LENTEN LENTEN TAKETHE TAKETHE CHALLENGE! CHALLENGE!

During this Lenten season, we are reminded that Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) This is a solemn and weighty request, and many of us find it so daunting that we do nothing, or at least not as much as we are able. We are somewhat like the tennis team that forfeits a match because they don’t have enough players when they could play for pure enjoyment. This “all or nothing” approach robs us of the joy we receive for the good we do. It keeps us trapped in thinking we can never be good enough when nothing is farther from the truth. Each of us has more capacity for goodness than we can imagine, and even a drop of goodness shared can make a difference.

During this season when Christian denominations focus on the concept of sacrifice, the members of the Poverty Study Group invite you to participate in a Lenten Challenge. Most of us can name at least one luxury we could do without, something that if lost, would change our lives very little. These are things like eating out, getting your nails done, Starbucks coffee, lavish trips, or shopping. We challenge you to “freeze,” or at least decrease, one luxury for Lent, and donate the money you save, or items purchased with the money saved, to a church charity of your choice. It might be Fish, West View Elementary, Cagle Terrace, or anything highlighted in our Weekly E-News or Worship Bulletin each week during Lent. A little sacrifice in our own lives can make a huge difference in someone else’s life, and working together we can impact many lives. Please join our Lenten challenge!