Lent Resources
Many resources are available to help navigate Lent. Here are a selection:
Christian Aid - Count Your Blessings
Developing its Count Your Blessings resource, Christian Aid has now launched it as a mobile app.
Using photography and daily reflections, users of the free 'Count Your Blessings' app will be able to get daily notifications, hear uplifting stories from Christian Aid projects and take actions in solidarity with the world's poorest people.
Optional actions include giving 10p for every bedroom in your house as a reminder of how fortunate we are to have shelter and stopping to pray for people living in conflict.
The app is available for download from the Apple Store and Google Play.
Stewardship - 40acts
Christian charity Stewardship is challenging people to 'do Lent generously' this year by taking part in forty simple acts of generosity.
Donate blood, forgive, live on a fiver, be a mentor and share the Bible are just some of the simple, everyday acts of generosity which feature in the 40acts challenge 2013.
40acts will launch on Wednesday 13 February 2013, and will set participants daily challenges to complete over the forty days of Lent.
Now in its third consecutive year, 40acts is the brainchild of Christian charity Stewardship, and invites people to do Lent differently. Instead of giving something up, 40acts challenges participants to give something 'out'. Over 7500 people have already signed up to 40acts 2013.
Participants can sign up to 40acts via 40acts.org.uk and will receive daily 40acts challenges via email from 13 February to 30 March 2013. The website features a message from Chris Duffett, current president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Visit http://
www.40acts.org.uk/
Methodist Church - prayer texts
Young Methodists are offering people the chance to sign up for prayer text messages over Lent period.
The prayer texts have been written by children and young people from across the Methodist Church. They are intended to inspire other young people embarking on the 46-day spiritual journey of Lent. Mobile phone users can sign up to receive daily prayers by texting LENT on 66777 charged at the standard network rate. The texts will be free to receive.
The text messages will be sent around 12.30pm each day throughout the whole Lent period, including Sundays. The messages are aimed at children and young people.
The Big Bible Project - The Big Read (#BigRead13)
The Big Read is designed to bring together Christians from across a range of churches to study the Bible together, drawing upon a particular text.
This year the Big Read is focusing on Rowan Williams', the former Archbishop of Canterbury, new book The Lion's World, which explores C.S.Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, written in the 1950s.
The project encourages small groups to meet to study the Bible, but also to engage globally in 'Bigger Bible conversations' via social media, including blogs, tweets and Facebook
Tearfund - Carbon Fast
A series of challenges to remember how God has called us to respect and look after his good creation and to protect poor people who we know are suffering the most.
Our day-to-day lives may not be impacted severely by the changing climate – yet.
But what about people who struggle to feed their families or find a home that won’t get washed away, or who can’t work because the fields have been destroyed by droughts and storms?