Its time to get ready for Lent and over the rest of the week, I will post links to my updated resource lists for Lent. However, I must confess that as I started to work on these I found myself struggling a little. There are so many resources available for Lent – Lenten devotional A Journey Into Wholeness, with a rich array of reflections and activities for the season, Breath prayer cards that also provide a focus on breathing (or purchase the bundle!) and free Lenten activity guide 40+ ideas for Lent and Easter and Hungering for Life. We also have Lent/Easter Prayer cards!
What we need is not more resources. We need more time to sit in the presence of God and stir our imaginations and creativity so that our Lenten practices enter our hearts and souls and transforms us into the people God intends us to be. As you know, our theme for Lent is Hungering for Life. We don’t want to tell you how to celebrate Lent, we want to invite you to stir your imagination and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you and encourage you to take God’s reconciling work seriously during this season.
The place I suggest you start is with creating your own sacred space for Lent.
A couple of years ago, I started a practice where I burnt the crosses and palms from the previous year to make a pile of ashes that became my focus for the season. Last year, it inspired this prayer and reflection and this year I am asking God to stir my imagination in new ways in order to draw closer to God’s heart for reconciliation within myself as well as in my relationship to God, to others and to God’s creation.
So take some time to create your own sacred space for Lent. Here are some possibilities to prayerfully consider as you spend this Lenten season at home.
- Your dining room table. Eating meals is a holy time. Regardless of how busy you are in the week, make time for at least one meal to be shared with others. Believe me, you’ve got time. You’ve got to make time. And perhaps you can make this a time of reconciliation with those with whom you have been estranged.
- Something you are thinking of throwing out, like my old crosses and palms from last year. Recycled items as a focus for Lent reminds us that God is in the business of transformation and recreation.
- Clean a space for Lent. Spring cleaning was a traditional Lenten practice that symbolized the cleaning inside and out that was meant to take place during this season. What is one space you have wanted to clean up that you could recreate as a focus for Lent?
- Use colour and texture. The traditional colour for Lent is purple but that does not mean that we need to use it. Perhaps there are other colours, textures and images that speak to you about your own personal need for repentance and reconciliation. Imagine ways that you could use these to create a special place for your celebrations during this season.
- Incorporate images. I have a collection of icons, crosses and other images that I love to rearrange for different seasons on the year. Some have been given to me, others I have created, like my Celtic cross on stone from last year. I love to sit with some of these images in front me when it comes time to rearrange my sacred space and allow the spirit of God to help me choose which images are appropriate for the upcoming season. I have found this to provide a very profound experience that nurtures and instructs me throughout the season.
- Bring nature into your sacred space. By now, most of you know that I do not consider a sacred space to be complete unless it incorporates a garden, a plant or even a beautiful photo of a special landscape or flower. As one of the prime ways that God speaks to us is through the created world, I think this is important for all of us to include in our sacred spaces.
- Use your artistic gifts to create something new. All of us have been gifted with creativity and imagination, yet we rarely use it in our spiritual observances. Some of us are unaware of our creativity. Others are unsure how to create with the purposes of God in mind. Prayerfully ask God to stir your imagination to create something that flows out of the unique creativity with which God has gifted you. It could be a poem, a piece of art, a photo, a collage, something you knit, carve or sculpt. Or it could be an entirely new art form that is uniquely you.
I hope you will take time to create your own sacred space this Lent. If you do, I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment below or email me with your ideas and images.
Please check out our complete list of Godspace resources for Lent through Holy Week
Tom and I have been on retreat for the last few days and as I mentioned on Thursday, we drove up Whidbey Island and over Deception Pass. We stopped again at the bridge, which I photographed last year in the fog. This time it was in bright beautiful sunshine.
As we settled into our retreat space in Anacortes, the images of the bridge kept revolving in my mind. Surprisingly it was not the beauty of the scene, but the bridge itself that held my attention and I hope that it will speak to you too. It is strongly anchored on both sides. It stands high above the deep and treacherous waters below. Unlike the pass itself which takes skill and experience to navigate, it can be crossed by anyone.
Find a quiet place to sit. Make yourself comfortable. Take some deep breathes in and out to relax yourself. Spend some time contemplating the image above. Read through the prayer several times. Visualize your life as it has been until now and what you hope it will be for the future. Allow God to speak to you.
