Welcome to a Spiritual Journey with Friends: Our Lent / Things We Carry

WELCOME!

HERE IS AN INTRODUCTION TO "Our Lent: Things We Carry," which we posted in the weeks leading up to the Lenten season.

    Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (February 25) for Western Christians and on Clean Monday (March 2) for Orthodox Christians. We invite you to bookmark this page, think about buying a copy of our companion book (click the Amazon link at right) — and plan to enjoy an exciting, challenging and spiritually rewarding journey with friends!
    "Our Lent: Things We Carry" is a 40-chapter journey written by ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm. But — there's so much more to this online Lenten pilgrimage.
    You'll find readers adding their comments throughout Lent along the right side of this page. Please, take a moment right now and add a quick Comment — we really do appreciate hearing from you.

    Plus — we've got some exciting "Partners" this year who will share a wide range of spiritual reflections. Please, click on that "Meet Our Partners" link (at left) to read a pre-Lenten story about preparing for this season!
    Popular writer Phyllis Tickle is providing special introductions to ancient Christian practices, such as Fasting and Fixed-Hour Prayer.
    Peter Wallace — another inspirational author beloved for his collections of day-by-day inspirational reflections (and also the man behind the Day 1 Web site and radio network) — will share his thoughts throughout the season.
    In addition each day, you can listen to the Scottish brogue and deep wisdom of Norman Pritchard, pastor of a landmark Presbyterian church in the Midwest.
    We've also invited urban pastor Tonya Arnesen to share her thoughts as senior pastor of an ethnically and culturally diverse congregation in the heart of one of America's great cities.

    Right now, you're joining nearly 2 billion people around the world in reflecting on Lent!

WHY make this Lent a special season in your life?

    Lent is the perfect Christian season for our spiritual revival in this new Third Millennium. Uncluttered by the commercial avalanche that has all but buried the Christmas season over the past century, Lent retains much of its ancient religious potential. Dr. Wayne Baker, the University of Michigan scholar who produces the OurValues.org discussion site, has shown in his own research over the years why we're drawn toward experiences like this. Compared with other global cultures, Americans are overwhelmingly religious. But, when it comes to values concerning self expression — all of those individual choices that lie at the heart of spiritual reflection — Americans surpass Scandinavians in our zeal to honestly express ourselves.
    In such an era, Lent is the perfect, untarnished blend of religious tradition and spiritual adventure — ancient roots blossoming into self reflection and self expression.

    Or, to put it another way, Lent is the "Lord of the Rings" of scriptural stories — a loyal fellowship of men and women fearlessly summoning all of their traditional knowledge as they make their way toward a dangerous encounter in a city where the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
    Yet, unlike the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, each of us is invited to make our own Lenten pilgrimage each year. That's how millions of Christians experience the season — preparing our hearts, minds and daily lives in fresh ways for this epic quest. Thousands of churches distribute coat-pocket devotionals, guidebooks to help shape the Lenten journey.
    That is the core of this season — a personal encounter with the sacred.

WHAT'S the main plot of this 40-day story?

    The big picture behind "Our Lent: Things We Carry" is this: Jesus' journey 2,000 years ago was a public pilgrimage of such profound importance that we mark it each year, day by day, even in the Third Millennium since he walked the Earth. Rather than leaving such a powerful religious narrative locked inside individual churches and individual lives — we are moving the Lenten adventure back into the biggest public roadway of our time: the Internet.
    While some of the "things" along this journey are scenes and lessons, most of the things in our 40-chapter journey are quite tangible things: coins, basins, bowls, bread, cups, swords and tables, to name a few. This was the stuff of Jesus' world. It's still the stuff of our lives, 2,000 years after Jesus' world-shaking walk to Jerusalem.

    This year, come along.
    Walk with us. Bring friends.
    You're already carrying things.
    Help us to lighten the load!

Tell us what you think!

    Add a comment, even if it's just a few words. We appreciate hearing from you — and other readers do, too. Your words just might "make" someone's day. OR, if you prefer, you can Email us.
    (Originally published in ReadTheSpirit online magazine.)