Hello –
Here are 4 possibilities for you to consider:
1. Show your phone who’s boss. Follow this link to read 7 recommended practices to curb our over-reliance on our smart phones. I already follow most of these and learned of a great new one- put your phone on grey scale rather than color. Here’s the link to common sense media.
2. Fast from Contempt. This was the recommended practice last year and it’s even more relevant this year. Our media on both the left and the right offers constant temptations, either through bombast or snark, to treat other human beings as unworthy of respect. Read this column from last year and then fast from any media that causes you to dismiss the “other.” Anger can be OK as a sign to take action. When we are angry we can still desire relationship. Contempt, for a Christian, is never OK.
3. Embrace Silence. Martin Laird’s book, Into the Silent Land, is the best invitation I know into the mysterious depths of Christian Meditation. Read his book (or reread it, as I am doing) and begin nurturing a daily practice of sitting in silence for 20 minutes a day. You might also come to the group that meets every second and fourth Sunday at 7pm in Duncan Hall to meditate and deepen their practice. Here’s the link to the book on Amazon.
4. PrayWorshipServe. Commit to 20 minutes a day of prayer, an hour a week of worship and an hour a week of service of the poor. Go to the PrayWorshipServe website to sign up to a get a powerful but short email every day of Lent to inspire you in your efforts. This will likely be a spiritual stretch for you, but fear not, there will be much grace in the effort.
Even better, come to next week’s PrayWorshipServe retreat at St. Paul’s. St. Paul’s parishioners are free. You need only commit to at least 9am to 3pm on Friday and Saturday (the 23rd and and 24th) and 9am to 11am on Sunday the 25th. Here’s the link to sign up for free. As an alternative, you can volunteer to help at the retreat, and so be invited to come to the debut of my performance piece, Pelican, on Saturday at 5pm and stay for the dinner afterwards. Email Judy at JLRowcliffe@comcast.net to sign up.
Have a blessed Lent. Our Ash Wednesday services tomorrow are at 7:30am, noon and 6:30pm. All are Eucharist and include the imposition of Ashes on the forehead with the profound words, “remember that you are but dust, and to dust you shall return.” There is no better way to begin preparing your heart for the stunning affirmation of life at Easter, on April 1st.