Prepared for Lent?
I received a message yesterday from Sojourners because I've signed up for their online newsletters. I consider them a fairly reliable source for what I consider meaningful Christian information (unlike some of the whack jobs that are out there). The subject of the message was "Prepared for Lent?" and contained an offer to order some biblical resource called Preaching the Word.
Now this is kind of like Papa John's sending me an email message about a buy one get one free pizza offer at 5:00 on a Friday night. The timing is right to tempt me just enough to consider it.
This offer feeds right into my Lent/Advent neediness. Every year around Lent and Advent time, I feel a very strong desire to find something out there for me to read or study or meditate on or whatever...to bring me fully into the season. I want more meaning to the season than just leading up to the bigger holidays of Easter and Christmas.
But then I go searching for resources and (surprise, surprise) there aren't a lot of UU resources on Advent or Lent except the predictably academic "this is what Lent means for Christians" kind of thing. I'm not even sure if the UU Christians have any resources like what I want. (If anyone knows of any, please let me know.)
In my dream world here is what I am looking for: I would like a daily Lenten (or Advent at that time of year) devotional with prayers and meditation that speak to the significance of Jesus without the fundamentalist approach to things like a literal understanding of the resurrection or virgin birth. I want to center myself in the wisdom of Jesus' message without constantly shaking my head and saying, "yeah, but..." For the past three years I've looked around and tried different things, but so far I always end up disappointed.
And then I can't help ignore the thought that I'm always looking "out there" for the answers when I know that all the answers I need are ones I already have. I just need help tapping into them.
Now this is kind of like Papa John's sending me an email message about a buy one get one free pizza offer at 5:00 on a Friday night. The timing is right to tempt me just enough to consider it.
This offer feeds right into my Lent/Advent neediness. Every year around Lent and Advent time, I feel a very strong desire to find something out there for me to read or study or meditate on or whatever...to bring me fully into the season. I want more meaning to the season than just leading up to the bigger holidays of Easter and Christmas.
But then I go searching for resources and (surprise, surprise) there aren't a lot of UU resources on Advent or Lent except the predictably academic "this is what Lent means for Christians" kind of thing. I'm not even sure if the UU Christians have any resources like what I want. (If anyone knows of any, please let me know.)
In my dream world here is what I am looking for: I would like a daily Lenten (or Advent at that time of year) devotional with prayers and meditation that speak to the significance of Jesus without the fundamentalist approach to things like a literal understanding of the resurrection or virgin birth. I want to center myself in the wisdom of Jesus' message without constantly shaking my head and saying, "yeah, but..." For the past three years I've looked around and tried different things, but so far I always end up disappointed.
And then I can't help ignore the thought that I'm always looking "out there" for the answers when I know that all the answers I need are ones I already have. I just need help tapping into them.
Labels: My Spiritual Search
posted by Mama G @ 11:23 AM
2 Comments:
At 12:23 PM,
Mystical Seeker said…
It is hard sometimes to find good resources for progressive Christianity.
You could try posting your question in the Center for Progressive Christianity website (http://tcpc.ipbhost.com/), or maybe look at web sites of non-UU Christian denominations that tend to be more liberal, like the UCC or Episcopal church. I don't know if those would be of much help or not. You could also try the Process and Faith website's lectionary commentaries (http://www.processandfaith.org/lectionary/YearC/2006-2007/2007-02-18.shtml), but they probably would only be of interest to you if you are at all attracted to process theology.
If you do find any good resources, I'd be curious what you discovered.
At 10:25 AM,
Ron said…
Sorry to just now be getting back to this post. The UU Christian Fellowship office is currently in process of moving to new space and that has me pretty busy. But....here is what we have to offer now, and once I get in the office I might find some others too I am just now forgetting about, or other UU Christians can look at their favorites from us over the years and add to this beginning list.
For $15, people can receive a Lenten/Easter Resource Packet from the UUCF comprised of the print versions of some of our resources including:
1. special prayers, liturgy, sermons on Lent and Easter collected from the annual Lent/Easter issues of the Good News periodical published by the UUCF six times a year.
2. A copy of Carl Scovel's An Easter Faith, special issue of the UU Christian Journal
3. Selections from the classic Wallace Robbins Meditations, For Everything There is A Season, published by the UUCF.
4. Selections from Frank Holmes' lenten manual.
5. Liturgy for Holy Week in our red communion services and sermons book issue of the UU Christian Journal.
6. Selections from the work of Revs. Harry and Judith Hoehler of the First Parish Weston Church, a Christian Unitarian Church, and from other lenten and Easter sermons published by the UUCF over the years by a wide variety of UU ministers.
7. And a heads-up that the next issue of the UU Christian Journal, vol. 61, is planned to be a special issue devoted to liturgy for the full Christian year.
Also look for a special post on seasonal sermons and resources in time for Lenten and Easter at the www.uuchristian.org site with links to other related sites.
Packets can be ordered by simply sending a check payable to the UUCF to the UUCF at P.O. Box 6702, Turley OK 74156 and mark it for "Easter Packet."
Hope this helps. Now back to the move....
Rev. Ron Robinson, Executive Director, UUCF
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