This webpage gives some suggestions for activities/prayers during Lent.
The Three S’s of Lent
Taken from Rev Gary’s reflections in the February 2024 Parish Magazine
Lent is fast approaching! Will it be business as usual, or are you planning to do something different? Traditionally, Lent leaves many of us wondering what we should give-up, or perhaps take-up. Many people want to keep a good, and perhaps holy, Lent, but are unsure as to how to go about it. Peter J. Gomes, former Chaplain to Harvard University, suggests that we organise our Lenten practices around the three S’s of: Silence, Study and Service.
For ‘Silence’ he recommends that we find time for 15 minutes of absolute quiet at least once a week during Lent. This, he said, could be scheduled forany appropriate place at any time, though he did counsel against scheduling the silent time for bedtime, saying wisely, ‘You will fall asleep, and although sleep is silent, it is not the silence of which we speak!’ See what happens in the silence?
For ‘Study’, again he advises setting aside 15 minutes one day a week for some ordered reading of suitable texts. To those who wish to read from the Bible, he proposes working through one of the 4 Gospels, or reading through the psalms. You may also consider reading the Archbishop’s recommended Lent book for 2024, ‘Tarry Awhile’ by Selina Stone. See what stands out for
you?
In relation to ‘Service’, Gomes again suggests a 15 minute investment each week, this time in some work of charity or kindness, lest we (in his words) become ‘too private and self-absorbed.’ How can you help someone else? To those who might say that these 15 minute recommendations, a total of just 45 minutes a week, are hopelessly inadequate, Gomes offers this reply:
‘It is better to succeed in little than to fail in much, and more Christians have been lost to the faith by attempting so much that they are destined to fail, unable to do anything. Spiritually, as in other matters, we must crawl before we walk, and walk before we run or leap. My counsel is to try the routine as proposed until at least mid-Lent and then adjust it as you wish.’
Living Hope
This Lent we are encouraged to put down deep roots of hope by connecting with God who is with us at all times.
The Church of England’s Lent theme for 2025 is Living Hope.
In Lent we journey with Jesus on the difficult and thorny road that leads all the way to the cross on Good Friday – and beyond, to the transformation of Easter Day.
God invites us to bring to him our own journey through everyday life. In the disappointment of daily setbacks and the pain of deeper hurts, we discover that God is present with us. And God promises a future where all things are healed and made new.
Living Hope offers us the opportunity to deepen our hope in God and be part of what God is doing to bring hope in the world.
The readings and reflections explore how we can have hope in times of frustration or uncertainty; the hope found in joining with others; the invitation to notice signs of hope around us; the courage to face reality and pursue a hopeful future; and the ways God transforms death into life at Easter.
The reflections have been written by Cathrine Fungai Ngangira and Belle Tindall – both contributors to Wild Bright Hope: The Big Church Read Lent Book 2025 (SPCK) – together with Victoria Mason, Everyday Faith Editor for the Church of England.
Reflections via email: Sign up to the Lent reflection emails and receive daily messages straight to your inbox. These daily emails will offer Bible readings, short reflections and a practical challenge, as well as prayers linked to weekly themes.
Daily reflections via Everyday Faith app: You can read and listen to daily Lent reflections from 5 March through the Everyday Faith app, the new daily devotional app from the Church of England, which is available to download here.
To learn more, go to Living Hope – Resources for Lent 2025 | The Church of England
Carbon Fast for Lent
In the Bible, caring for creation is God’s first instruction to humans. This Lent, a time when Christians traditionally fast and focus on God, we encourage you to take up our Lent challenge – living more simply and finding new ways to cut your carbon footprint.
How the Carbon Fast works:
Each week will feature a different theme designed to help us take climate action. Beginning on 5th March, you will receive a weekly email containing some key facts, suggestions for how you could reduce your carbon footprint, and a prayer.
Sign up for the 2025 Carbon Fast for Lent at:
Connect with our Creator and God’s creation during Lent
EcoChurch Resources from A Rocha
The 40-day Lent period before Easter gives us the opportunity to reflect on the practice of fasting and commit to giving up something that brings a real benefit to nature and helps address climate change. Keep reading for ideas to use as a church, as a family or as an individual.
Connect with our Creator and God’s creation during Lent – A Rocha UK
Foodbank – AdLent
Donate an item of food each day throughout Lent to the CCP box at St Peter’s or to another Foodbank. See examples from Wetherby and District Foodbank’s AdLent 2024 Campaign in the list below:
