The CofE’s Renewed Devotion to Fasting, Abstinence, and Penance in Commemoration of Christ’s Forty Days in the Wilderness
Times2 - Let there be low-energy light during Lent, by Jane Shilling
So what do the Archbishops propose as their Lenten initiative? Well, from this week, you can text the word “Lent” to 64343 and receive a daily suggestion for a Good Deed, beginning on February 19, until Easter Monday, April 9. Sample suggestions include paying more for charity-shop goods than the marked price, giving a hug to someone who needs one, giving up your place in a shop queue to someone in a hurry, leaving money in your supermarket trolley for someone else to find, buying low-energy light bulbs, wearing a jumper and turning down the central heating and saying nice things about someone behind their back.
…“LLLL is a Church of England initiative and we encourage everyone to get involved. Thinking about others and making a difference are something that anyone and everyone should do. Some of the actions may suggest going to church or other activities that you’re not quite sure about. But these are only suggestions.”
Only suggestions, indeed. In fact, I know any number of quite fervent atheists who set considerable store by turning down the heating and using low-energy light bulbs all year round, not just for 40 days in late winter and early spring. Not to mention assorted agnostics, humanists, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans and Roman Catholics with nice manners who readily give up their place in a queue to someone in a hurry, routinely refuse change for goods they have bought at charity shops, automatically respond to human distress with a hug and habitually speak kindly of their absent acquaintance. The only thing I don’t think any of them would do is leave cash knocking about in a supermarket trolley on the off-chance that someone needy might find it. Is that it, then? The thing that distinguishes an Anglican from a nice person of any other denomination or religion, or none at all, is a tendency to leave loose change in Waitrose trolleys during Lent? Crikey. To think that people were burnt at the stake for this.
Pff.
January 26th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Jeez, not Lent again?
Last year, nuttin. Year before that, guilt. I figure gawd owned me something back, I was bitter. Year before that, grilling Year before that, nuttin Year before that, meat, that was a horror show. Year before that, coffee, kinda stuck. Year before that, sneering, probably should try again. Year before that, Turnip Twadling, well, it didn’t work out Year before that, 3-d vision Year before that, RayBans
That’s about 10 years of Lent or 39,000 years in real time. I’ve been umm, Anglizied for 15, but for the life of me I can’t remember the other 5 years.
January 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Last year was meat. Cuz the first two Fridays (one was St Pat’s, even if there was a dispensation in some dioceses, the other I don’t remember) were the only two days that I had eaten meat (with Indian, except for ghee and paneer you’re largely vegan) so when I realized, to make up for it I gave up meat entirely. Afterwards I made something with meat, and Lord it felt strange. This year, I dunno.
January 27th, 2007 at 3:04 am
Yeah, Lent is what caused me to get a clue about feast days. :>
January 28th, 2007 at 4:30 am
Maybe I’ll give up pork. That would be semi-meaningful in a half-hearted way.