Do something different for Lent

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday March 5th this year.
In an Ashing service people are marked on the forehead with a sign of the cross made from ash, to say sorry to God, and to mark the beginning of Lent. You are invited to an Ashing service at Churchdown Methodist Church Chapel Hay Lane Churchdown at 10.00 on March 5th

What are you going to do for the rest of Lent?

Many people think about giving up something for Lent (often something they enjoy such as chocolate or crisps).How about starting something for Lent instead?
Did you know that whether you are starting or stopping something during Lent Sundays are a rest day? So you are actually committing to doing something for a total of 40 days.

Here are a few suggestions of something to do this Lent:

Sign up for Soul Food- a set of emails for the 40 days of Lent.Each week follows this pattern:

• Monday: A recipe video using easily available ingredients. Something to cook and share with family and friends.
• Tuesday: A Bible study video, with discussion on questions from the week's Gospel passage.
• Wednesday: A craft video, perfect for doing at home or in a group setting.
• Thursday: An inspiring story about the work of the Methodist Church and our partners.
• Friday: A reflection on a classic soul song, revealing the good news within its lyrics.
• Saturday: Soul Food Saturday, our magazine-style video show, featuring a panel sharing highlights of their week of Soul Food and showcasing photos of what others have been doing.
• Sunday: No email, but we invite you to gather in worship, reflecting on the theme as you praise God together.Find out more on our How to do something different for Lent flyer.

40 Acts of Generosity
Something else to sign up to – but this asks you to do something generous each day
In your daily email you will get a reflection from a 40acts partner, a Bible verse, prayer points and a challenge to do something generous.There'll be different levels to the challenge to help you do what you can. You can even download a chart to remind you and keep track of how you are doing. Sign up through our How to do something different for Lent flyer.

The Whole Easter Story
You can buy a Lent book and read and reflect on something each day for those 40 days.
The Whole Easter Story is a new Lent book by Jo Swinney which explains why the Easter Story is good news for all creation.
You can buy the book online here

If you are interested in this topic you can join a weekly book group on Wednesdays from 5 March to 9 April between 8:00 and 9:00pm. You don't have to buy the book to join and there are more details on our How to do something different for Lent flyer.

Where Your Treasure Is:A Five-Week Lent Course
Operation Noah is a Christian charity working with the Church to inspire action on climate change.
They are offering a five-week course to help you think about how we can use our money to tackle the climate crisis. Money is a difficult topic for many at the moment, but this course is designed to be both a blessing and a challenge both to individual Christians and to churches.
Each week includes a reflection and discussion questions, a prayer and suggested actions.
You can register and download the course to use yourself, and/or sign up for a series of lunchtime Zoom meetings at 1:00pm each Wednesday in Lent. Details of how to do this are on our How to do something different for Lent flyer.