Resources for Lent and Holy Week

This year the Ministry Team in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry have once again written our own Lent Course, a five week course looking at journeys in the Bible.

The Bible is full of journeys made by people guided by God. Some are shorter and some are longer. All are transformational. Life is often thought of as a journey. There are high points and low points, paths where we travel swiftly and paths where we feel bogged down, there are some times when we feel like we have come to a dead end and some times when the future ahead looks far away. In this course we look at five particular biblical journeys and think about how the people involved might have felt, and what responses they evoke in us when we hear them. Do they remind us of our own journeys with God? Week 1: Abraham’s wanderings Week 2: The Exodus Week 3: Ruth and Naomi Week 4: Jesus journey to Jerusalem (based on St Luke’s gospel) Week 5: Paul’s missionary journeys (based on Acts) 

These sessions will be offered on Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon and evening, depending on numbers, starting the week of 10th March. 

Mark of the Cross and The Passion are collections of images, meditations and prayers by Henry Shelton and myself on The Stations of the Cross. They provide helpful reflections and resources for Lent and Holy Week. These collections can both be found as downloads from theworshipcloud.

Mark of the Cross is a book of 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. The meditations are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.

The Passion: Reflections and Prayers features minimal images with haiku-like poems and prayers that enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey as we do so. Henry and I have aimed in these reflections to pare down the images and words to their emotional and theological core. The mark making and imagery is minimal but, we hope, in a way that makes maximum impact.

Jesus dies on the cross

The sun is eclipsed, early nightfall,
darkness covers the surface of the deep,
the Spirit grieves over the waters.
On the formless, empty earth, God is dead.

Through the death of all we hold most dear, may we find life. Amen.

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Julie Miller - How Could You Say No.