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‘Rather than give something up, could we do something more?’ So asks Margery in her letter in our February 2024 magazine, hard copies of which are available in both our churches.

February sees the start of Lent, which is reflected in some of the prayers and articles that you’ll find in the magazine. There are also updates and news from many of our groups and organisations as well as a letter from the Bishop of Manchester and some thoughts on the life of Sybil Fryer.

And here’s the letter in full from Margery…

Forty important days

They say that time flies when you are enjoying yourself. It must be true for it seems no time at all that I was trying to walk in gale-force winds on the seafront at Southsea in the days before Christmas.

Since then we have experienced the joys of a family Christmas, the uncertainty of rail travel from London to Manchester, a wedding anniversary, New Year and our daughter’s birthday. It has been a joyful time and has gone by in a flash.

In church terms, we have experienced Christmas, Epiphany and at the time of writing, we will shortly celebrate Candlemas. By the time you actually read this we will be heading into Lent. (It must be coming soon as Hot Cross Buns are on sale in the supermarket.) Time has flown.

How is it for us?

Lent – what does it mean? That period of forty days (if you don’t count the Sundays) when we remember the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, when he was tempted by the devil.

Jesus had taken himself off into the desert to listen to his Father, to take time out from the pressing needs of his ministry. He resisted the temptations presented to him even though they could have had enormous benefits but would have been against the wishes of his Father. During that time he was strengthened for the future, certain of the path he had to take. (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13)

But how is it for us? Perhaps the greatest temptation we have is to ignore Lent – to treat it as a rather old-fashioned archaic concept about purple altar frontals and no flowers, solely about resisting temptations, about giving up material things in sacrifice. We sometimes fail to recognise its significance as a period of preparation like Advent, but preparation for the sorrow of Passiontide and the joy of Easter. Don’t mistake me – denial of things we enjoy can make us more appreciative of what we have, but there is opportunity to take more positive action during Lent.

Rather than giving something up, could we do something more? More prayer, more Bible reading, more service to our church and our neighbours?

Priorities

Lent for us should also be, as the time in the wilderness was for Christ, a time to listen to God’s plan for us, a time to establish our priorities, a time to get them in order. To determine what is important in our lives as members of society and as Christians. A time to acknowledge that forces exist which take us away from lives governed by Christ’s teaching, forces of greed, of power, of self-interest, of impatience, of economic necessity. This is a time to face them and to reject them.

In these forty days may we become closer to God, more certain in our faith, more able to understand the sacrifice Jesus made for us, and more prepared to experience the joys of Easter Sunday.

Yours in Christ, Margery

[Apologies for the lateness of getting this online this month]