Lent 2021 - starting on 17 February

A selection of resources to help us reflect during Lent

	‘Waiting and Accepting’ – a Lent Quiet Day We are offering a much-needed opportunity in these troubled times for anyone in the Baptist family to take time out... to pause and rest in the goodness and sovereignty of God - on Thursday 25 February.   In this third online national quiet day since the beginning of the pandemic, Beth Powney and Mark Fairweather-Tall, two of our association team leaders, will lead us.  If you cannot join us on the day, the recording will be available afterwards so that you can take part.
	Holy Habits: Following Jesus – a new online Lent group for you to join After the success of the online Holy Habits home group last summer, BRF is offering a new online Holy Habits Lent group. The seven weekly studies are based on Andrew Robert’s new book Holy Habits: Following Jesus, which explores how Jesus modelled the ten holy habits outlined in Acts 2: 42-47, and how we too can model these habits in our lives today. Beginning on Tuesday 16 February, the new group will meet for seven weeks from 19:30-20:30 to watch a pre-recorded video, followed by a 30 minute Facebook live session hosted by Andrew Roberts. To find out more and to join click here. In addition, ten-minute videos introducing each Lenten session will be available for churches to use independently. To access the videos click here.
	Short videos for Lent, from the Eastern Baptist Association Regional Minister Graeme Ross is sharing five short videos for Lent. They will all be under 3 minutes and will each ask a question inspired by the Biblical accounts of Jesus in the wilderness. The aim behind them is to offer churches and individuals something that can be used in a service or shared online that will help people reflect on Jesus in the wilderness but that is short enough so that it can be used alongside whatever theme they are following. Click here to access these videos on the Association's Facebook page.
	The Lent Challenge 2021 The 2021 Bible Tour Lent Challenge from christianity.org.uk is a 40-day invitation to take a deep dive into the Bible. Helen Paynter, Tutor in Biblical Studies at Bristol Baptist College, set herself a lockdown project of releasing a video each day, until she had gone through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. If you didn’t follow these videos last year, why not use them through Lent as your Lent Challenge this year?
	The Lent Lock Down Virtual Garden Pilgrimage With our movements and social interaction restricted, how can we make the most of Lent in Lockdown and improve our mental and spiritual health? Pilgrimageonline is offering a free 40-day Lent pilgrimage using reflections in a small garden to help us go on a spiritual journey towards Easter. Most people have access to a garden or park and each day there will be a short video to watch based upon items, plants and observations from the garden which aim to nurture and nourish our souls and emotions. Even if a person does not have access to a green space it is hoped that by joining the garden pilgrimage, they will experience something of the wonder of a garden through their virtual interaction. Each day there will be a more detailed written reflection on the website for those who have more time and want to go deeper. Click here for more information and an introductory video.
	The Passion stories by LAMPS Collective – Lent course 2021 Six vividly compelling stories, performed direct to camera, recall the first Easter from the perspectives of Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and a young centurion called Marcus. Accompanying devotional material offers reflections, questions to ponder and a related prayer. Ideal for small groups as well as individuals, or inclusion within services, the LAMPS Lent course is free to churches and individuals, with the option of donating to their work if you choose to use the material.  Click here to access all the resources (including samples).
	The Poet’s Gospel This year’s Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Lent study is The Poet’s Gospel: a gospel in blank verse with rhymed parables. The course is grounded in one man’s spirituality. John Alan Davis is in his 90s, a retired headmaster, a poet and a dramatist who wrote this gospel as a spiritual exercise whilst his wife was suffering from dementia and after her death. It brought him comfort, and it will bring us not just comfort but new insights, unsettling challenges and new ways of encountering Jesus. Click here to find out more and download the study guide and sound files.
	The Uprising of Jesus The Uprising of Jesus in an Easter context carries the dual sense of Jesus’ revolution and his resurrection. Both have everything to do with Empire: Jesus is crucified as a terrorist because he resists the Roman Empire and its occupation in the name of God’s reign. Jesus is raised because he refuses to make a deal with Empire, and astoundingly, the New Creation of the Reign of God is born on Easter Sunday. The risen Jesus calls us to walk that same Way of the Cross. Our Easter commitment is to recognise and resist Empire in all its forms today.  Four sessions on 21-22 March led by Wes Howard-Brook, Chine McDonald and Howard Young. Click here for more information
	Where You Go, I Will Go - new study on the book of Ruth What does it mean to walk with someone from poverty and desperation, to a place of hope? This new contemplative study resource, written by Baptist minister Keith Parr and his wife Karen, encourages readers to consider just that. It is a 40-day series of Bible studies, reflections and prayers on the book of Ruth, suitable for Lent or any other time of year. Click here for more information.
	Women in the shadows For Lent, the Clewer Initiative have developed a five week devotional course, 'Women in the Shadows'. The course helps churches to focus on different ways women and girls are exploited through modern slavery. This excellent resources uses short films and interactive guides to raise awareness and encourage action. Together Free is pleased to partner with the Clewer Initiative and encourage churches to use this timely resource. Click here for more information.