Tag: Lent

  • For what purpose has Christ grabbed hold of you?

    For what purpose has Christ grabbed hold of you?

    A year ago, when a colleague and I spent an intense two days in the beautiful Fraser Valley of B.C. with the writing team for our Leader magazine, I met this passage again as part of the 2016 lectionary texts for Lent. Many important and life-giving words from these texts (including Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126…

  • Less please: Pop theology for Lent

    Less please: Pop theology for Lent

    The customary practice of self-sacrifice during Lent carries tinges of earnest piety and religious compunction. It can feel like a moral “heavy.” But it also has a certain appeal.

  • Is this heaven? . . . No its the 44

    A few weeks ago in the first Sunday of Lent I challenged our congregation to fast from the fruits of privilege.  One minor act on my part has been to ride the bus as often as possible.  As a country-boy the bus has always been a source of fascination for me and this spiritual exercise…

  • Celebrating the Power of Lent for 25 Years

    Every year around this time, a lot of Mennonites across Canada do something very un-Mennonite, they give something up for Lent.  The idea behind the modern Lenten fast, where people give up something they like, so that when they feel the urge to have that thing, they are supposed to think about God and their…