Lent Course: Abiding

Lent Course 2018: Abiding
Wednesdays in Lent 6.30pm-8.45pm
21, 28 February, 7, 14, 21, 28 March

“Abide in me as I abide in you… As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love”

For this year’s Lent Course at St Martin-in-the-Fields we will be using Ben Quash’s book Abiding as a resource for our study, prayer and reflection. Ben Quash is Professor of Christianity and the Arts at Kings College London. His book Abiding was chosen by Rowan Williams as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book in 2013. Ben Quash will be joining us for one of these sessions to introduce his theme and to answer our questions.

‘Abiding’ is not a word we use much in ordinary conversation. But it is also difficult to find a good substitute. It means staying with, it implies commitment, solidarity, presence and perseverance. Drawing on the wisdom and imagery of modern fiction, art and film, as well as key figures in the classical Christian and spiritual tradition, Quash skilfully and creatively explores the implications that ‘abiding in God’s love’ has for our bodies, our minds, our relationships and communities, our own spiritual lives, and our world.

Rowan Williams writes ‘Ben Quash has succeeded in holding together the uneasy and often bewildering plurality of the modern heart or mind with the depths of the tradition he inherits, both the Anglican inheritance and the wider legacy of early and medieval Christian thought and prayer’. It is a book which will lead to deep reflection about how we embody those traditions within our own faith and search for a deeper sense of our own centredness in God’s love. This wise and valuable book ill form the basis of our study.

Our Lent Study will begin on Wednesday 21 February, join us at 6.30pm in church for the informal Eucharist, followed by a simple Lenten supper and then our study groups.

The cost of the course is £15 which includes a copy of Ben Quash’s book (or £8 if you already have the book).

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Emeli Sandé - Abide With Me.