes the sombre contemplation.

Lent begins (on 18 February this year) on Ash Wednesday. Definitely check out Jekheli Kibami Singh’s moving guest post on what the ashes remind her of.

Sacraparental Lent with Kids (and adults!)

Lent with kids, Sacraparental Lent with kids, Christian parenting, doing Lent at home, Lent with a familyIf there are kids or teenagers in your life who you want to team up with for Lent, here’s everything you need for the whole six weeks:

Advent with Toddlers (which the Lent pattern was inspired by)

Sacraparental Lent with Kids (setting out the idea broadly – there’s more detail in the next post)

Lent with Kids Week 1: Getting Ready – START HERE if you just want to get cracking.

Lent with Kids, Week 1: Jesus is Wise (a focus on the Bible texts and the practice of wisdom)

Lent with Kids, Week 1: Wisdom at Home

Lent with Kids Week 2: Jesus and the Prophets Make us Brave

Lent with Kids Week 3: Jesus Gives Us Important Jobs to Do

Lent with Kids Week 4: Jesus Gives Us a Fresh Start

Lent with Kids Week 5: Jesus is in Charge of Life

Lent with Kids Week 6, Palm Sunday: Jesus is a Surprising King

Easter with Kids: 32 Ideas for Celebrating Together

What’s the Point of Lent?

Jesus fasting in the desert, Jesus and his followers not fasting, Christian parenting, Lent throughout history, fasting in the Bible, fasting in the New Testament, Scot McKnight on fasting, fasting in the early church, what's the point of Lent?This is a four-part series surveying the development of Lenten practices from the Old Testament to the present, looking for guidance as we create our own Lenten practices.

What’s the Point of Lent? #1: Starting with the Old Testament (with a particular focus on what the point of fasting might be, and how to miss the point)

What’s the Point of Lent? #2: Jesus and the Early Church

What’s the Point of Lent? #3: Orthodox Practices

What’s the Point of Lent? #4: Roman Catholic Practices

A Generous Lent

In 2013 I followed Stewardship UK’s 40 Acts of Generosity pattern and blogged through it. If you want more to read, you can catch up on those here:

40 acts of generosity, lent reflections, stewardship uk

A Generous Lent (introduction)

A Generous Lent, Act 1: Build a Generosity Kit

A Generous Lent, Act 6: Be a Mentor

A Generous Lent, Act 13: Share the Bible

A Generous Lent, Act 31: Listen

Stewardship runs a new version of the 40 Acts pattern each year, and you can find the current one here. These are excellent, contemporary resources, well worth your time.

Easter and Holy Week

Everything you need to celebrate Easter with kids! 32 ideas for celebrating together | Sacraparental.com

I’ve also written a few posts on Eastery things, here and for my column on the parenting website Kiwi Families:

Want more? Got more?

I have a Lent board on Pinterest that you can follow or browse (even if you’re not a member, I think). You can also follow me on Facebook for daily snippets.

What else would you like? With all this material already on the blog, I feel nicely free to write on anything over Lent this year. I’ll take requests!

Please let us all know in the comments if you’ve got any other resources or links to share. And I’d love to hear from you how you have celebrated Lent in the past, and/or what you have planned for this year. I’d be keen to feature some guest posts on what you do, so please let me know if you’re interested in writing one.

Lent 2015: Everything you need, all in one place, for both kids and adults | Sacraparental.com

Don’t miss a post or a tip-off! Keep in touch with Sacraparental throughout Lent by following Sacraparental on Facebook (for daily extras), signing up for email updates (the box at the top right) and/or following me on Pinterest (the Lent and Easter boards are particularly relevant just now, and I also have a couple called Art for the Church and Change the World that you might like).



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 4

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images