Story ideas for Lent and Easter

Posted on February 25th, 2008

Lenten carbon fast catches fire

As religious groups’ commitment to the environment grows, one novel practice catching on is a carbon fast for Lent, the Christian liturgical season for reflection and sacrifice. The practice, seen in places last year, got a big push into visibility this year when two of England’s most senior clerics, the bishops of Liverpool and London, called for a carbon fast in observance of Lent this year. Their call has drawn support from both religious and scientific leaders, including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The British relief and development organization Tearfund offers carbon fast guidelines and resources. The carbon fast has rippled across the ocean to America, where people of faith, and some congregations, particularly Episcopal ones, are discussing it in blogs or church groups and taking up the practice.
• The Rev. Thomas S. Washburn is a Franciscan friar, Catholic priest and associate pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in New Milford, Conn. His Feb. 11 blog entry is on carbon fasting. Washburn was a journalist before he entered seminary. Contact 860-354-2202.
• The Rev. Robert F. Solon Jr. is an Episcopal priest and a curate of Trinity Parish in Bergen Point, Bayonne, N.J. He is blogging about his carbon fast at The Proper of the Day. He also created a Facebook page. Contact 201-858-4460 ext. 11.
• Bishop John Bryson Chane of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., is taking part in a carbon fast. Contact him through diocesan press contact Jim Naughton, 202-537-7162, jnaughton@edow.org.
• The Rev. Ann Fontaine is an Episcopal priest in Wyoming. She blogs at Green Lent.
• Members of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Denver have formed a green group to conduct an energy impact analysis, develop environmental policy for the cathedral and study environmental theology. Congregation members have been invited to take part in a carbon fast for Lent. Contact Canon Rebecca Crummey, 303-831-7115 ext. 7704, Rebecca@sjc-den.org.
• Jennifer Hull of Madison, Wis., is blogging about her carbon fast at DailyMitzvahBlog. Contact her via email, DailyMitzvahBlog@gmail.com.
• Members of United Church of Chapel Hill in North Carolina observed a carbon fast for Lent last year. That in turn led to church members engaging in a sustainable household challenge. Contact co-pastors Jill or Richard Edens, 919-942-3540.
• Don Bosch, an environmental scientist, blogs in Newport, R.I., as the Evangelical Ecologist. Contact evaneco@gmail.com.
• Anglican blogger Christopher S. Johnson of Webster Groves, Mo., called the bishops of Liverpool and London “pretentious twits” in discussing the carbon fast on his blog Midwest Conservative Journal. Contact websterglobe@juno.com.
• Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Spokane, Wash., has joined the call for a carbon fast. Contact the Rev. Paul J. Lebens-Englund, church priest and vicar, 509-326-6471, paul@trinityspokane.org.
• Listen to a Feb. 7 NPR story about the British carbon fast.
• See ReligionLink’s 2007 edition “Going green for Lent,” for more ideas and sources.

Virtual spiritual journeys increase

The task of spiritual self-examination during Lent lends itself readily to the Internet, where virtual spiritual journeys aplenty can be found and taken. Spiritual resources there have gone well beyond simple materials to download or podcast sermons. People of faith can subscribe to daily e-devotionals, take retreats, pray, blog, view sacred art and even print out a cover for their credit cards to remind them to think before spending. Lent culminates in Christianity’s most sacred days to commemorate Jesus’ death and resurrection, and these too are also online. How are your local congregations, ministries or religious groups using Internet capabilities during the holy season? Here are a few innovative uses this year:
• The United Church of Christ offers devotionals and links to an Easter art gallery. Contact J. Bennett Guess, who is in charge of news and communications at the denomination’s Cleveland headquarters, 216-736-2177, guessb@ucc.org.
• Catholic publisher Loyola Press in Chicago offers a wide variety of online Lenten resources, among them a retreat and a Holy Week devotional based on the seven last words of Christ. Director of communications at Loyola is Molly Hart, 773-281-1818 ext. 240, hart@loyolapress.com.
• The Methodist Church of Great Britain is running a “Buy Less Live More” campaign tied to the 40 days of Lent. It offers daily emails, Bible studies, prayers and a cover for a credit card to remind the user to think before buying. Contact Toby Scott at Methodist Church House in London, mediaservice@methodistchurch.org.uk.
• Creighton University, a Catholic institution in Omaha, Neb., offers an online Lenten retreat with African refugees. Contact in Creighton’s Collaborative Ministry Office Andy Alexander, 402-280-2071, alexa@creighton.edu, or Maureen McCann Waldron, 402-280-2880, mwaldron@creighton.edu.
• Members of Journey Imperfect Faith Community in Austin, Texas, are group blogging about Lent. Contact 512-439-7410.
• The Web site The Text This Week offers a cornucopia of images, texts, liturgies, questions, music and more for each week in Lent, each day of Holy Week and Easter itself. The site is maintained by Jenee Woodard, who has worked in a variety of ministries. Contact jeneewd@textweek.com.
• ReligionLink’s Easter 2007 edition, “Virtual Easter,” lists sources who can speak about cyberworship.

