Category: Lent

Lent Blog 2012

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For the first time in several years, the Lent Blog is happening.

These seasonal blogs have been such a fascinating journey.  They began very firmly within the Scottish Episcopal Church, written by clergy and laity from across the province, and with an official fanfare on the SEC web page.   A lot of the contributors had never blogged before.  Some had never really written before.  I spent a lot of time teaching people to use WordPress and saying ‘of course you can…’

Over the years, I had to spend less and less time teaching WordPress.  Now I am quite cavalier about it.  I simply say ‘If you need help call. Otherwise, happy blogging.’

Both the readers and writers have changed, too.  I still think of Beauty from Chaos and Love Blooms Bright as a vaguely SEC blogs — but the truth is that several of us now live in England, we are no longer even vaguely ‘official’, and a lot of our readership comes from the States.  I love that the blogs find their own home.  This sort of organic sharing feels far more expressive of the Anglican Communion than any conceivable covenant.

But one thing has remained constant.  I still spend a lot of time saying ‘of course you can.’  There has not been a single season when we haven’t had a new blogger on board — someone who was not quite sure whether they should be doing this, or what they might have to say.  Because we are blessed with a few very loyal and highly skilled authors and artists who provide the ballast, it has always felt easy to take the risk.    Sometimes people join in and find that really blogging is not for them.  Other times, they take wing and soar.  And that is exciting.

This Lent, the blog will be produced by familiar voices from the Advent Blog, by old friends returning, and by those I would never have met were it not for the blogs.

As always, I find great hope in that.  I hope you will join us too at Beauty from Chaos.

the healing time

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A project I was working on today led me back to last year’s Lent Blog: Beauty from Chaos.

Coming to it with fresh eyes was a revelation.   It made me eager for us to approach Lent, so that we can start again.

This past Advent, a very small group of people kept Love Blooms Bright alive and rich with stimulus, while I ignored them completely.

Oh I read it, but I failed to comment or to say ‘thank you’ often enough or to offer the support and encouragement they deserved.

But now, my resolve is strengthened.  It’s time to blog again.

Please go back to last year’s Beauty from Chaos and remember how wonderful it is.  Then ask yourself:  are you willing to make it happen again?  We need writers, photographers, poets, artists.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve never blogged before.  We can teach you.  Ideally we’re looking for 7 people, most (but not necessarily all) of whom will be from the SEC —  but there is always some flexibility in that

If you are willing to join in — and to hold me to my resolve — please leave a comment or get in touch by email.

freedom

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I said to a group of people recently that if you want to know what am about to do next, pay attention to what I’m preaching.  In the past three days I have preached on freedom, kite-flying, and giving up good things that we hold onto in the wrong way.

But the other indicator of my mood — the one that often shows me how I’m feeling before I know — is which bits of the Eucharistic prayer catch hold.  So today, with perfect timing, we had:

Worship and praise belong to you,
maker of light and darkness.
Your wisdom draws beauty from chaos,
brings a harvest out of sorrow
and leads the exiles home.

… all of which, of course, means that I need to give up romantic idealism for Lent.   But for a while, the indulgence is lovely.