February 2022 | Prayer Bench Newsletter “Lent is Coming.”
Hello everyone,
We are edging toward Lent. In this edition, I have prepared a Lent Calendar for you called “40 Gestures Supporting Mindfulness & Presence” and you can read a guest reflection on using this Lent calendar.
You will also find the complete first session of a Prayer Bench Lent Small Group Study and information about a Lent Email retreat (coming in two parts) along with daily reflections and prayers during Holy Week.
Lent Calendar
Here is your Lent Calendar. You can print it and share it with friends or your community of faith.
Reflection on the 40 Gestures Lent Calendar
By Marilyn Burrell, a Prayer Bench partner and Spiritual Guide.
I’m here.
Are you here?
I mean, are you REALLY here? Present with your whole self?
Or are you drawn to thinking about something that has already happened;
a conversation from yesterday, a meeting from last week,
or an event from your life that happened long ago;
reviewing and reliving it, remembering how great it was,
or imagining how it could have been different.
Are you here?
Really here?
Or are you anticipating something that hasn’t happened yet;
what supper tonight might be, the trip that needs planning,
the sewing that is waiting, or the reports to be written.
It is so often our state of being that we find ourselves lingering over the past or dreaming of the future,when this moment we are standing in, this time that we call “now”, and all that it offers us is missed.
When we really think about it, all we have is this moment.
In this exact moment, something of our life is here
to be lived, noticed, engaged.
And in a heartbeat, we are into the next moment.
Practicing mindfulness and presence help to bring us to the moment we are in, return our attention to the “now”, opening us to notice the life that this present moment offers.
A simple invitation to notice a particular colour during the day can heighten our awareness of staying present to the day.
A simple gesture like eating slowly or giving a compliment can return our attention to the “now.”
After all, our life is lived moment to moment.
And there is a gift in each one.1
Thanks Marilyn. And you are welcome to join me on the Prayer Bench page where I’ll post resources, quotes or pictures to deepen the gestures in the Lent calendar. You can your your noticing, your prayers and poems and photos too.
New Prayer Bench Small Group Study: It’s Our Saga Too.
This five-week Lent Small Group Study weaves the saga of Joseph with the journey of Jesus and invites us to think about hard things like violence, grief, values, temptation and forgiveness, and seek faithful ways to respond.
Here is the complete first session to give you a good sense of this study. It includes the process and the study paper written by the Rev. Dr. Hugh Farquhar.
Lent Retreats & Holy Week Reflections
Lent offers a season of reflection. We make our journey applying our hearts to wisdom through a Lent retreat, delivered in two parts, plus daily Holy Week meditations.
A New Style
You may have noticed a new style for the newsletter. I’ve moved from Mailchimp to Substack for a better writing experience. Rest assured the monthly newsletter will remain free and, like always, if your inbox is overwhelmed you can unsubscribe.
Here is your Lent calendar. I hope it offers you creative opportunities for making daily Soul Pauses during Lent and brings you closer to the One whose Love lingers always.
Janice, Host of the Prayer Bench.