Celebrating communities

When Jesus died, a community of believers grieved, even as many around them condoned his execution. When he rose, the community rejoiced. Easter is a reminder that Christianity is essentially about community. These days, Christians are finding community in many more places than the traditional church. Communities are formed in online community chat rooms, social action groups such as those involved with the environment or politics, workplace Bible studies, Christian skate parks and after-school prayer groups. Statistics show that people switch churches and denominations more frequently than ever and that a growing number of Christians choose not to affiliate with a church. A Barna Group study released Feb. 18, 2008, found that a majority of adults say that a number of religious activities – from house churches to religious media – are acceptable for people who don’t attend conventional churches. Traditional news coverage of Easter features church worship services. This year, explore the many ways Christians are finding community and how they are reshaping Christian practice in this country.
• Joseph R. Myers is author of Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect and The Search to Belong: Rethinking Intimacy, Community and Small Groups. Myers owns the consulting firm Front Porch, which works with congregations and other organizations. Contact him in Cincinnati, 513-235-7061, jmyers@languageofbelonging.com.
• Fumitaka Matsuoka is the author of The Color of Faith: Building Community in a Multiracial Society and is Robert Gordon Sproul Professor of Theology at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif. His specialty is multicultural and multiracial ways of being religious. Contact 510-849-8209, fmatsuoka@psr.edu.
• Gerardo Marti is an assistant professor of sociology at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He specializes in race, ethnicity, religion, organizations and social change. He is the author of A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church and Hollywood Faith: Holiness, Prosperity and Ambition in a Los Angeles Church. Contact 704-894-2481, gemarti@davidson.edu.
• Gary L. McIntosh is an expert on church growth and generational change and a professor of Christian ministry and leadership at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif. Contact 951-506-3086, cgnet@earthlink.net.
• Craig Kennet Miller is author of Next Church.Now: Creating New Faith Communities. He is director of evangelism and new congregational development and a specialist in generational studies at the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. Contact him in Nashville, Tenn., 615-340-7081.
• Mark Scandrette is author of Soul Graffiti: Making a Way in the Life of Jesus and executive director of ReIMAGINE, a San Francisco area organization interested in spiritual formation and community building. Contact mark@reimagine.org or through his San Francisco-based publisher, Jossey-Bass, 415-782-3213.
• For more sources, see ReligionLink’s issues on emergent churches and house churches. For both groups, community is a central concern.

Easter: Let there be light

The story of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus is filled with symbolism that has given rise to rituals and objects. One such object is the paschal candle of Easter, which symbolically represents light returning to the world through the overcoming of sin and death. An ancient symbol, the paschal candle remains lit in churches until the celebration of Ascension Day, marking the time when Jesus returned to heaven. Easter and the paschal candle could provide an occasion to examine the local level of current interest in ancient and traditional rituals that the paschal candle richly exemplifies. It can also be an opportunity to examine local interest in liturgical arts or in spiritual crafting.
• Read about the symbolism and history of the paschal candle in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops answers questions about the role of the paschal candle in Easter rites.
• Read Lutheran, United Methodist, Orthodox and United Church of Christ Easter vigil service understandings of the paschal candle.
• View photos of Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston lighting the paschal candle in 2007 at his blog.
• Martin Marklin is a liturgical artist in Contoocook, N.H., who makes paschal candles. Contact 603-746-2211.
• Luke Smetters is a candle carver who has led workshops at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Ill., where he is also a student. Contact him at Bethany Lutheran Church in Ishpeming, Mich., where he is the vicar, 224-406-2398, luke_smetters@hotmail.com.
• Michael Kern is a Lutheran candle carver. Contact candlecarver@gmail.com
• Betsy Steele Halstead is a visual arts specialist at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Contact 616-957-8733, elizabeth.halstead@calvin.edu.
• William Dyrness is professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. Among his books is Visual Faith: Art, Theology and Worship in Dialog. Contact 626-584-5240, wdyrness@fuller.edu.
• Mike Shaughnessy is a founder and design director of SFS Architecture in Kansas City, Mo. With extensive experience in designing worship spaces, the firm is noted for its use of natural light. Contact 816-474-1397.
The Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., has a tradition of carving paschal candles. Contact university pastor and chapel dean Joseph R. Cunningham, 219-464-5093.
• For more sources, see ReligionLink’s edition on the spiritual crafts movement.