There's more to Lent than Lent Madness. But before we get to that, we have results to share. Yesterday, in the Slavic Smackdown®, Methodius easily bested his brother Cyril (65% to 35%). He'll be stepping into the Lent Dome with the winner of Lawrence vs. Albert Schweitzer in the round of the Saintly Sixteen. Some of the discussion got a bit heated as people variously protested that it wasn't fair to pit two brothers against each other and that they should have been allowed to compete as a pair. In response, the Supreme Executive Committee has shared the Ten Commandments of Lent Madness for your reading pleasure. Feel free to chant them this morning in church.
In any case, you may know that Lent Madness is sponsored by Forward Movement, a ministry devoted to inspiring disciples and empowering evangelists. Lent is prime time for the work of discipleship, so we wanted to share some other resources with you. If you're looking for a way to enrich your Lenten journey further, perhaps one of these resources will be useful. Some are free, some have a very modest cost.
Selected Lenten Resources from Forward Movement
Grow Christians
Grow Christians is the brainchild of the Rev. Nurya Parish (who keeps an excellent blog called Churchwork) offered in partnership between Plainsong Farm and Forward Movement. Grow Christians is an online community of discipleship focused on the practical details of life at home. Gathering reflections, stories, images and recipes, this group blog inspires generations to come together as they celebrate the presence of God through the Christian year. Grow Christians is a pilot project for Lent 2016. It is a temporary project on purpose, because a major intergenerational effort like this needs reflection from the whole church. Check it out at www.growchristians.org.
Meeting Jesus on the Margins
Where do you meet Jesus? In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus urges us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, and visit the prisoners. And in doing so, we meet Jesus. These daily reflections for Lent, offered by well-known faith leaders, provide boots-on-the-ground stories of serving and being served by "the least of these." The meditations also explore our own hunger, our vulnerabilities, and the times we are imprisoned, either self-imposed or by circumstance. Come and meet Jesus each day this blessed Lenten season. Contributors include Mike Kinman, Becca Stevens, Allison Duvall, Bo Cox, Hugo Olaiz, Lee Anne Reat, and Richelle Thompson. You can buy this small book in paper or for Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, or Apple iTunes.