Lenten Journey of Faith Development

Friends:

Here is the detail I promised about our Lenten experience of solidarity with the poor!  The process will unfold with four primary features.

• First, is your own personal commitment to read, discover, reflect, and engage the journey with a heart that is open and prepared by prayer.  This will include a personal commitment to discovering ways that you can fast by eating the foods that folks in poverty around the world eat every day (or when ever it is available).
• Second, is the daily reading we will do together from A Place At The Table by Pastor Chris Seay.  Each participant will be responsible for obtaining a copy of the book.  It is readily available on line, in Christian bookstores, and in electronic form.  I have a hard copy that we purchased at Ecclesia and I have an electronic Kindle copy ready to go. 
•  The daily readings will begin with Day 1 on page 51 of A Place At The Table.  Day 1 will be Ash Wednesday February 22, 2012.  Remember, Sunday is always a Feast Day!
• Prior to Day 1, you will want to read the first four chapters to understand how our fast will unfold.
• Third, I will be inviting you to log on to www.chrisseay.net (click on Daily Videos on the top banner) to watch the short video that Chris has recorded for each day.  The videos are clearly marked for each day of the reading in A Place At The Table.
• Fourth, I will also be inviting you to log on to this blog page to watch a video that I will post or material that I will share daily.  You will also have the opportunity to post a comment and to connect the comment thread to your daily prayers.

Note: Even though our official start is Ash Wednesday...I will post a preview video on Tuesday February 21st.  Some folks call this Fat Tuesday (a literal translation of the French Mardi Gras) but it really is Shrove Tuesday which identifies a spiritual day of confession and preparation.  It has become a eat-drink-and-be-merry day of celebration but it is actually a day that launches us forward to a time of personal renewal, sacrifice, and reflection.

It is my prayer that our journey will not be a burden but a blessing.   Pray daily for the poor in your community.  Get to know where they live, what they do, and what they eat.  Engage the various parts of the world that will become the focal point for each day.  Eat only what you need, conserve your resources and support your favorite food distribution center with a wonderful blessing.

Lent is a time of reflection and discovery with a focus on growing closer to Christ.  As we draw close to one another...as we develop a heart for our neighbors...we will discover the love of God and the heart of our faith.  That heart belongs to Jesus Christ who is Lord of all the earth.

Let's journey together.

Lord, we ask that you would start now with the inner preparation we will need for this journey of faith.  Do your work within us.  Open our eyes to the needs of others.  

Teach us how to pray, how to serve, and how to be your people.  Walk with us Lord.  

For this we ask in the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names.  Amen