Goodness!  So, here we are: the twentieth day – half way through Lent.  (Remember, Sundays don’t count among the 40 days.)  As on any journey, it’s natural to pause and take stock at this half-way house.  

Speaking for myself, I don’t feel I have given up too much.  But then I didn’t really set out to.  I aimed to give up alcohol, except on major feast days – of which there haven’t been many.  By and large I have managed that.  Beyond that, my relatively simple diet is chosen more with an eye to health considerations than self-denial as such.  Maybe though the simplicity could be more consciously chosen and offered up. 

It’s the extra things I have tried to take on that stand out more.  These include reading the Scriptures each day with Margaret after Morning and Evening Prayer.  We have nearly finished the Book of Genesis and are well on with the Gospel of Mark.  I have also tried to expand my horizons by taking part in online events such as the ‘Here: Now: Us’ and ‘Hope for Belper’ meetings I have blogged about, or the online Diocesan Confirmation Course and ‘Arriving and Belonging’ event I have written about more recently.  As I look forward as well as back, I suspect it is very likely that greater engagement in socially-aware outreach projects such as these will be where the future Church’s presence will be Spirit-led beyond the pandemic.  

Meanwhile, there are 20 more days of Lent to go – a time to review and a time to look ahead.  

Is it possible to say what have been the fruits of this Lent, so far, for you?

MICHAEL KIRKHAM