Lent 2017 (28/02 till 14/04)

[ElvishArchdruid]

Lent is really quite late this year, are any of you preparing yourself for it? Do you believe in giving something up, that everyone seems to jump on? Or do you see it as a time for reflection, fasting and alms giving to those in need. I wondered if you wanted to share the experience, with bible readings, reflections, musings of Saints?

Shrove Tuesday: 28th February
Ash Wednesday: 1st March

Holy Week 2017

Holy Monday: 10th April
Maundy Thursday: 13th April
Good Friday: 14th April
Easter Vigil: 15th April
Easter Sunday: 16th April

Pentecost: June 4th

As I mentioned I was thinking about possibly post up Daily Readings and reflections, with the hopes of us discussing together, what we think about the reading and what it says to us.

I'm just finalising what my church is doing in lent and Easter so I can turn to my own practice, hurrah. I generally don't give up things for lent although I will be stricter on the 5:2 diet as a fast anyway. I usually aim to spend more time in silent prayer and read something I wouldn't usually such as poetry or really heavyweight theology. I'll be looking around later as Ash Wednesday is only 10 days away now.

I am still deciding what I'll do. I want to try and make some intentions I'll stick to. In the mix, some or all of:

• reading Romans - Nadia Bolz Webber told me to! So I have to do that one
• Lent Book Club (on fb) - we'll be reading God With Us by Rowan Williams
• 40 Acts
• giving up something like chocolate, and/or
• daily gratitudes...

Very happy to be accountable to a group of folk on here who want to support one another.

I'm a Roman Catholic and we are very prescriptive about food, so I try to observe this. The money saved - as always - goes to a local charity.

On a more individual level I'll try to finish open projects to better learn how to do things I have to do, instead of giving up and doing something more fun instead or thinking "I'm doing it only for myself so whtat does it really matter" (that'll be good for me);

and I'll try to count to 10 before I speak (that'll be good for everyone around me)

Now it's logged here - and we'll see how it goes.

Hello I do believe in giving things up but I also strongly believe it's a time for reflection, preparation, penitence etc. I've given up sugar as hopefully lent will lead the way to healthy habits. I'm also reading Stephen Cottrell's The Things He Carried.

I'm unsure about the alms thing. Do people just aim to give more to charity or save a specific amount or what? I'm relatively new to Christianity and trying to learn as much as possible and walk in the light of Christ.

I am late to sorting something out this year. I think I need to do something that requires a daily discipline - dh and I might do Compline every night or something similar. Definitely need to take more time for reflection - life has been off the scale busy and stressful lately. So thanks for the thread.

Are you 'the' Archdruid? (if so, bows at your feet) or have I missed a name change somewhere along the way?