Lent & Lent Groups
The forty days of Lent offer an opportunity for Christians to spend time preparing for the most important week of the year, as we remember Jesus' death on the cross on Good Friday and his extraordinary resurrection on Easter Day. This year The Six will be running 5 Lent Groups.
The first group will meet in Hartlip Methodist Retreat Centre (map here) on Wednesdays, from 29 February to 3 April inclusive, from 7:30pm. The group will use a course from the Anglican Communion called, "And it was good, Responding to God's Gift of Creation" This course comes out of a project "The Bible in the Life of the Church", and it makes use of the ways in which Christians in other parts of the world read the scriptures, and what we have to learnfrom them. The course was prepared, and largely written, by Clare Amos, as part of her work for the Anglican Communion. Booklets for the course are available from Canon Alan Amos. For more information or to obtain a booklet, contact Canon Alan Amos on 01795 842913.
The second group will meet at 73 High St, Newington, ME9 7JJ on Wednesdays from 29 February for 5 weeks, from 1:30-3:00. The group will be using Bishop Trevor's, Finding Welcome course.
For more information, contact Lis Willmet on 01795 841226
The third and fourth groups will meet at 21 Sheerstone, Iwade on Thursdays, from the 1 March for 5 weeks, from 2:00pm. An evening group is also planned for anyone interested. Both groups will be using Bishop Trevor's, Finding Welcome course.
For more information contact Rev Ron Partridge on 01795 842007
The fifth group will meet at 3 Horsham Lane, Upchurch with coffee first on Tuesdays, from 6 March to 3 April inclusive, from 9:30-11:30am
For more information, contact Rev Jacky Davis on 01795 842557
During the six weeks of Lent, there will be a simple midday prayer every Friday, at 12:00. For the first 3 weeks, on 24 Feb, 2, 9 March this will be at Newington Church. In the second 3 weeks, on 16, 2 April, it will be at Upchurch. Everyone is welcome to join us, especially if you are choosing to fast on Fridays (see below).
There are also excellent resources on the web to support prayer and reflection and you might find them helpful during Lent. Try www.pray-as-you-go.org/ or Christian Aid's Count Your blessings resource, or, especially suitable for children and families, www.livelent.net/
Fasting accompanied by prayer is referred to several times in the Old and New Testaments, and has been a part of Christian tradition and practice down the ages. It is still strongly maintained in the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and is also practised in some Pentecostal Churches; until recently it was very much a part of Catholic practice.
It reminds us, as in the 40 day fast of Jesus in the wilderness during the Temptation, that we should not live by bread alone, “but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
It reminds us to get our priorities for living right and offers an opportunity for us to clear some space in our lives for God to enter.
“Fasting” does not just mean total abstinence from food for a period of time; it can also mean eating “fasting food”, for example abstaining from alcohol, and from meat, and eating a very simple meal with time given to silence and prayer, and sometimes offering to charity.
We invite you to commit to some kind of fast this Lent - either by giving up food for a day once or twice in Lent or by missing a meal once a week or by eating a simple meal. As you do so, commit some extra time to prayer and use the experience of fasting as a way to clear space in your life into which God can enter.