Lenten Resources


Just in case you are unaware, the Church season of Lent begins next Wednesday, February 14th.  Yes, it is early because Easter is early (April 1st), based on the timing of the full-moon after the spring equinox (which happens to be on March 20th this year).  

The season of Lent is a time of reflection and renewal, and opportunity to strengthen our relationship with God and each other.  While some associate that with “giving up” or “taking on,” it is better to think about our priorities and order of our life.  Do we give God our time and attention?  If so, how much?  Would we benefit from more? Absolutely – and Lent gives us the opportunity to make the time to focus on developing our faith.

Fortunately, there are many resources to help us on this journey.  I’ll highlight the 3 we will be using at St. Barnabas:
On the lighter side of things is Lent Madness – “Want to be inspired by some saintly souls this Lent and have fun along the way? Join with thousands of Christians across denominations who have discovered the joyful online learning community that is Lent Madness. With its unique blend of competition, education, and humor, Lent Madness allows participants to be inspired by the ways in which God has worked through the lives of saints over the generations. Based loosely on the NCAA basketball tournament of a similar name, this online devotion pits 32 saints against one another in a single-elimination bracket as voters choose their favorites throughout Lent. Here’s how to participate: on the weekdays of Lent, information is posted at www.lentmadness.org about two different saints. Each pairing remains open for 24 hours as participants read about and then vote to determine which saint moves on to the next round.” The large bracket poster is in the Welcoming Area so you can see how the (friendly) competition progresses, while learning more about some great people living out their faith, just like us!

On a more serious note, it is a very true statement that reading the Bible is the most important tool in becoming a disciple of Jesus. To that end, our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, looked to find ways to invite Episcopalians to read the Bible more, and worked with the people at Forward Movement to create The Good Book Club.  Starting this Sunday, February 11th, the Church is invited to read through the Gospel of Luke during Lent and the Book of Acts during Easter.  The daily reading guide is available at www.forwardmovement.org/promotions/PDF/Readings_PDF_Web.pdf. We will also have copies available in the Welcoming Area.  I will be blogging about my reading of the Gospel throughout Lenten and we will be using this for our Bible Study. 

For our Lenten Study, we will be using the Diocesan course called Come Follow Me.  Written by our own Northern Convocation Dean, The Very Rev. Marshall Shelley, it focuses on the Gospel of Mark and our response to Andrew’s invitation to meet Jesus.  The materials are available at dioceseofnj.org/churchgrowth/ (scroll down to the “Come and See” logo).  We will be meeting on Wednesday nights starting on February 21st at the church of a light pot luck dinner of soup, salad and bread (just remember that we currently have no kitchen!) followed by prayer and discussion about the readings. The handouts for all the sessions will be available in the Welcoming Area as well.

The best part about these resources is that they all offer DAILY interaction with scripture, reflection on how to live a Godly life and prayer – so you don’t have to worry about what you are going to do, you just have to make time to do it!

I pray this Lent will be a blessed time of deepening our love for God and strengthening our faith in God’s love for us.

In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+

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