Fasting and Lent...

So this year for lent, I decided that I would fast from sunrise to sunset every day.... this was for a number of reasons

1) to pray to pray for both persecuted Christians and Muslims in the world.
2) to get a better understanding of what is Muslims go through during Ramadan.3) to focus my prayers on people who don't have the choice about whether they can eat or not.

The idea behind doing this I thought would be to keep a diary as I went, recording my difference experiences, but alas that hasn't been the case and this week we quickly head to the halfway point of lent, this is my first blog post!

So how has the experience been? In a word, difficult....

I'm also doing this fast with another friend of mine who I'm sure if I wasn't doing it with him I probably would have caved in by now, but bring a bit of competition into the agenda has had me focused. I have really enjoyed the experience so far, it's taught me how much I take food granted, how much I use it for comfort and actually how much I use it to entertain myself when I'm bored, “I'm bored, i wonder what we have in to eat?"

It has also highlighted a lot of things about my own personality that I didn't really knew existed, it has certainly made me aware of my own limitations, of knowing that when I'm tired and hungry and low on energy I need to keep a check on my feelings and emotions, and be aware of how I'm treating others.

I've also found the space left that would usually be taken by mealtimes is a great opportunity to pray, and I found myself praying for people that I wouldn't usually pray for.

I think if I am right Friday is halfway, and I'm looking forward to knowing that the second half of lent the end is closer than the start. I have fasted in the past before for 24 hours at a time but I've never undertaken anything like this.

So please, if you could help me fill the spaces that I now find I have by not eating, I would love to pray for you or a situation or somebody you know. I believe to be able to pray for somebody else is one of the most truly humbling and amazing privileges that God has given us....

Peace

Ben

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Evangelism and me as the unbeliever....

Studying away at the moment and thinking and reflecting about projects such as the beach huts and what is actually going on, and honestly thinking about what i am trying to achieve. It has got me thinking about what my role is as a priest.

I no longer think that as it has been in the past, my job (if it ever has been! Maybe it just n my head!) is to convince people of God and therefore bring them into church to become Christians but rather it is much more ambiguous than that.

It would be more something like this.....

You don't need me to tell you about God as you will already have made up your mind in one way or another, but rather if you would allow me to tilt your spiritual axis to allow you to think about faith in a new way. I am not going to tell you what is right or wrong you will know that yourself.

But hopefully by talking and journeying together for a while you might be able to show me the faith that i have not yet got.

mmm ..... ponderings.

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Lent 2011...

So as lens fast approaches again this year starting on Wednesday as a community we have been thinking and discussing what we are doing individually during Lent. A few people are giving up their shoes and socks and going barefoot for the whole of lent, others have given up drinking everything other than water, whilst others are decided to take things up such as helping strangers every single day during Lent giving up eating takeaway food and just eating food cooked in their own home.

 

 Personally for me this year I have recently been really struck by the horrific atrocities that men women and children have been suffering in the Middle East because of their beliefs, both Christians and Muslims have been attacked and killed, even just today I read in the iPaper report from reverend Andrew White  the Vicar of Baghdad that he is working incredibly hard with the chief Muslim clerics to stop the hatred and murders of minorities in that part of the world.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

 

So this year along with a Muslem friend of mine I'm going to fasting during daylight hours,  to pray for both Christians and Muslims who are persecuted and lived in fear. I was also told today that apparently this is an ancient Celtic way of approaching lens to fast between sunrise and sunset I personally feel that if there was much more spiritual practices that we could share and understand one another's faith by doing so we would be able to teach much more tolerance love and understanding to those who either don't have faith or harbour hatred because of faith.

During the recent uprisings in Egypt as the crowds were gathered in Tarrir Square  as the Muslims gathered to say their Friday prayers the Christian surrounded them protecting them against any violence or persecution, on the Sunday morning is the Christians then gather to pray the Muslims return the favour to allow the Christians to worship.

 

I hope this time of chosen hunger and poverty will allow me to pray more specifically into these issues keep a diary on here Twitter and Facebook as we go through the month and on into Easter. I'm looking forward to breaking the fast each day and hope the experience of doing so will be a spiritual one in which I may in some way bring God's blessing on the person I'm breaking it with.

 

So the journey continues

 I pray your loan may be a blessed one, and that the hardship will give birth to the joy of Easter!

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