Eco-Congregation Ireland wishes you an eco-aware and eco-active Lent!
Some people go on a carbon fast for Lent, which we think is a great idea! Others count their blessings with the help of Christian Aid, which has a range of Lent resources. Some choose to concentrate on a particular theme and Trócaire’s Lenten focus this year is the global water crisis.
The Ecumenical Water Network is again providing weekly reflections and resources on water for the seven weeks of Lent, with this year’s theme being ‘Pilgrimage towards Water Justice’.
Also worth checking out is this Lent 2014 calendar from the Presbyterian Church’s Environmental Ministries in the US, Micah Challenge’s 40 day fast resource, St Columbans Mission Society’s The Grace of Earth and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland’s Lenten 2014 resource, Parables and Possessions.
We would encourage you to opt for a Lenten resource with a Creation/environment theme and, whether you’re looking for something for individual use or in a group, there are plenty to choose from.
For individual reflection, Quantum Grace: Lenten Reflections on Creation and Connectedness and Quantum Grace: The Sunday Readings by Judy Cannato (Ave Maria Press) are both highly recommended.
The Irish Catholic Bishop’s pastoral reflection, Cry of the Earth, provides an excellent starting point for a series of discussions. It invites individuals and parish communities to reflect on the challenge of climate change and the actions we can take to help construct a more sustainable environment. Also, to reflect on the covenant between human beings and the environment “which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”. The bishops also recommend that all churches sign up to an environmental programme, like Eco-Congregation Ireland! See here.
The Anglican Communion produced a Lenten booklet called And It Was Good – Responding to God’s Gift of Creation, which offers an opportunity to engage with different parts of the Bible so that we might better understand our call to care for God’s creation. See http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2011/9/6/ACNS4936.
The Biblical Association of the Church of Ireland put together a Biblical reflective programme for Lent on the theme of Creation, which can be downloaded for free from http://bibliahibernica.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/lent-2011.pdf
The Diocese of Bath and Wells’ Lenten course, Love for the Future (which includes DVD, notes, worship resources and music), is inspiring and uplifting – a much-needed resource at this time of financial and economic uncertainty. As we recognise the interconnections of the economic and environmental crises, this study – for personal or group use – with its haunting music, encourages us to look beyond despair to the gospel values of respect, compassion, justice, simplicity, repentance and hope. See www.bathandwells.org.uk/go/loveforthefuture.
Also recommended is Operation Noah’s Between the Flood and the Rainbow (www.operationnoah.org), the Methodist Relief and Development Fund’s Lenten Bible study pack, What does the Bible say about Climate Change? (www.mrdf.org.uk), the Church in Society Environmental Advisory Group’s Environmental Bible Study – Five Studies on God’s Works in Creation and Redemption (www.churchinsociety.org) and Christian Ecology Link’s Ecocell(www.christian-ecology.org.uk), which aims to deepen conviction, impel people to action and provide the motivational ‘sparks’ that inspire a passion for Christ and all life on Earth.
For many people nowadays, Lent is not a time for giving up, but for taking up. Love Life Live Lent is a delightful book filled with suggestions for both children and adults to undertake during Lent – small and fun actions that can inspire and transform one’s family, community and the wider world. See www.livelent.net.