As Liz Crumlish says in her introduction to the booklet that we quote from in Take time to reflect: “A colleague posted on social media last year that Lent felt like the Lentiest Lent we’d ever Lented! Somehow, that is even truer this year, a full year and more into a global pandemic.” So you’ll find that we are not alone in suggesting that, instead of planning to give something up as a Lenten spiritual discipline, you should plan to take something up instead. There are lots of good things on offer –

Locally-based studies, at all of which you’ll be made most welcome. Click the links for further details:

• On Mondays at 7:00pm, the Rosyth Ecumenical Lent Study Group
• On Tuesdays at 7:00pm, Jan Benvie leads St Margaret’s/Holy Trinity studies with an environmental bias
•  On Thursdays, mostly at 10:30am,  Eddie Sykes leads Five Bible Studies for Lent based around a familiar hymn

Other ideas for reading and listening include:

• Living through Lent, a booklet of daily reflections for Lent 2021 by Liz Crumlish that you can download at this link
• The Church of England’s #LiveLent daily reflection emails, for which you can sign up at this link
• Ecumenical daily readings and weekly talks for Lent on John’s Gospel at this link
• CTBI’s “Lent study for these unorthodox and strange times” at this link
• The Journey meditations offered by Taketime
• The daily Lenten meditations prepared by Rev Chris Jackson from the North of Scotland Circuit, which you can access them via his YouTube channel 

Please email other ideas for Lenten study to ku.gro.tsidohtemhtysornull@retsambew.

A recent circular to Methodist News subscribers had some suggestions that may be helpful as additions to our Circuit services and resources, which you’ll find linked to our home page.

Daily

Pray our daily prayer from the Methodist Prayer Handbook.

Join online Morning Prayer from Wesley’s Chapel 10:00–10:15am.

Pray for others on our Prayer Wall and Post your own intercessory prayer.

Take part in our daily Bible study.

Any day of the week

Dial-a-Prayer: Free telephone lines where you can listen to prayer or Methodist News. These are updated weekly. Please share these numbers with those who are not online.

Every Monday

Join the President and Vice-President live on Facebook for their weekly chat and prayers at 12:45pm.

Every Tuesday

Take part in the 15 minute Year of Prayer service at 12:45 pm. Register to join on Zoom or watch live on our Facebook page.

Every Sunday

Take part in a live online Sunday service from Methodist Central Hall Westminster. Every Sunday at 11.00am.

Alternatively you can use our Worship from home sheets to read through specially-prepared Sunday services yourself.

Needing a wee break from the computer screen? At this link are some Advent and Christmas Radio and TV suggestions for you. Please mention these to family and friends who aren’t on the internet.

In this year of pandemic, our friend Liz Crumlish, soon to be ordained deacon at St Oswald’s Church, Maybole (see this link) offers some reflections to accompany us through Advent.

These are based on the Daily Readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, and there’s an illustrated thought for every day from 29 November. You can download these in the form of a booklet at this link.

Liz starts: “As we seek to proclaim the simplicity of God’s gift to the world in a time when many are grieving or fearful, when many are separated from loved ones, when the darkness seems all pervasive, we are called to be the light, to kindle the flame, igniting the divine spark in each until the light of Christ shines brightly.”

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5)