Painted Prayerbook – Jackson Community Church

LENTEN RESOURCES

By jacksonnhccPosted on February 18, 2018Posted in Adult, Home, Justice & Activism, Outreach, Weekly Meditations, Worship, YouthTagged acts of justice, ash wednesday, atonement, carbon fast, coloring pages, contemplative practices, daily meditations, downloadable PDF, easter, eco justice, environmenta; justice, fasting, Father Richard Rohr, feasting, generosity, generosity calendar, giving calendar, Good Friday, Holy Friday, illustrated lent, Jan Richardson, kindness calendar, lent, lenten calendar, lenten guide, Maren Tirabassi, maundy thursday, mindfulness, mobile apps, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Painted Prayerbook, Palm Sunday, Plum Village, Psalms, reflections, scripture, social justice, solidarity, Thich Nhat Hahn

Acts of Kindness & Giving for Lent
(guides and calendars sourced from several organizations)

Illustrated Lent for Families:
*Already printed and available* at front of church, which is always open. Or accessible as downloadable multi-page PDF with coloring pages, scriptures and activity guides. Due to licensing, the link will be sent by email to all church friends and members … if you want to participate, and didn’t receive this email already, sign up on this site to receive our email and we will forward the links to download the PDF files. Or email us directly for the link.
40 Ways to Keep Lent Holy:
List from Rev Nadia Bolz-Weber’s blog.
Carbon Fast Calendar:
Sign up to receive daily messages/prompts on environmental acts of kindness for Lent.
Solidarity Lent Calendar:
(Includes acts of kindness and generosity and social justice. Download this calendar with acts of kindness and giving) or use their Lent Calendar App to participate
40 Acts of Generosity Lenten Calendar:
Sign up to access and participate.
100 Acts of Kindness for Kids:
Printable list.

Reflections and Meditations

Coloring the Psalms Devotional Guide and Coloring Pages.
*Already printed and available* at front of church, which is always open. Or accessible as downloadable multi-page PDF files from Jackson Community Church’s website. Due to licensing, the link will be sent by email to all church friends and members … if you want to participate, and didn’t receive this email already, sign up on this site to receive our email and we will forward the links to download the PDF files. Or email us directly for the link.
UCC (United Church of Christ)’s Still Speaking Daily Devotional messages. Sign up to receive these.
UCC (United Church of Christ)’s Still Speaking Podcast. Sign up for podcast
Mindfulness Applications for computers and mobile devices from Thich Nhat Hahn’s Plum Village (in the engaged Buddhist tradition)
Jan Richardson’s Painted Prayerbook blog entries
Maren Tirabassi’s Gifts in Open Hands blog with daily Lenten posts
Daily Meditations by Fr Richard Rohr, sign up to receive these
Living Lent Daily: Ignatian Spirituality daily meditations for Lent . Sign up to receive daily email meditations and devotional activities.
Social Justice Lectionary: Downloadable guide to readings and activities surrounding social justice issues. Extension of MLK Day initiatives.

Reflections on ashes and dust: themes from Ash Wednesday & Lent

By jacksonnhccPosted on February 14, 2018Posted in Home, Justice & Activism, Weekly MeditationsTagged ash wednesday, ashes, atonement, confession, discipline, fasting, forgiveness, Georgia Douglas Johnson, giving, herschel space observatory, Jan Richardson, John Holbert, lent, Maren Tirabassi, meditations, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Painted Prayerbook, praying, preparation, qu'ran, Richard Rohr, rumi, Thich Nhat Hanh, training, zen poet vietman Ly dynasty

Ash Wednesday is the starting point of Lent. We are marked with ashes as we begin the season. We go from feasting to a season of fasting, praying, and giving.

Or perhaps we can think of Lent as a season of personal training, of discipline and preparation, to return to spiritual fitness. It’s a time when, through confession, we admit and wrestle with our issues, vulnerabilities and weaknesses … and get to know ourselves better. We seek healing and balance.

This is also an opportunity to understand that we are beloved for whom we are: messy and imperfect and broken. Just as we are beloved for whom we may become. Because the gift of this season, ultimately, is grace. We can prepare, we can focus … yet we cannot earn the boundless love toward which we are reaching. It is simply offered to us, regardless of how perfect or imperfect we are. Just because.

Ashes symbolize mortality, as well as humility and contrition. The proudest members of society, in many faith traditions, don sackcloth and wear ashes as signs of humility, to express sorrow, or to demonstrate a desire for reconciliation and forgiveness. Ashes represent, like “dust to dust”, our elemental origins and remind us that our bodies will return to the earth. Within our faith, we also believe that while our bodies are formed from organic materials, our living selves are filled up with and energized by Breath, Wind, or Holy Spirit, which animates life and connects all of us.

Traditionally, people receive ashes today, Ash Wednesday, as a smudge or cross on the forehead. We come to this season in a messy way, wearing our imperfection on our faces. Messy, sad, sorry, tired, angry, grateful, hopeful, happy, curious … we enter into this time of preparation, on the journey toward Easter.

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