ABIDE — Lent Resources

Here is a taster of this year’s resources or click here for a video version.

A SIMPLE LITURGY FOR EVERYDAY IN LENT

We turn aside from our day and we rest awhile in GREEN PASTURES. It is safe to take time for Sabbath. We take five deep breaths and check-in with how we are feeling – in body, in mind, in spirit. We take five more deep breaths and ask God to abide with us in this moment.

We turn firstly to the EAST – This is where the sun comes up, the direction of new beginnings, hope, promise, and potential. May we be open to receiving these gifts as we meet.

Now we turn SOUTHWARDS – This is the direction of warmth, growth, of blossom and harvest. May we be blessed with these things too as we meet.

We turn WESTWARDS – This is the direction where the sun goes down. It is the direction of rest, and of endings that need to take place for there to be new beginnings. May we have grace in the light of the setting sun.

We turn NORTHWARDS – This is the direction of the cold, of winds, of strength, courage, fortitude, single-mindedness, focus, clarity, and purpose. May we be blessed with these things as we face the challenges of our days.

We turn DOWNWARDS – and touch the ground, the streets where we live, the earth upon which we live and breathe and have our being. Let us pray that everything we do as we meet will be in honour and nurture of our shared home.

And so, we turn INWARDS – and we place our hands on our hearts and pray that all we do as we meet will be a blessing to one another, and to this our city that we serve.

Turning UPWARDS – we remember our smallness in the presence of the night sky.

And so, we turn OUTWARDS to another, trusting that we shall see our neighbour in God and our God in our neighbour.

And finally, we stand at the CROSSROADS, and we ask that the road would rise up to meet us in whatever comes next, as we set off again on the pilgrim way. Amen.

Eight Points of the Compass

Ash Wednesday is just around the corner and we are turning our thoughts to the Lent season that lies ahead. As part of this, at St Wulstans we are offering a new ABIDE resource booklet, for daily use over the forty days that mark the road to Jerusalem once again. These will be available from the last Sunday in February in-person at church and electronically on this website.

The series of reflections are times of refreshment and reflection to take at your own pace. You can use the same reflection many times, or focus on a few favourites, or work methodically (or haphazardly) through all of them over the forty days. This resource is inspired by the late Sister Jose Hobday, a Native American catholic nun. Her ‘Prayer of the Seven Directions’ draws together her indigenous spiritual roots and her Christian faith tradition. In Warndon, we have added an eighth direction, and also two places of pausing and lingering.

Each reflection offers ways into prayer and ideas for reading and journal-writing. The bedrock of each reflection though is a centering prayer, which is used to become more and more still in God’s loving presence. The Daily Liturgy (below) and each of the ten “O My Soul” meditations will be available as audio files to listen to on our church website and you can find additional resources on our companion website.