Rector's Lent Message

As we prepare to enter the season of Lent, Rector Tom Sander invites us to renew our relationship with God.

Sometimes we are all liable to want someone else to do the spiritual leg-work to bring us closer to God. But being a Christian is like being an athlete: we each have to set aside time to train ourselves to do the good to which God calls us.

Lent is just such a time for spiritual refreshment. A word from holy scripture has spoken to me this year about the purpose of this holy season: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4.8) This, I have decided, shall be our theme for Lent.

Lent is a time for breaking old habits and re-focusing our perspective on God in the hope of leaving the season not only prepared for the joys of Easter, but with a little more spiritual depth than when we began. I see little point in giving something up if we are not going to let ourselves be changed for the better by the experience. The abiding hope for me is that whatever we seek to surrender, so long as we do it with the correct intentions, we will find ourselves drawn closer to God and He to us. It is in this pruning that we begin to grow.

There are many practical things we can all do to refresh our spiritual selves. To help with this, Wil James has put together a Spiritual MOT Kit, which I warmly recommend to all of you starting on this process. Adding to this, there needs to be diligence in reading scripture and attending church and in prayer. Spending time with God each day focuses our minds and builds good and lifegiving habits. If you don’t already have the Daily Prayer App from the Church of England then download it, or more simply, get yourself a Prayer Book to use in the morning and or evening. Those looking for support in the journey of prayer are warmly encouraged to join the God's Time group within the parish.

And, naturally, I invite you to spend time here at St Giles – at our services during Lent, attending our Lent Course and, in due time, journeying together through Holy Week to Easter Day.

In addition to our regular services, we will be marking the season of Lent in a variety of ways and you are warmly encouraged to participate.

Ash Wednesday falls on 18 February and there will be a said service of Mattins, Litany and Holy Communion at 8.15am. In the evening there is a full sung service of Holy Communion with the imposition of ashes at 6.30pm. Ash Wednesday is a day when all Christian people should attend church for Divine service, so please do make an effort to come along.

On Sundays during Lent we will be holding our Lent Course, which this year will draw on Lent Wise: Spiritual Essentials for Real Life by Canon Paula Gooder (St. Paul’s Cathedral). The course will take place each week at 12.15pm following on from the morning service and a soup lunch will be provided, fo which donations are welcome. You are welcome to read the book before the course, but it is not vital to purchase a copy as I’ll be providing handouts with essential information.