What is your response?
What anchors your life in the past? Are these anchors clear or are they shrouded in fog? What could you do to make them more secure?
What anchors your life to the future? What are the hopes and dreams God has placed in your heart? What could you do to clarify those dreams?
Now contemplate this image. Focus on the bridge itself and allow God to speak to you:
What is your response?
The strength of the bridge between past and future depends on its anchors. What are you aware of that has weakened your anchors and made your bridge more vulnerable? Prayerfully consider one action you could take to strengthen these anchors. Write it down.
Now listen to Simon and Garfunkel sing Bridge over Troubled Water. Allow the lyrics to wash over you. Is there anything else that the spirit of God is saying to you?
There are so many faith related and and garden related resources available these days that it is impossible list all of them but I thought that you would enjoy a list to at least browse through and enjoy.
A few U.S. based blogs from a variety of faith perspectives:
My colleague, Andy Wade, posts regularly on the lessons he is learning from the garden. I particularly love what he has done in his own garden to create a sense of the sacredness of God.
- Sustainable traditions posts some excellent articles on Christian faith and gardening/environmentalism.
- Presbyterian Food & Faith Blog is a blog of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.
- Fran Sorin also has some very interesting articles on gardening.
- Morning Altars Art – a place to check out Day Schildkret’s beautiful earth art
- The Kids Should See This also has an array of beautiful garden art to look at.
- Serenity in the Garden is another excellent site with some great reflections on spirituality and gardening.
- Red dirt rambling is a site I discovered recently but have not had much opportunity to explore.
- Northwest Edible Life written by a very funny woman named Erica who lives in Edmonds WA.
More American Resources
For those living in the Pacific NW, Seattle Tilth is a must-contact organization. Their educational classes are superb. The Seattle Tilth garden hotline is also an excellent resource, there to answer your questions, and it is not just for those of us who live in this part of the world. Their advice and expertise can help visitors from around the world.
Seattle Public Utilities’ Natural Lawn and Garden Care website provides a variety of downloadable resources, including:
Others that are helpful:
- The American Community Garden Association provides a wealth of resources and is an entrance into a vast network of community gardeners.
- The American Horticultural Society provides many resources, programs, and events by region.
- For those interested in food, faith, and gardening in the Twin Cities (Minnesota, US), visit the Facebook page created by the Faith-based Edible Gardening Collaborative.
- City Farmer has a veritable treasure trove of information on all manner of urban agriculture information.
- Greenfaith is an interfaith coalition for the environment that was founded in 1992. It works with houses of worship, religious schools and people of all faiths to help them become better environmental stewards. They provide an excellent booklet Repairing Eden available for download.
I love this TED talk:
In Canada.
- The Vancouver Community Agriculture Network is an excellent community garden manual available on their website. It is a good, thorough guide to starting and running a community garden.
- The City of Vancouver Community Services Social Planning Department has a website with an extensive list of resources, links, etc. for community gardening.
- A Rocha’s Community Garden Network (based out of BC, Canada), has lots of resources as well.
Alternatives feeding citizenship has several worthwhile pdfs that you can download:
In the U.K
- The BBC garden site is a good place to start with an interactive map of how to find a community garden near you as well as advice on how to get started, garden with kids and much more.
- Garden organic also has information specific to the UK.
- And of course we cannot forget the Royal Horticultural Society
In Australia
- The Future of Food – a new resource from TEAR Australia
- Gardening Australia is the best place to start with lots of good help specific to the country.
- Sustainable Gardening Australia is another great site that I could spend hours exploring and I don’t even live in Australia any more.
- And here is a list of the Top 20 Australia gardening blogs and websites in 2021.
And just for fun…
- The Drag Queen Gardener has fun gardening content on instagram!
Most of these websites are listed in the resource Creating a Faith Based Community Garden though this is an updated list so enjoy.
This last week I have started getting ready for the garden season. I have just updated the resource Creating a Faith based Community Garden with much appreciated help from Heather Choate, Derek Farmer, Marlena Nip and Joy Geertsen who helped make sure that all the links work. Many of you have shared links to wonderful new resources too, so I hope that you will find this useful for your own personal or faith based gardening. For those of you who prefer the blog I will post some of the resources over the next couple of days.
What Seeds Will You Grow?
