Helen Emery, the diocese’s Whole Life Discipleship Officer is excited about ways of adding meaning to Lent this year.
- Opening the curtains each morning and seeing the light which floods the room as God flooding my day with His light of love.
- Savouring the first sip of coffee I take, thanking God for the joyful flavour and asking to be shown joy in whatever the day has ahead.
- Seeing my shower as a mini – baptism preparing me for the day head.
- Using my commute to work or my drive to the supermarket as an opportunity to pray for those I will encounter there.
- Asking God to take away any rubbish which is not helpful in my life as I take the bins out each week.
These are all ways of infusing our everyday habits with deeper, life-giving meaning. It is nothing new – these are all suggestions I have heard over the years from fellow disciples on the faith journey. I am sure you have similar habits which can turn into tiny yet significant rituals.
The challenges for me – as a disciple and in my role as Whole Life Discipleship officer for Lichfield Diocese – is to take the big picture of what I believe about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the mind-blowing, eternal significance of it, the heart-swelling enormity of it – and ensure it makes a different to the tiny detail of my every day, ordinary, here and now life. However you do that – whether it be through actions and re-actions, prayers and practicalities – I believe it is the essence of lent. Self-examination, repentance and sacrifice.
For Lent 2026, resources published from Church House will be under the banner of "Draw Near: Life-giving habits for Lent”. So this theme of building our ‘rhythms of life’ – habits and patterns which help us grow as disciples of Christ day by day – is particularly current.
The booklet and app will focus on 6 aspects - worshipping together, praying, exploring the Bible, sharing communion, offering service and sharing the good news with others.
So I invite you this lent to join me in striving to bring our discipleship that little bit more into the ‘whole of life’ - and seeing the transformation it can bring to our relationship with God, ourselves and each other.
Look out for the ‘Draw Near’ resources on the Church of England’s various channels: www.cofe.io/DrawNear and join in individually or as small groups on social media channels (@thechurchofengland) and the ‘Everyday Faith’ app on smartphones.
If you’re considering running a small group during lent and want ideas, do talk to Helen who has scoped out a large number of options and can make suggestions appropriate to your setting: helen.emery@lichfield.anglican.org