Grace and peace to you all.
The Christian season of Lent starts on Ash Wednesday 5th March this year, a season of preparation in the forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter. Christians have for centuries used this time in various ways: some fast (not speed of course, but missing some foods or meals or alcohol); some change the pattern of their days – worship or prayer or reading; some take on something new – perhaps start a daily reading or devotion, maybe something in the community, maybe putting some monies aside for a specific cause. I’ve even known someone take up a sport! Something of self-denial is usually a feature during Lent – the theological reasoning being that what affects the body also affects the soul, and some self-denial being good for us spiritually.
Back in the day some of the earliest Christian communities in the first few centuries took self-denial to levels that you and I would likely consider very extreme indeed. There were of course many monastic communities across the Middle East and North Africa, but there was also some individuals for whom even that simple – and often precarious – desert living, was insufficient in terms of denial. 
Take Simeon Stylites (right), for example. In the 5th Century he lived for nearly forty years atop a column, eventually reaching 50 feet off the ground. Thankfully he did have some helpers who winched food and fluids up to him, or you certainly wouldn’t be reading about him now!
I must confess to feeling a little discombobulated when hearing about the likes of Simeon Stylites who took asceticism to a whole new level, literally. Is that the ideal to which we must all aspire? Do I need to live on the roof of Emmanuel’s new building in all weathers to grow spiritually? Or would I be removed by the authorities? Perhaps a better (and less facetious) question to ask would be to what extent should I remove myself from the aspects of this world in order to be purified from them? That’s a more interesting question for all of us.
I think the answer depends greatly on what sort of people we each are: our personalities, preferences, gifts, dislikes. Someone who enjoys being very hands-on might find a Lent of extreme quiet more frustrating that anything. Another who usually enjoys quiet and solitude might just feel deeply uncomfortable taking something on in Lent involving great crowds. If Lent feels no different, though, to any other time of year, then maybe it’s a sign that we haven’t taken ourselves out of any comfort zones.
So I invite you this Lent not to take up something you’d find a virtual impossibility, not to do something that you know You’re going to hate enormously, but to use the time well and perhaps a little differently from same old routines. Something that will make you think a little more deeply, or pray a in a pattern that works for you, or if it’s something physical that it will be a blessing to both body and soul.
For starters, you can find details of our ‘Lenten Lunches’ a little bit later on in the magazine, and I’ve got various good daily Lent reading suggestions too if anyone wants, and of course there’s various good material online too. Have a chat with me if You’re thinking of something, or want some specific suggestions that would be good.
Finally – a word of thanks to Margaret Bannister who has stood in for Ann Caffyn as editor for this issue – and Margaret, you’re not allowed to edit this sentence out!
Have blessed season of Lent everyone.
Rev. Paul Tabraham
Excerpt taken from Emmanuel Magazine March 2025. The magazine, published ten times annually, features articles contributed or authored by our members. It includes a delightful blend of testimonials, devotions, book reviews, prayers, jokes, upcoming events, and more. Grab your copy of the latest magazine at the church foyer. If you prefer to receive a copy by mail or email, feel free to reach out to us.