Here in the U.S. as so much of the country is still under a blanket of snow, we all like to think about spring and what we might be able to grow. This is a great time to curl up by the fire and drool over all those wonderful photos in the seed catalogues that in your saner moments you know won’t grow in your climate zone but which you just can’t resist when it is too cold to grow anything. This year I have done some research on who owns our seed companies and which we can trust to have organic non GM seed.
Unfortunately I discovered recently that many of my favourite seed companies are owned by Monsanto or Mars. This has meant
Seeds of Change – I love their seeds but someone told me recently that they are owned by MARS incorporated, one of the largest food conglomerates in the world. So though Seeds of Change itself provides ethical seed, non GM products, its parent company has a different philosophy. As Tim Stanton who alerted me to this commented: They present themselves as a warm, inviting, environmentally conscious company, but Seeds of Change has a money-hungry corporate core. Tim goes on to say:
Even though Seeds of Change signed the safe seeds pledge (pledging to not sell genetically modified seed), Mars. Inc. spent almost 400k to defeat Prop 37 (which would have required the simple labeling of GM food so PEOPLE could make informed choices). Seeds of Change had been a New Mexico based company since the beginning (since it started out small and independent) but Mars uprooted it from original place of operations in New Mexico and moved it to Los Angeles, leaving almost their entire faithful New Mexico crew jobless. They even abandoned their warehouse cats in the process –
So if you want to get away from any seed company that is associated with Monsanto, here is a very helpful list that documents some of the companies owned by Monsanto who may be using GM food. Unfortunately I notice some of my other favourites (including ones listed above) are on the list. It also contains a list of those that sell safe seed even though they have not signed the safe seed pledge.
So you may also want to check out this link to where you can research seed companies that have signed the Safe Seed Pledge,
Look for heritage seeds and organic seeds:
There are a growing number of organizations that specialize in heirloom and organic seeds. Here are a few that I have used and would recommend.
For more possibilities check out this list from Treehugger.com which was put together from reader suggestions.
Look for local companies:
The list of seed companies that have signed the safe seed pledge is a good place to start when looking for locally produced seeds.
Here in the Pacific N.W. my favorites are:
I also cannot resist a couple of big company catalogues like the English classic Thompson and Morgan and Burpee which have products I can’t seem to find anywhere else.
I realize not all of you live in the Pacific NW. What are your favourites and what region of the world are they most suited for?
Looking towards Deception Pass
Tom and I are heading off on one of our quarterly retreats this morning – taking the ferry across to Whidbey Island and then driving up through Coupeville and across Deception Pass to Anacortes. I am looking forward to a couple of days to rest and refresh my focus.
This is a season of transition for me and I am just starting to ask myself What do I want to become in the next couple of years? Hopefully in the next couple of years I will be able to hand over my role as Executive Director of MSA to someone else and focus more on the ministry that is my passion. But what should that look like?
Transitions are challenging times for all of us. Like the photo of Deception pass, taken on a previous trip, everything seems covered in mist, and the waters over which we need to pass are deceptive, sometimes treacherous.
As we go through transitions, there is a tendency to want to hang on to what is familiar, successful and secure. It gives us a sense of value. But that may not be what God wants for us. Even as I prepare for this retreat I am reminded that there came a point in Jesus life when he needed to turn towards Jerusalem and the cross, backing away from what was surely the most successful healing ministry in the history of the world. From the world’s perspective success to failure in one easy step. From God’s perspective the most successful thing he ever did.
Which direction should we take?
As I contemplate this I wonder What might God want me to turn my back on that seems successful but is not God’s intention for me for the future? Could it be this blog? writing books and prayers? holding retreats? photography? I don’t know and I suspect that this retreat will not tell me. Get ready for change is something that I already feel God is saying to me. And that means to learn to hold loosely to everything I am doing.
So what am I hoping for from this retreat? I want to focus on not: What do I want to become but What does God want me to become? hope for a stronger trust in God so that no matter what the future holds I am willing to walk the path God sets out for me and not try to hang onto what needs to be let go of. I pray for the a heart that wants to draw closer to God and to God’s purposes no matter what that means.
So as you look at your future what do you see? Are you caught up in your own dreams for a better future or are you allowing God to mold and shape your future? Do you trust that your life and future is in God’s hands no matter what that means?
