You might be familiar with Lent—the 40 days leading up to Easter—as a time to “give something up.” During this season, we invite you into a spiritual practice of giving something up to make room for something new. Each of these weekly prompts require you to make space in your daily life for a new practice, and the theme is all around building community.

A paper version is available at the Welcome Table in the back of the Sanctuary. We’ll also post them on social media each Sunday night.

Week of March 23
This week, practice giving up rushing home or hurrying from one place to another—instead, linger a bit. See what conversations and connections can be sparked. Invite someone to coffee or a meal. You could even start this practice after church this Sunday!

Week of March 30
This week, practice giving up spending all of your time with other humans in your life (as important as they are)—instead, dedicate a half hour one or two days this week to spending time with a being in the ecological web of life. Practice prayerful attention toward trees you pass every day but never stop to deeply notice. Watch a group of squirrels playing in your yard with your dedicated attention. Start a relationship with an other-than-human being in your local ecology.

Week of April 6
This week, practice giving up an hour of your time spent at home—instead, come to The Table’s new home at 35th and Aldrich and walk around the neighborhood for an hour, taking in the community, and praying for the people here and for the roots of our ministry to deepen in this place.

Week of April 13
This week, practice giving up 15 minutes of entertainment or media (TV, podcasts, etc.) each day. Try replacing it with 15 minutes of time to more deeply attend to yourself, whether that’s in silent contemplation, a walk around the block, reading and reflecting on a passage of scripture, mindfulness, etc. Soulfully listen to your body and deepen your relationship with yourself so that you can more richly enter into relationship with others and with God.