Over the last few day I have spent time meditating on my images of Jesus and trying to reconcile these with the paintings, sculptures and icons I have seen. I am also trying to reconcile them with the images of God that we as Christ followers present to the world. So many of them look as though Jesus has had cosmetic surgery done. Beautiful wrinkle free faces that look as though Jesus does not have a care in the world. It’s no wonder we buy into the promise of health and wealth and wellbeing.
Agony in the garden Ambrogio_Bergognone_1501
I went looking for other images on the internet and came across lots about statues and icons that weep, but few paintings that really depict the agony of Christ and the scars of a God who loves and suffers with us.
Today I find myself imagining Jesus with tears channelling down his face. I can see the scars in hands and feet from the nails of the cross. I can see the wrinkles etched by pain and sorrow and the heartache of being rejected and spat upon.
Then I think Where do I see these images of Jesus in our world today? Perhaps in the homeless who are finding it increasingly difficult to live on the streets. Many of them have experienced violence and animosity just because of the way they live. Like Jesus “they have no place to lay their head.”Matthew 8:20 Or perhaps we see these images in victims of domestic abuse. They too are spat upon, their bones broken as Jesus’ were upon the cross.
I don’t think we realize how much our images of Jesus are shaped by the cultures in which we live. My question for you today therefore is: What are your images of Jesus? Perhaps this poem I am an African by African theologian Gabriel M. Setiloane will help.
Jesus whipped Kenya
“Tell us further, you African:
what of Jesus, the Christ,
Born in Bethlehem: Son of Man and Son of God
Do you believe in him?”
And the answer is:
“For ages He eluded us, this Jesus of Bethlehem, Son of Man;
Going first to Asia and to Europe, and the western sphere . . . .
“Later on, He came, this Son of man;
Like a child delayed He came to us.
The White Man brought Him.
He was pale, and not the Sunburnt Son of the Desert.
As a child He came.
“A wee little babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Ah, if only He had been like little Moses, lying
Sun-scorched on the banks of the River of God
We would have recognized Him.
He eludes us still, this Jesus, Son of Man.
His words: Ah, they taste so good
as sweet and refreshing as the sap of the palm raised and nourished on African soil,
The Truths of his words are for all men, for all time.
“And yet for us it is when He is on the cross,
This Jesus of Nazareth, with holed hands
and open side, like a beast at a sacrifice;
When He is stripped naked like us,
Browned and sweating water and blood in the heat of the sun,
Yet silent,
That we cannot resist Him.
“How like us He is, this Jesus of Nazareth,
Beaten, tortured, imprisoned, spat upon, truncheoned,
Denied by His own, and chased like a thief in the night,
Despised , and rejected like a dog that has fleas,
for NO REASON.
“No reason, but that He was Son of his Father,
OR . . . Was there a reason?
There was indeed . . .
As in that sheep or goat we offer in sacrifice,
Quiet and uncomplaining.
Its blood falling to the ground to cleanse it, as us:
And making peace between us and our fathers long passed away.
He is that LAMB!
His blood cleanses,
not only us,
not only the clan,
not only the tribe,
But all, all MANKIND:
Black and White and Brown and Red,
All Mankind!
“HO! . . . Jesus, Lord, Son of Man and Son of God,
Make peace with your blood and sweat and suffering,
With God, UVELINGQAKI, UNKULUNKULU,
For the sins of Mankind, our fathers and us,
That standing in the same Sonship with all mankind and you,
Together with you, we can pray to Him above:
FATHER FORGIVE.”
icicles on seeds
The northeast coast of the U.S. is battened down in preparation for an epic storm. Its not just the humans that need to be prepared either. Even the trees have work to do in preparation for the winter blasts.
Here in Seattle the days are exceptionally warm for January – yesterday it was over 60F. It is probable that we will have cherry blossoms and daffodils early this year. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that we do not get a late freeze. If we do it could kill our fruit trees because this warm weather has lulled them into believing that spring is already here and they have become vulnerable to any more winter blasts.
Have you ever wondered about how trees survive wintery blasts or why an early warm spell followed by freezing temperatures can kill trees that survive far colder temperatures in a usual winter.
The answers are astounding with powerful implications for our faith.
…trees are large, tall, and immovable. They have no choice but to face everything winter can throw at them. And yet, as you travel north throughout the world one thing is ubiquitous: forests… (read the entire article)
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